A family legacy of supporting creative expression and community efforts to build a more just, engaged and vibrant society.
From left to right: Joyce, Harold, Peter, and LuEsther Mertz, pictured in Port Washington, New York, in 1959.
beginnings
In 1959, using proceeds from Publishers Clearing House (PCH), a business the family started in their basement, Joyce Mertz and her parents, LuEsther and Harold, established The Mertz Foundation.
Joyce Mertz married Robert W. Gilmore, a Quaker who later became the foundation’s first president, in June of 1964. Guests at the wedding included the peace activist A.J. Muste, Norman Thomas, long-time socialist leader and perennial presidential candidate, the rising young democratic socialist Michael Harrington, and the behind-the-scenes organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin, Robert’s close friend. As the couple began managing the Foundation’s operations, this circle of associates influenced the tone and direction of the Foundation’s funding.
When Joyce died in 1974, her will provided an endowment for the Foundation, and Robert changed the name to the Joyce Mertz Gilmore Foundation in her honor and memory. Because of Joyce’s love of dance, LuEsther provided the support to create The Joyce Theater on Eighth Avenue and 19th Street in memory of her daughter.
Robert later remarried, and upon his death his wife Elizabeth donated a generous portion of his estate to the Foundation. Elizabeth conscientiously served as Vice Chairman of the Board until 2011. In 2002, the Board of Directors renamed the Foundation again, to the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, to honor both Robert and Joyce.
IN TRANSITION
In 1962, the Mertz family purchased 218 East 18th Street, a four-story, brick-fronted Italianate row house in the Gramercy Park Neighborhood, built in 1857 by John Foster. Bayard Rustin was named the first non-family board member in 1975, and the Foundation transitioned to a professionally staffed private foundation in the mid-1980’s. The Foundation remained true to the founding family’s values, interests, and views on philanthropy–to find effective organizations and leaders working within long standing funding interests and provide them funds to support their work.
Mertz Gilmore Foundation staff with President Jimmy Carter in 1994
The Foundation’s history is one of supporting progressive ideas, often at early stages of idea acceptance. Mertz Gilmore funded global warming education efforts as early as 1984 and emergency AIDS-response grants soon thereafter; incorporated queer and immigrant rights into its human rights program in 1987; and granted equally to Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups following the Oslo Accords.
The founders intended for their philanthropy to reflect the following beliefs:
That arts and culture were essential ingredients to a full, enriched life
That peace and social activism, as well as human rights and democratic values, were inextricably linked
That the public interest demanded a just and equitable world
That the earth and its resources were finite and precious, and must be protected and preserved.
The Joyce Theater. Photo by Eric Vitale
mertz gilmore Today: building on a foundational legacy
Today, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation seeks to maintain its longstanding commitment to being field responsive and to partnering and collaborating with grantee partners, other foundations, and individual donors. The Board and staff regularly engage in learning opportunities with grantees, field leaders, and other funders to understand the wider ecosystem needs and approaches in order to collaborate toward future common goals.
In recent years, the Foundation experienced a financial turning point stemming from Publishers Clearing House (PCH)’s eventual bankruptcy. Income from PCH made up approximately 40% of the Foundation’s grantmaking, and this loss significantly impacted the Foundation’s budget. While Mertz Gilmore has historically been and continues to be committed to paying above the 5% required by federal law, there is now a greater recognition of the importance of leveraging all of the foundation’s assets for impact, including aligning 100% of the endowment with the mission.
In 2025, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation board approved a new mission, vision, and set of values, responding to the current moment while honoring the foundation’s history and past as a force for civil rights and social activism. Mertz Gilmore remains committed to supporting partners working to build and maintain strong, vibrant communities across the country and in its home state of New York.