David + Laura Merage Foundation

What David + Laura Merage Foundation does

The David + Laura Merage Foundation is a private family foundation established around 1994 by David and Laura Merage and based in Englewood, Colorado. It operates as one of six foundations within the Merage Philanthropies collective, each founded and led by a different member of the Merage family: David + Laura Merage Foundation, Andre and Katherine Merage Foundation, Merage Foundation Israel, Sabrina Merage Foundation, Jonathan Merage Foundation, and the David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism. The collective supports more than 500 organizations through strategic investment and multigenerational philanthropy, with activity spanning Colorado and Israel across four stated focus areas: culture, technology, community, and civic life.

The foundation does not operate a commercial product or revenue-generating technology platform. Its "product" is the collective itself — a coordinated philanthropic infrastructure that pools family-led giving under a shared brand (Merage Philanthropies), shared website (merage.org), and a shared impact-reporting framework. In 2024 the collective published its first-ever impact report, marking a step toward institutionalizing and externalizing the family's giving. The organization has 11 employees, no public revenue disclosure, and no commercial revenue model — it functions as a grant-making and community-investment entity rather than a market participant.

The business model is grant-making philanthropy funded by family contributions. Each sub-foundation has its own mission and focus area, but they share back-office infrastructure, a unified website and brand, and cross-foundation reporting. There is no publicly disclosed pricing, pricing model, or service revenue. Geographic operations are concentrated in Colorado (USA) and Israel, with no claim of broader global footprint.

Name

David + Laura Merage Foundation

Legal name

David + Laura Merage Foundation

Website

https://merage.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The David + Laura Merage Foundation is a private Englewood, Colorado-based family foundation and a member of the six-foundation Merage Philanthropies collective. It supports 500+ organizations across Colorado and Israel in culture, technology, community, and civic-life initiatives through multigenerational family philanthropy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Family foundation grantmaking
• Philanthropic community investment
• Nonprofit foundation services
• Multigenerational philanthropy
• Civic and culture giving

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

The David + Laura Merage Foundation is a private family foundation that provides philanthropic grantmaking and community investment support to nonprofit organizations and initiatives in culture, technology, community development, and civic life. It operates as part of the Merage Philanthropies collective of six family foundations, supporting initiatives that create opportunity, strengthen communities, and improve lives across Colorado and Israel.

Product overview

Merage Philanthropies is a collective of six private family foundations, each founded and led by a different member of David and Laura Merage's family. The portfolio includes David + Laura Merage Foundation, Andre and Katherine Merage Foundation, Merage Foundation Israel, Sabrina Merage Foundation, Jonathan Merage Foundation, and David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism. Each foundation operates with its own mission and focus areas, united by a shared commitment to philanthropy, innovation, and community investment. The collective has supported over 500 organizations through strategic investment and multigenerational philanthropy, with impact spanning from Colorado to Israel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Merage Philanthropies Collective A collective of six private family foundations supporting initiatives that create opportunity, strengthen communities, and improve lives through strategic investment and multigenerational philanthropy, operating across Colorado and Israel.
• David + Laura Merage Foundation One of the six foundations within the Merage Philanthropies collective, focused on philanthropy and community investment.
• Andre and Katherine Merage Foundation A foundation within the Merage Philanthropies collective dedicated to philanthropy and community support.
• Merage Foundation Israel An international foundation within the Merage Philanthropies collective focused on Israel-related philanthropy.
• Sabrina Merage Foundation A foundation within the Merage Philanthropies collective founded by Sabrina Merage.
• Jonathan Merage Foundation A foundation within the Merage Philanthropies collective founded by Jonathan Merage.
• David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism A foundation within the Merage Philanthropies collective dedicated to fighting antisemitism.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Merage Foundation IsraelcoreOthersInternational foundation partner within the Merage Philanthropies collective, operating in Israel as part of the family's geographic reach spanning from Colorado to Israel.
• Sabrina Merage FoundationcoreOthersFamily foundation partner within the Merage Philanthropies collective, founded and led by Sabrina Merage, part of the multigenerational approach to philanthropy.
• Jonathan Merage FoundationcoreOthersFamily foundation partner within the Merage Philanthropies collective, founded and led by Jonathan Merage as part of the family's shared commitment to philanthropy.
• David Merage Foundation for Confronting AntisemitismcoreOthersSpecialized foundation focused on confronting antisemitism within the Merage Philanthropies collective, reflecting the family's commitment to civic life and community strengthening.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Los Angeles: Community-focused Jewish foundation operating in a specific US region with grantmaking and donor-advised funds, comparable in mission alignment though distinct in geographic focus.

Broad incumbents

• Walton Family Foundation: Large multigenerational family foundation with structured programmatic giving; a scale benchmark for family-led, multi-cause philanthropy in the US.
• Ford Foundation: Major institutional foundation with broad thematic scope (civic life, community, education) — comparable thematic breadth, though dramatically larger in scale and not family-led.
• David and Lucile Packard Foundation: Established family foundation with structured programs across multiple focus areas and a strong impact-reporting tradition — comparable structurally to a mature Merage collective.
• Lumina Foundation: Large-scale private foundation with a focused thematic mandate and rigorous impact reporting, useful as a benchmark for the institutionalization path the Merage foundations are pursuing.

Direct peers

• The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation: Family-led foundation with substantial US-Israel grantmaking footprint, focused on Jewish community, education, and antisemitism — a direct functional counterpart to the Merage collective.
• Klarman Family Foundation: Private family foundation with a multigenerational structure and broad focus across civic life, education, and Israel-related causes — directly comparable in mission and operating model.
• Schusterman Family Philanthropies: Jewish family philanthropy with both US and Israel operations; similar dual-jurisdiction model and comparable focus areas including Jewish community, education, and Israel engagement.
• Jim Joseph Foundation: Private family foundation focused on Jewish education and community, with grantmaking scale and a multi-program portfolio similar to the Merage collective.
• Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies: Multigenerational family philanthropy with US-Israel programming and a focus on Jewish identity and community-building, similar in mission and structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davidandlaurameragefoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about David + Laura Merage Foundation