Photo credit: Pioneers Go East Collective / Devised and performed by syd island, Daniel Diaz, and Vanessa Rappa
The Mertz Gilmore Foundation amplifies the power and creativity of communities building a more just, engaged, and vibrant society.
We envision a world where all people can shape their communities and society; where creative expression is embraced and protected; and where civic life is rooted in justice and solidarity. We use all of our assets–including our grantmaking, our meeting house, investments, voice and relationships–to advance a more just future. Our partnerships are rooted in our long-held belief that emergent ideas rooted in community, when supported through grantmaking and other means, can change the course of history.
A Legacy of Supporting People-Powered Change
The Foundation was established in New York in 1959 by Joyce Mertz and her parents, LuEsther and Harold Mertz, using proceeds from their family business, Publishers Clearing House. Over our many chapters, we have worked to protect and advance rights through building community power, strengthening relationships and belonging, and supporting creativity in dance and the arts. Mertz Gilmore has often invested in progressive ideas at early stages of acceptance, allowing us to support partners who are powerfully advancing civil rights and social activism. Since our founding, we have awarded $XX m in grants and program-related investments to bring about positive social, economic and environmental change.
What We Fund
Our grantmaking focuses on two program areas: Democracy & Power in states and communities across the country, and New York Dance.
Photo credit: Pennsylvania United
Democracy & Power
The Democracy & Power Program, launched in 2026, invests in the power, leadership and advocacy of communities working to shape society at the local, state and national levels. Recognizing the need to both respond to current threats while continuing to envision far beyond them, Democracy & Power supports grantees that are working to safeguard and support vulnerable communities while building the long-term conditions necessary for a thriving, engaged multiracial democracy.
Photo credit: JACK NY
New York Dance
Since 1998, Mertz Gilmore has invested in the bold work of artists and communities with the foundational belief that freedom of expression is the principle on which creativity thrives and new possibilities take root. The New York Dance Program works to strengthen the resilience and equity of New York City's contemporary dance ecosystem and to protect the freedom of expression of our partners, who represent a wide range of voices and aesthetics.
Central to our approach is a longstanding commitment to being field responsive and experimenting at the edges where social change unfolds alongside our grantees, other foundations, and individual donors. Our experience has taught us that change rarely comes in neat packages, and that “real work, worth doing, requires a patient and humble devotion to learning and adjusting alongside the grantees.”
Recent News & Updates
Our Meeting House
The Mertz Gilmore Foundation Meeting House in Gramercy Park is a four-story, walk-up brownstone with a rich history of bringing together community voices. It houses the Foundation’s offices, and two meeting spaces which are available for use, free of charge, by 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.
Meeting spaces are available at no cost to nonprofit groups, including grantee partners, foundations and other groups aligned with the Foundation’s ethos. They are intended to help nonprofit and community organizations advance their goals, including as gathering and retreat spaces, meeting rooms, places to host out-of-town convenings, and connect with local colleagues, collaborators or cohorts. Spaces may not be used for fundraising, political events or religious ceremonies.
Please take a look at the different spaces that are available, and get in touch to share your interest so that we may explore availability.