Meyer Foundation

What Meyer Foundation does

The Meyer Foundation (legal name: The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation) is a private philanthropic foundation established in 1944 by Agnes E. Meyer and her husband Eugene Meyer — then publisher of The Washington Post. Headquartered at 601 13th St NW, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C., the Foundation pursues a mission of building an equitable Greater Washington community in which economically disadvantaged people thrive and systemic racism no longer exists. It restricts its grantmaking to the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, organized around three geographic portfolios (DC, Maryland, Virginia) led by dedicated Partnerships & Strategy Directors.

The Foundation operates a portfolio of programs: Core Grantmaking as the primary offering, supplemented by Capacity Building (including Organizational Development grants), the Rapid Response Fund (launched February 2025) for unforeseen events, the Fund for Black-led Change ($20 million multi-year commitment announced November 2020), the Black Abundance Collaborative, and the Restoration Fund Sabbatical Program. Grantees access applications and reporting through a Current Grantee Portal built on GivingData; communications are delivered via MailChimp and a Medium-hosted blog; payments are processed through Bill.com. The Foundation does not develop proprietary technology — its stack is composed of standard third-party SaaS tools.

The Foundation's business model is endowment-funded grantmaking: it generates no revenue from products or services and instead funds operations and grants entirely from returns on its investment endowment, established in 1944. There is no fee-for-service activity, no commercial pricing, and no equity ownership. Distribution is relationship-driven — direct outreach by program staff, an online grantee portal, and in-person convenings (The Commons, regional grantee gatherings). Grant amounts and terms vary by program and are not publicly standardized. The current strategic plan, 'Amplify. Catalyze. Transform.' (2025–2030), guides priorities under the leadership of President & CEO Janice Thomas, who succeeded George L. Askew, M.D. following a June 18, 2025 board vote.

Name

Meyer Foundation

Legal name

The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

Website

https://meyerfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Meyer Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 1944 that makes grants and provides capacity-building support to community-based nonprofits across the Greater Washington region (DC, Maryland, Virginia), advancing racial and economic justice through systems-change grantmaking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation / Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Racial equity funding
• Community grant programs
• Foundation grantmaking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The Meyer Foundation generates all revenue through returns on its investment endowment, established in 1944. The Foundation uses these returns to fund grants, operations, and programs. No revenue is generated from products or services; the Foundation is entirely funded by its endowment and does not engage in fee-for-service activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Meyer Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that provides grants, capacity-building support, and rapid-response funding to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Washington region (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia). It pursues racial and economic justice through core grantmaking, organizational development grants, the Fund for Black-led Change ($20M commitment), the Black Abundance Collaborative, and the Restoration Fund Sabbatical Program.

Product overview

The Meyer Foundation operates as a private philanthropic foundation offering grantmaking programs and capacity-building support to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Washington region. The core offering is its Core Grantmaking program, supplemented by specialized initiatives including the Fund for Black-led Change (a $20M multi-year commitment to Black-led organizations), the Black Abundance Collaborative, the Rapid Response Fund for urgent needs, and the Restoration Fund Sabbatical Program for grantee staff. Capacity Building includes Organizational Development grants and field building grants. Grantee partners access programs through a Current Grantee Portal powered by GivingData.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Black Abundance Collaborative: A collaborative initiative focused on supporting Black-led organizations and communities.
• Fund for Black-led Change
• Restoration Fund Sabbatical Program
• Rapid Response Fund

Products and services

• Core Grantmaking Primary grantmaking program that partners with organizations and projects building power of Greater Washington communities to achieve racial equity and justice through systems change. For nonprofit organizations in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
• Capacity Building Supports organizational development and field building grants to strengthen grantee partners' infrastructure and the broader ecosystem in which they work.
• Rapid Response Fund Provides swift funding support to enable grantee partner organizations to address unforeseen circumstances and urgent community needs.
• Fund for Black-led Change $20 million commitment providing core support to Black-led organizations in the Greater Washington region that are building power and transforming systems.
• Black Abundance Collaborative Initiative focused on Black-led organizations and communities, part of the Foundation's commitment to racial equity and systems change.
• Restoration Fund Sabbatical Program Sabbatical grants program for organizers and frontline staff of grantee partner organizations, designed to support personal renewal and professional development.
• Organizational Development (OD) Grants Grants to support organizational capacity and development needs of grantee partners.
• Current Grantee Portal Online portal (hosted on GivingData) where current grantees access application processes, reporting, and grant management functionalities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80 grants totaling $3.25 million awarded in June 2016 under new strategic plan
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Philanthropy DMVminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2023The Meyer Foundation restarted its capacity building program in October 2023 with Organizational Development grants. The Foundation's former and current staff have connections with Philanthropy DMV for learning and collaboration purposes.
• Montgomery County GovernmentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 October 2021Montgomery County Councilmember Jawando, Council Vice President Albornoz, and County Executive Elrich announced a new Guaranteed Income Pilot Program with a special appropriation of nearly $2 million, with additional financial support from the Meyer Foundation.
• Resourcing Radical JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2021The Meyer Foundation is a member of Resourcing Radical Justice, a funders collective centering Black liberation as the path to a thriving Greater Washington region. The collective represents a coordinated philanthropic effort to advance Black-led change.
• The Bridgespan GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 November 2020In January 2016, the Meyer Foundation partnered with The Bridgespan Group, one of the nation's leading nonprofit consulting and advisory firms, to launch Leading for Impact – DC Region, a program providing training, coaching, and consulting support to the leadership teams of 50 organizations over five years.
• Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2020The 2020 Census Working Group of WRAG, which includes the Meyer Foundation, issued the '#CountDMVIn Census 2020: Community Action' report to highlight activities undertaken by community groups, nonprofits, local governments, and the philanthropic sector to ensure an accurate 2020 census in the DC/MD/VA region.
• Fiscal Management Associates (FMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2020The Meyer Foundation partnered with Fiscal Management Associates to deliver a webinar series ensuring nonprofits in the Greater Washington region have tools and resources to prepare and respond to COVID-19 challenges. The partnership provided recordings and resources to support financial management during the pandemic.
• c-IntegralminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 18 June 2019Meyer Foundation staff and several grantee partners participated in 'Latino Challenges Toward Racial Justice,' a two-day workshop by c-Integral designed for people who live in or work with Latino communities seeking to end racial disparities.
• CityBridge EducationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2019CityBridge Education and the Meyer Foundation co-hosted a dinner conversation with former Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu, where he shared insights from his book 'In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History.'
• Consumer Health Foundation (now iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2016The Meyer Foundation partnered with the Consumer Health Foundation to commission the Urban Institute to produce 'A Vision for an Equitable DC,' examining census data around income, employment, education, health, and housing to compare racial inequity realities with an equity vision for DC residents. The two foundations also formed a health funding partnership in 2009 to streamline and simplify application and reporting processes for nonprofits.
• Urban InstitutecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 30 November 2016The Meyer Foundation and Consumer Health Foundation commissioned the Urban Institute to create 'A Vision for an Equitable DC,' a digital feature examining racial inequities across income, employment, education, health, and housing in DC, providing data-driven insights to inform regional equity work.
• CompassPoint Nonprofit ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2016The Meyer Foundation partnered with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services to conduct the Daring to Lead national study of nearly 3,000 nonprofit executive directors (2006, 2011). The Foundation also partnered with CompassPoint on the Rewarding Leadership initiative, which included the Exponent Award for visionary nonprofit leadership ($100,000 per recipient organization).

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Consumer Health Foundation (iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility): A DC-based private foundation that has co-funded initiatives with Meyer (e.g., 'A Vision for an Equitable DC' with the Urban Institute) and operates a parallel grantmaking model targeting regional equity and health. Closest functional peer in size, geography, and mission.
• Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation: The largest private foundation in the Washington, DC region, focused on community-based nonprofits serving the DC area. Operates a similar grantmaking and partnership-support model and has given Meyer a Community Partnership Award, making it a close regional peer.
• Washington Area Women's Foundation: A regional foundation serving the Washington, DC area that advances economic security for women and girls; Nicky Goren moved from this foundation to become Meyer's CEO in 2014. Functions as a direct comparable in size, mission, and geography.
• Eugene M. Lang Foundation: An independent, family-founded private foundation funding nonprofit-led systemic change in education and community development. Comparable as a long-running, family-originated, regionally engaged private foundation.

Emerging players

• Akonadi Foundation: A racial-justice foundation supporting Black-led movement building in the Bay Area. Highly comparable mission (anti-racist, Black-led-change framing) but operating in a different region, making it an emerging player with overlapping thesis.

Broad incumbents

• Annie E. Casey Foundation: A large national private foundation focused on child welfare, education, and economic mobility with regional operating models. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the systems-change space with grantee-partner-building programming.
• Ford Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations, with a stated mission of reducing inequality and advancing racial equity globally. Functions as a broad incumbent whose multi-region, multi-thousand-grantee operation dwarfs Meyer but shares an explicit anti-racist program frame.
• William Penn Foundation: A Philadelphia-area private foundation funding education, environment, and communities with a long-term, systems-change approach. Comparable as a mature regional private foundation with similar program structure and convening function.

Others

• Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG): A regional membership association of funders in Greater Washington. Not a direct grantmaking peer, but Meyer participates in WRAG initiatives (e.g., 2020 Census Working Group), making it the most relevant ecosystem peer.
• Resourcing Radical Justice: A philanthropic collaborative of funders centering Black liberation in the Greater Washington region, of which Meyer is a member. An ecosystem-level peer representing coordinated peer funders operating in the same strategy space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MeyerFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/meyerfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meyer-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Meyer Foundation