David and Laura Merage Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The David and Laura Merage Foundation and its counterpart in Israel support mental health, criminal justice, early childhood education, Jewish causes and arts and culture. Jewish funding focuses on Israeli causes, while other grantmaking strongly prioritizes the state of Colorado.
IP TAKE: The David and Laura Merage Foundation conducts most of its philanthropy through targeted signature programs, many of which have, in recent years, spun off and become independent nonprofit organizations, so check each of them out for extended funding opportunities.
A fair number of grants also support small- to medium-sized organizations, especially in the Denver area, where the foundation has poured millions into mental health, early childhood education policy and the arts.
Merage is not accessible, so networking with the foundation’s leadership will be necessary for gaining this funder’s attention. Consider networking with previous grantees and staff.
PROFILE: Established in 2002 and based in Englewood, Colorado, the David and Laura Merage Foundation is a private family foundation that engages in venture philanthropy. David Merage is an entrepreneur who co-founded Chef America, which is known for developing Hot Pockets, a retail frozen food product. Today, he runs Consolidated Investment Group, which invests in capital markets, private equity and real estate. Laura Merage is an artist and philanthropist who serves on numerous boards and launched Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center and an art museum-focused nonprofit called Black Cube. This foundation is part of a group with several family philanthropies, which also includes the Andre and Katherine Merage Foundation, Jonathan Merage Foundation and the Sabrina Merage Foundation. Grantmaking interests of the David and Laura Merage Foundation include mental health, criminal justice, early childhood education, Jewish causes and the arts. A significant portion of this funder’s grantmaking remains in the state of Colorado.
Grants for Mental Health and Criminal Justice Reform
The Merage Foundation established a signature program, Equitas, in 2013 as an effort to “disentangle mental health and criminal justice” by “championing laws, policies, and practices that prioritize promoting access to mental health over punishment and confinement.” Equitas has worked nationally with prosecutors’ offices to protect individuals with mental illnesses from unjust incarceration and runs the Model Law Writing Group, which engages experts from across the U.S. to improve and expand care for people suffering with mental illnesses and/or experiencing mental health crises. In 202, Equitas merged with Mental Health Colorado, a nonprofit with very similar priorities, with continued support from the David and Laura Merage Foundation.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
A significant portion of the David and Laura Merage Foundation’s grantmaking supports early childhood education via three signature programs:
Care for All Children bills itself as a “bi-partisan campaign that advocates for affordable, accessible, and high-quality childcare for all children.” The program has partnered with activist and grassroots organizations including West Virginia Mama Bears and the Unbearable Campaign to support demonstrations and conferences on childcare in Washington, D.C. In Colorado, the program has sponsored and produced events including round table events featuring Colorado leaders, parents, teachers and employers.
Early Learning Ventures was established by the Merage Foundation in 2009 to help childcare providers manage the business side of their facilities with a “licensing-compliant online child care management system, Alliance CORE.” Early Learning Ventures became and independent nonprofit in 2016 but continues to receive support from the Merage Foundation.
Executive Partnering to Invest in Children, commonly known as EPIC, is the Merage Foundation’s signature initiative to organize Colorado business owners and other employers and executives to “support family-friendly work environments” and increase “access to quality, affordable early childcare and education.” This initiative operates only the state of Colorado at this time.
Grants for Jewish Causes
Funding for Jewish causes stems from the David and Laura Merage Foundation’s Community Development initiative and the Merage Foundation Israel program. The Community Development grantmaking program aims to “provide services and opportunities for individuals to thrive and prosper.” While grantmaking from this program is not limited to Jewish organizations, it regularly supports Colorado-based Jewish organizations including Colorado Hillel, Jewish Colorado, Denver’s Moishe House and National Jewish Health, a research hospital based in Denver.
The Merage Foundation Israel focuses on “harnessing individual empowerment to accelerate change – strengthening one to strengthen others – thereby promoting a prosperous state of Israel and nurturing the well-being of its citizens.” Recent focus areas include development of the Negev region, supporting the Iranian community of Israel, supporting and mentoring army reservists, teaching senior citizens to use smartphones and helping immigrant youth and “lone soldiers” as they acclimate to Israeli society. Recent grants have gone to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the American Friends of Kishorit, Tel Aviv University, the Dimona Medical Center of Negev and the Israel Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Merage Foundation’s arts funding is spearheaded by Laura Merage, who established two major arts initiatives in recent years with funding from the Merage Foundation. The Denver-based RedLine Contemporary Arts Center “fosters education and engagement between artists and communities to create positive social change.” In addition to exhibits and installations, the nonprofit offers studio space, residencies, community programs and grants for visual and performing artists working toward positive social change. Laura Merage also established the Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum, which, as its name suggest, moves art around the world with the goal of bringing “ambitious, experimental, and engaging contemporary art” to diverse audiences everywhere. In addition to these two main signature programs, the Merage Foundation has recently made grants to a broad range of arts organizations including the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, San Francisco’s LevyDance, the Clifford Styll Museum, the Denver Art Museum and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Grants for Colorado
The Merage Foundation’s Community Development initiative supports a broad range of Colorado organizations working to improve the lives of all Coloradoans across a range of grantmaking interests. Recent grants have gone to the Colorado Business Committee of Arts, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, Colorado Open Lands, the University of Denver and Mile High United Way.
Important Grant Details:
The Laura and David Merage Foundation made just over $2.4 million in grants in a recent year, with grants ranging from $100 to $875,000. The foundation’s average grant size is about $20,000. This funder works mainly through signature programs, several of which have been established as independent nonprofits that continue to receive the foundation’s support. Several small- and medium-sized organizations, especially those operating in Colorado, have also received funding in recent years. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s individual program pages or its recent tax filings.
The Merage Foundation does not accept applications for funding. The RedLIne Contemporary Arts Center, however, accepts applications for its residency programs and occasionally posts information about artist grants. General inquiries may be submitted to the foundation at its contact page or via email. Biography’s of the foundation’s leadership team are also available at the Merage Foundation website
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