Marzke Foundation
St Joseph, MI · EIN 38-3584852. Reported 145 grants totalling $228,080 to 51 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Marzke Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $1,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $500 and $2,000; the smallest was $250 and the largest $11,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Michigan Catholic Schools | St Joseph, MI | $15,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| YMCA - Benton Harbor - St Joseph | St Joseph, MI | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Readiness Center | Benton Harbor, MI | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Therapeutic Equestrian Center | Niles, MI | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Twin City Area Catholic School Fund | St Joseph, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Twin City Area Catholic School Fund (lmc School Fund) | Benton Harbor, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Lory's Place | St Joseph, MI | $9,080 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boys and Girls Club | Benton Harbor, MI | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Catholic Community Center | Benton Harbor, MI | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Soup Kitchen | Benton Harbor, MI | $8,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Area Agency on Aging | Grand Rapids, MI | $8,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Birthright of St Joseph | St Joseph, MI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Curious Kids Museum | St Joseph, MI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Joseph Catholic Parish | St Joseph, MI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Joseph Junior Foundation | St Joseph, MI | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Humane Society of Sw Michigan | St Joseph, MI | $5,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Andrews Academy | Berrien Springs, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Berrien County Cancer Service | St Joseph, MI | $4,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Box Factory for the Arts | St Joseph, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| CASA of Sw Michigan | Benton Harbor, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cornerstone Alliance | Benton Harbor, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ghostlight Productions | Benton Harbor, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Michigan Colleges Alliance | Southfield, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Sacred Heart Academy Foundation | Mt Pleasant, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Friends of Berrien County Trails | Benton Harbor, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of Berrien County Trails | New Buffalo, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jupiter Medical Center Foundation | Jupiter, FL | $2,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $2,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Josephmaud Preston Library | St Joseph, MI | $2,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Avenue Family Network | Benton Harbor, MI | $2,200 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Red Cross - Sw Mi Chapter | Kalamazoo, MI | $2,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Berrien Community Foundation | St Joseph, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Christ Lutheran Church | Stevensville, MI | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Corewell Health | Grand Rapids, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sarett Nature Center | Benton Harbor, MI | $2,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Sj-Bh Rotary Foundation | St Joseph, MI | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Spectrum Lakeland Health Foundation | St Joseph, MI | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The Salvation Army | Benton Harbor, MI | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center | St Joseph, MI | $1,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Caring Connection Auxiliary | Benton Harbor, MI | $1,200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Berrien County Department of Human Services | Benton Harbor, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Junior Achievement | Grand Rapids, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement of Michiana | St Joseph, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Joseph Public Schools Foundation | St Joseph, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Trinity Lutheran Church | St Joseph, MI | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boy Scouts of America | Stevensville, MI | $750 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Lakeshore Excellence Foundation | Stevensville, MI | $750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Berrien Community Foundation - Backpacks for Kids | St Joseph, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Childrens Advocacy Center of Sw Michigan | St Joseph, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Cancer Society | Indianapolis, IN | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sunset Coast Striders | St Joseph, MI | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
37 of 51 (73%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 83%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Twin City Area Catholic School Fund (lmc School Fund)
DONATION TO LAKE MICHIGAN COLLEGE - Lory's Place
REFLECTIONS DINNER AND WALK SPONSOR - Corewell Health
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE - The Avenue Family Network
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS & ICE CREAM SOCIAL - Junior Achievement
DONATION TO SUPPORT STUDENTS AND PARENTS - Mayo Clinic
DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 57 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | $56,130 | $1,000 |
| 2022 | 35 | $54,000 | $1,000 |
| 2023 | 33 | $52,750 | $1,000 |
| 2024 | 36 | $65,200 | $1,600 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 96% of this one's giving went to organizations in Michigan. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Marzke Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 1207 Broad Street, St Joseph, MI, 49085. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 38-3584852 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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