Mako Foundation

A data-quality note first: this foundation's own record carries a mission statement, website, and social handles ('Maximizing Academic, Knowledge and Opportunity... for Vista del Mar Elementary and Middle School students,' makofoundation.org, @vdmmakofoundation) that belong to a completely different organization — the Vista Del Mar MAKO Educational Foundation, a San Clemente, CA school booster group with its own EIN (76-0776657). Impala's funder database independently confirms the real EIN behind this report, 30-0286945, is a Chicago, IL family foundation with officers Thomas W. Meyer (President/Director), Nancy Meyer (Director), Julie Stevenson (Secretary/Director), Michael C. McQuinn (VP), and Lauren K. Macdonald (Treasurer) — all uncompensated, confirming this is a hands-on family giving vehicle, not a staffed institution. Every strategic conclusion below is built from that verified entity's actual grant and financial history, not the mismatched website content.

The grantee list reveals a foundation funding progressive civil-society causes nationally: environmental conservation (Natural Resources Defense Council, Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the Boundary Waters campaign), global health and humanitarian relief (Partners in Health, Doctors Without Borders, International Medical Corps), civil rights and reproductive justice (Southern Poverty Law Center, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood), immigration (Immigrant Legal Resource Center), independent journalism (Type Media Center/The Nation Institute, Democracy Now, Truthout, Center for Public Integrity), and economic/racial justice (Black Farmer Fund, the Proteus Fund's Piper and Rise Together Funds).

Nearly every recorded grant carries the purpose code 'General Operating Support - Annual Gift' — this funder backs organizational budgets, not discrete projects, and renews the same grantees repeatedly (Impala puts multi-year retention at 77%). Geography skews to New York (76 of ~195 grants), California (30), Massachusetts (27), and DC (15), likely tracking the family's personal and professional network rather than a formal geographic mandate. Most decisively: the foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Access runs through personal introduction, existing grantee networks, or shared intermediaries like Tides Foundation and the Proteus Fund, not a cold application.

Total assets stood at $4,794,233 in the FY2024 Form 990, up sharply from $3,880,596 in FY2023 — driven by $1,368,813 in FY2024 revenue versus just $257,871 the year before, suggesting a fresh contribution to the corpus. Annual giving (total_giving) has ranged from $210,000 (FY2012 grants paid) to a peak of $542,900 (FY2021), before pulling back to $408,524 in FY2023 — a roughly 25% decline over two years that tracked a similar dip in assets ($4.22M to $3.88M). Grants paid specifically: $438,600 (2021), $434,600 (2022), $317,726 (2023).

At the individual-grant level, the DB's typical_grant_size figures (drawn from the underlying 990 grant schedule) show a median of $5,000, an average of $8,122, and a range of $100 to $25,000 per single-year grant — consistent with the top-recipient data, where $25,000/year is the observed ceiling (Natural Resources Defense Council, Partners in Health, and Southern Poverty Law Center each received $100,000 cumulative across 4 annual $25,000 gifts). Across the 195 grants captured in this dataset, total disbursed is $1,591,426 at an average of $8,161 per grant.

By dollar volume, environmental and global-health/humanitarian causes each account for roughly 15% of top-50 giving, civil rights/reproductive-justice/immigration organizations collectively around 20%, independent journalism about 10%, economic and racial justice roughly 10%, and education/arts/community organizations (Hampshire College, University of Michigan's New England Literature Program, National Writing Project, Theatre for a New Audience, San Francisco School) the remaining share — these are estimates derived from grantee purpose text, since neither the foundation's filings nor available web sources define formal program categories. Geographically, New York captures the largest share of grant count (76 of ~195), followed by California (30) and Massachusetts (27), with smaller allocations to DC, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado, Alabama, Illinois, and Michigan.

All five peers cluster within roughly $1,700 of Mako Foundation's $4,794,233 in assets — this is clearly an asset-matched cohort rather than a mission-matched one, since every entry (including Mako) is filed under the generic 'Philanthropy & Grantmaking' NTEE code, which denotes 'private foundation' rather than a shared cause area. None of the peers have a public website, dedicated grants staff, or disclosed giving level in available data, reinforcing that foundations in this $3-5M asset tier are typically quiet, family-run vehicles operating without formal RFP processes. Mako Foundation's FY2023 payout of roughly 8.5% of assets ($408,524 / $4.79M) sits within, though toward the lower half of, the 5-12% range typical for actively-distributing foundations this size — grant seekers should not expect any of this cohort to run a public competitive process.

No press coverage or public announcements exist specifically for EIN 30-0286945; as an uncompensated family board with no communications function, this foundation generates no news cycle. The only current, verifiable signal is its FY2024 Form 990: total assets rebounded to $4,794,233 from $3,880,596 in FY2023, on $1,368,813 in revenue (versus $257,871 the year prior) — a jump large enough to suggest a new contribution to the corpus rather than investment returns alone, since net investment income for FY2024 was not separately reported in this dataset. If historical payout ratios hold, that capital infusion could translate into restored or increased grant totals in the next filing cycle, after two years of decline from the 2021 peak of $542,900.

Leadership has been stable across every filing year captured: Thomas W. Meyer (President/Director), Nancy Meyer (Director), Julie Stevenson (Secretary/Director), Michael C. McQuinn (Vice President), and Lauren K. Macdonald (Treasurer) — the same five names recur without turnover, all uncompensated.

One important caution for anyone researching this funder online: web searches for 'Mako Foundation' surface at least four unrelated organizations — a retail-tech firm (Mako Networks), a UK derivatives trading firm's charity arm (which ran a June 2025 bake sale), a California K-8 school booster foundation (Vista Del Mar MAKO Educational Foundation, running its annual MAKO Masters golf tournament, next dated May 15, 2026), and a separate 'Education & Healthcare for Children' nonprofit (makofoundation.us, posting Project C.U.R.E. updates as recently as April 2026). None of these share governance, EIN, or grantmaking focus with the Chicago foundation profiled here.

The single most important fact for any prospective applicant: Impala's funder database states directly that 'MAKO FOUNDATION does not accept unsolicited proposals. Funding is by invitation only.' A cold letter of inquiry or application will not be reviewed — do not budget staff time toward writing one blind.

Because access is invitation-only, the highest-leverage move is relationship mapping, not proposal writing. Look for shared-network paths to the five officers (Thomas W. Meyer, Nancy Meyer, Julie Stevenson, Michael C. McQuinn, Lauren K. Macdonald) — board overlaps, alumni ties (Hampshire College and the University of Michigan's New England Literature Program both recur as grantees, suggesting personal educational connections), or geographic roots in the New York tri-state area, Massachusetts, the Bay Area, the Boundary Waters region (MN/WI border), or eastern Long Island/Hudson Valley (Montauk, Wallkill Valley) — all recurring grantee locations that likely trace to where the family lives, vacations, or has worked.

If your organization already operates in one of the foundation's demonstrated cause lanes — environmental conservation, global health/humanitarian relief, reproductive or civil rights, immigrant legal services, independent journalism, or racial/economic justice — a warm introduction from an existing grantee, or from an intermediary the foundation already trusts (Tides Foundation and the Proteus Fund both appear as fiscal sponsors/intermediaries in its grant history), is far more productive than direct solicitation.

Once a relationship opens, prepare an unrestricted general-operating case, not a project proposal: virtually every recorded grant funds core organizational budgets. Anchor the ask realistically — most grants land at $5,000-$15,000, with $25,000/year as the observed per-grant ceiling reserved for long-tenured recipients like NRDC, Partners in Health, and SPLC. Expect the relationship to compound: 77% of grantees are renewed year over year, so a modest first gift with a strong annual update is more valuable than a one-time large ask.

Finally, verify you are targeting the right organization. Outreach sent to info@makofoundation.org or the makofoundation.org site reaches Vista Del Mar MAKO Educational Foundation in San Clemente, CA (a different EIN, different mission, different board) — not this funder. The only confirmed contact points on file for the correct entity are its registered address (225 W Wacker Dr Ste 2150, Chicago, IL 60606) and phone ((312) 621-0590), and both should be treated as last resorts behind a personal introduction.