Mercury Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Mercury Foundation's filing records grants to reproductive-health and rights, environmental and wildlife, civil-rights, grantmaking intermediary, community and animal-welfare organisations, though it states no narrower funding field, so check that your work sits near one of these areas.
- Only 501(c)(3) charities are eligible, so a group without that status should not apply.
- Half of its 22 grants were $2,000,000 or less, so a request at or below that level matches its usual grant size, although the typical band of $20,000 to $15,000,000 is not a limit.
- Applications must be submitted electronically with proof of 501(c)(3) status, and the filing warns that unsolicited requests may not receive acknowledgement; it gives no deadlines, so timing is open.
- In its latest filing, 89% of grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had also funded in its earlier filings, so an existing connection is likely to matter more than a cold approach.
Overview
Mercury Foundation is a US private foundation based in Redwood City, CA.
What they fund
Profile based on the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) only: no website or other web source for the foundation was found. Every statement is checked against the filings. Sources read on 12 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The recorded grants included reproductive-health and rights organisations, environmental and wildlife organisations, civil-rights groups, grantmaking intermediaries, and community and animal-welfare organisations. Most grant dollars went to organisations in New York, with California the next-largest recipient location; the filings show smaller shares elsewhere. The stated purpose for every recorded grant is general, and the filing does not name a narrower funding field or target population. It says applications should be submitted electronically with proof of IRC section 501(c)(3) status, and warns that unsolicited requests may not receive acknowledgement. Grants are limited to section 501(c)(3)-defined purposes and charities.
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in New York and California.
How to apply
Applications should be submitted electronically and include proof of IRC 501(c)(3) status. Unsolicited grant requests may not receive acknowledgement.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 89% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 22 grants to organisations were $2,000,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 58% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 89% of grant dollars went to organisations Mercury Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 62% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 6 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $3M (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · General$15,000,0002024 tax year
- Vanguard Charitable Fund · General$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America · General$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Panthera · General$3,000,0002024 tax year
- NRDC · General$2,000,0002024 tax year
- Planned Parenthood Los Angeles · General$2,000,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Peter Walker Grousbeck — Trustee
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $25,264,474 | $22,500,000 | $401,757,024 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $30,485,075 | $26,545,000 | $406,406,085 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $32,444,756 | $28,000,000 | $362,859,286 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
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At a glance
Applying to Mercury Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
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Contact
- (415) 392-2123
- Redwood City, CA
Applying to Mercury Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (415) 392-2123
- Redwood City, CA