Marguerite Casey Foundation

The Marguerite Casey Foundation operates as a strictly invitation-only grantmaker with $876.6 million in assets (FY2024), making it one of the most significant funders of community organizing and racial justice infrastructure in the United States. The foundation does not accept, review, or respond to unsolicited letters of inquiry, concept papers, or proposals. Every grantee relationship begins when MCF program staff proactively identify organizations through field scanning and network engagement — a model rooted in the trust-based philanthropy movement.

MCF's giving philosophy centers on systems-change: the foundation believes lasting social transformation requires organizations that build sustained political power in low-income communities and communities of color, not service delivery programs alone. Their portfolio of 1,905 recorded grants overwhelmingly reflects this priority. Texas Organizing Project, Arizona Center for Empowerment, Florida Rising Together, Communities United, and dozens of similar organizations each received 6–8 multi-cycle grants over MCF's grantmaking history, totaling $1–2 million per organization.

The foundation strongly favors general operating support over project-restricted grants. First-time grantees typically receive $75,000–$250,000 for unrestricted operations. Relationships that mature over 3–5 grant cycles can escalate to $300,000–$833,000 annually. The absence of program restrictions signals deep institutional trust in grantee leadership.

The pathway to MCF's radar is indirect but navigable. Organizations maintaining robust public communications, publishing specific impact reports, and staying visible through intermediaries — particularly Tides Foundation ($5.6M cumulative from MCF across 30 grants), Borealis Philanthropy, New Venture Fund, and Native Americans in Philanthropy ($2.4M cumulative) — are most likely to come to program staff attention. MCF has active grantee portfolios in California, Washington, Illinois, New York, DC, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia.

In 2025, MCF dramatically expanded its grantee universe, committing $130 million (5x its typical annual average) and explicitly designating half — $65 million — for first-time grantees. Organizations in journalism and local news, democracy defense, and press freedom are newly in scope, representing the most significant expansion of MCF's eligibility universe in recent years.

MCF's historical median grant is $90,000, with an average of $99,392 and a documented range from $206 to $833,000 across 373 individual grants with available amount data. The vast majority of grants fall between $50,000 and $300,000, with general operating support the dominant format across all program areas.

Annual grantmaking across the most recent six fiscal years: - FY2019: $43.4M total giving / $28.7M grants paid - FY2020: $40.0M total giving / $23.8M grants paid - FY2021: $70.1M total giving / $49.1M grants paid (COVID and civic surge) - FY2022: $76.3M total giving / $57.2M grants paid (recent peak) - FY2023: $47.5M total giving / $29.4M grants paid (normalization) - FY2024: $24.3M total giving / $33.0M grants paid (reduction preceding the 2025 surge)

The 2025 commitment of $130 million is funded partly by drawing endowment principal from MCF's $876.6M asset base — a deliberate policy choice that signals the board's willingness to accept reduced long-term endowment growth in exchange for near-term community impact.

Geographically, California leads with 363 of 1,905 total recorded grants (19%), followed by Washington state (235, 12%), Illinois (174, 9%), New York (146, 8%), and DC (137, 7%). These five locations account for approximately 55% of all grants. Georgia (88 grants), Arizona (78), Texas (71), New Mexico (68), and Virginia (59) represent meaningful secondary portfolios, particularly in the South and Southwest.

By issue area, community organizing cuts across virtually every MCF grant — spanning racial justice, immigration rights, economic justice, voting rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Secondary concentrations include academic and scholarly support (University of Illinois at Chicago: $3.4M cumulative; UCLA Luskin Institute: $3.2M) and media/journalism (Seattle Arts and Lectures: $1.2M; National Trust for Local News added in 2025).

The top cumulative grantee, Tides Foundation, received $5.6M across 30 grants, reflecting MCF's extensive use of fiscal sponsorship pass-through vehicles. Multi-year relationships with individual organizing groups typically result in $1M–$2M in cumulative support over 5–8 grant cycles.

The foundations listed below are NTEE category peers (Human Services, P12) per IRS classification. Note that MCF's programmatic focus on social movement infrastructure and community organizing represents a distinct approach within this broad category. Grant seekers should understand that MCF's actual programmatic peer set — foundations also investing in multi-year general operating support for racial and economic justice organizing — is different from the NTEE-matched list below.

Among these NTEE category peers, MCF is uniquely national in scope and ideologically coherent in its social-movement orientation. The Callaway Foundation focuses on a single Georgia county, Genentech Patient Foundation operates a corporate-linked patient assistance program with narrow eligibility, and New Brunswick Development Corporation functions as a real estate and community development authority — none are meaningful programmatic comparators. Within the social justice philanthropy landscape, MCF's closest actual peers are the Surdna Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Borealis Philanthropy, each sharing MCF's commitment to multi-year general operating support for grassroots organizing. MCF's $877M endowment and $130M 2025 commitment make it one of the largest dedicated funders of civic engagement and racial justice infrastructure nationally.

In April 2025, MCF's board voted unanimously to commit $130 million to grantmaking for the year — more than five times the foundation's typical annual payout of approximately $25 million. Within weeks, $40 million had been distributed to organizations protecting press freedom, assembly rights, and free speech. Board chair Ian Fuller stated publicly that the foundation was acting to "ensure that organisations across our country have the full weight of our resources to serve communities that are actively under attack." Named 2025 recipients include the National Council of Nonprofits, More Perfect Union, Deep South Today, and the National Trust for Local News.

President and CEO Dr. Carmen Rojas (compensation: $752,641 in the most recent filing), who has led MCF since approximately 2019, characterized the environment as "a political attack on the nonprofit sector, unlike any we've seen in U.S. history." MCF's 2025 surge is coordinated with a broader "Meet the Moment" movement including the MacArthur Foundation, Hewlett Foundation (which brought forward $50M), and the Skoll Foundation (+30% payout).

Also in 2025, MCF co-launched The Courage Project, a $5 million national initiative recognizing everyday acts of civic bravery, with individual and organizational awards of $10,000–$50,000. The 2025 Freedom Scholars cohort was named, including University of Washington associate professor Dian Million (announced October 16, 2025) and scholars affiliated with UCLA and University of Illinois Chicago.

On thought leadership, MCF's news coverage through late 2025 and early 2026 has featured content on wealth inequality, the Third Reconstruction movement, and nonprofit resilience amid federal funding cuts — signaling continued emphasis on democracy defense as a strategic priority alongside core community organizing work.

Because MCF does not accept unsolicited proposals, standard grant-writing practices do not apply here. The following advice is specific to this funder's invitation-only model.

Visibility over applications. MCF program staff conduct active field scanning. Your most effective "application" is a robust public presence: a current impact report with specific organizing metrics (members engaged, campaigns won, policies changed, elections impacted). Staff attend gatherings organized by Funders for Justice, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project — presence at these convenings is disproportionately valuable.

Position in the MCF ecosystem. Tides Foundation (30 MCF grants totaling $5.6M) and Tides Center (15 grants, $4.3M) are the primary fiscal sponsorship vehicles MCF uses to fund organizations without independent 501(c)(3) status or those in early organizational stages. Becoming a Tides-sponsored project directly surfaces your work to MCF program officers. For tribal and Indigenous organizations, Native Americans in Philanthropy ($2.4M cumulative) serves the same intermediary function.

Use power-building language precisely. MCF funds organizations explicitly building constituency power, not direct service delivery. Frame every description of your work around base-building, member leadership, civic engagement, policy advocacy, and durable power shifts. Generic impact language or charity framing signals misalignment.

2025–2026 journalism window. MCF explicitly announced new journalism and local news grantees in 2025, including the National Trust for Local News and Deep South Today. Organizations in local civic journalism, press freedom, or news ecosystem support should prioritize visibility in this cycle — this window may not persist beyond 2026.

For Program Related Investments. Contact info@caseygrants.org directly if you are a CDFI, impact fund manager, or civic engagement organization needing below-market debt, equity, or catalytic capital. MCF has committed up to $50 million in PRIs over 10 years across seven investment categories, and this channel has distinct access dynamics from the main grants program.

Geographic alignment. California, Washington, Illinois, New York, and DC represent the deepest MCF portfolio concentration. For organizations in the South or Southwest, MCF has demonstrated sustained investment in Georgia, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Virginia — and the 2025 expansion specifically emphasizes Southern community organizing.