What We Fund

The Mertz Gilmore Foundation has completed strategic planning and will be committing to two programs moving forward: Democracy and Power, and New York Dance. We look forward to sharing more details in 2026.

Democracy and Power: With a long history of supporting the creativity and power of communities, in the past, Mertz Gilmore’s work included three separate programs that touched on elements of community power building and democracy. Moving forward, that work lives under one new program, Democracy and Power, that recognizes the interrelatedness of our previous areas and the ways these fields are working together to respond to increased threats. The Democracy and Power program invests in organizations and strategies working to safeguard and support vulnerable communities while also building the long-term conditions necessary for a thriving, engaged multiracial democracy.

New York Dance: Mertz Gilmore’s support for dance, since 1998, is an investment in generating a better future for New York—one that encourages artists to experiment and take creative risks. Freedom of expression is the principle upon which creativity thrives and new possibilities are seeded. New York City is one of the largest and most diverse dance communities in the country, comprising a complex network of artists, presenters, teachers, audiences, funders and behind-the-scenes specialists and support organizations. With the overarching goal of strengthening the resilience and equity of the dance ecosystem, Mertz Gilmore supports key elements, including investing in presenters of marginalized and emerging artists, smaller dance companies, and the critical service organizations that connect and advocate for the field.

The Foundation only funds organizations based in and working in the United States. We do not accept unsolicited proposals, or fund individuals, endowments or religious concerns.

A New Chapter Shaped by a Financial Turning Point

Since the creation of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, we have been powered not only by our endowment, but also by income from trusts established by the family through the business they created: Publishers Clearing House (PCH). Since the foundation was established, all income received from trusts supported grantmaking, in accordance with trust laws. In 2023, the Foundation learned it would no longer be receiving income from these trusts associated with PCH. In 2025, PCH filed for bankruptcy, formally closing a financial chapter that allowed the Mertz Gilmore Foundation to resource grantee partners with these additional resources.

Because of this loss of income, Mertz Gilmore had to scale back grantmaking from approximately $12 million in 2023 to $7 million in 2024 and 2025, with additional cuts anticipated in the future. Grantmaking is one essential part of a wider range of tools to catalyze change. Given these financial realities, Mertz Gilmore is continuing to deepen the understanding of what additional levers for impact are, including work to become fully mission-aligned through our endowment.

REMOVING UNNECESSARY BARRIERS: UPDATES TO OUR GRANTMAKING APPLICATION

In 2025, Mertz Gilmore streamlined our grantmaking application process to ease the burden on our grantees. After talking to grantees to understand the biggest pain points they were experiencing, and with additional insights from legal counsel, staff, and board, we eliminated narrative proposals and budgets from our application requirements for general operating support grants, with narrative and financial reports no longer required at the end of the grant period for general operating support grants. We know there are better ways to deepen our understanding of and connection to grantees than through lengthy and burdensome grant application requirements, and are excited for our partners to be able to focus their brilliance and energy on the work rather than reporting about it.