Merkel Foundation Inc

Brookfield, WI
Tax-exempt since May 1988
EIN: 39-1582624

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Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a 501(c)(3) Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Revenue

$8.35M (2025)

Expenses

$2.44M (2025)

Total Assets

$56.1M (2025)

Total Liabilities

$0 (2025)

Years with missing data

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2025

Tax Filings by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Fiscal Year Ending July
2025

Revenue

$8,345,079

Expenses

$2,443,837

Net Income

$5,901,242

Net Assets

$56,122,211

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$2,862,931	34.3%
Interest Revenue	$6,687	0.1%
Dividends	$4,847,308	58.1%
Sales of Assets	$628,153	7.5%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$2,358,729	96.5%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$56,122,211
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$56,122,211

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Carol L Garces (President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer/Director)	$0	$0
Carlos M Garces (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 12, 2025

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2024

Revenue

$22,698,894

Expenses

$2,046,803

Net Income

$20,652,091

Net Assets

$49,248,807

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$16,614,890	73.2%
Interest Revenue	$9,168	0.0%
Dividends	$3,357,369	14.8%
Sales of Assets	$2,717,467	12.0%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$1,961,695	95.8%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$49,248,807
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$49,248,807

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Carol L Garces (President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer/Director)	$0	$0
Carlos M Garces (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 16, 2024

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2023

Revenue

$8,243,440

Expenses

$1,573,994

Net Income

$6,669,446

Net Assets

$31,096,519

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$6,009,718	72.9%
Interest Revenue	$9,120	0.1%
Dividends	$2,233,188	27.1%
Sales of Assets	-$8,586
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$1,538,802	97.8%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$31,096,519
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$31,096,519

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 14, 2023

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2022

Revenue

$12,579,021

Expenses

$1,050,606

Net Income

$11,528,415

Net Assets

$26,878,615

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$4,511,040	35.9%
Interest Revenue	$501	0.0%
Dividends	$1,961,951	15.6%
Sales of Assets	$6,105,529	48.5%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$922,980	87.9%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$26,878,615
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$26,878,615

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 12, 2022

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2021

Revenue

$6,360,859

Expenses

$995,801

Net Income

$5,365,058

Net Assets

$17,593,798

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$5,074,787	79.8%
Interest Revenue	$1,322	0.0%
Dividends	$1,228,379	19.3%
Sales of Assets	$0
Other Income	$60,582	1.0%

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$937,619	94.2%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$17,593,799
Total Liabilities	$1
Net Assets	$17,593,798

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 10, 2021

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2020

Revenue

$11,033,663

Expenses

$808,191

Net Income

$10,225,472

Net Assets

$13,127,868

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$7,452,452	67.5%
Interest Revenue	$210	0.0%
Dividends	$658,142	6.0%
Sales of Assets	$2,922,857	26.5%
Other Income	$2	0.0%

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$799,060	98.9%
Compensation of Officers*	$10,000	1.2%
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$13,127,869
Total Liabilities	$1
Net Assets	$13,127,868

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$10,000	$0
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (President/Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 11, 2020

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2019

Revenue

$644,637

Expenses

$616,699

Net Income

$27,938

Net Assets

$4,977,864

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$215,000	33.4%
Interest Revenue	$337	0.1%
Dividends	$426,845	66.2%
Sales of Assets	$2,455	0.4%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$611,350	99.1%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$4,977,864
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$4,977,864

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Douglas A Merkel (President/Director)	$0	$0
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (President/Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Nov. 22, 2019

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2018

Revenue

$591,898

Expenses

$585,928

Net Income

$5,970

Net Assets

$4,690,812

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$190,000	32.1%
Interest Revenue	$276	0.0%
Dividends	$388,956	65.7%
Sales of Assets	$12,666	2.1%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$567,510	96.9%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$4,690,812
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$4,690,812

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Douglas A Merkel (President/Director)	$0	$0
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Nov. 29, 2018

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2017

Revenue

$623,319

Expenses

$543,346

Net Income

$79,973

Net Assets

$4,684,842

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$205,000	32.9%
Interest Revenue	$22	0.0%
Dividends	$360,808	57.9%
Sales of Assets	$57,489	9.2%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$534,754	98.4%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$4,684,842
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$4,684,842

Compensation

Key Employees and Officers	Compensation	Other
Douglas A Merkel (President/Director)	$0	$0
Daniel A Merkel (Vice President/Emeritus Director)	$0	$0
Diane M Knoll (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Carol L Garces (Vice President/Director)	$0	$0
Sandra J Benz (Vice President/Secretary/Director)	$0	$0
Randy T Benz (Vice President/Treasurer)	$0	$0

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990-PF

Filed on Dec. 11, 2017

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

View Filing

Schedules ▼

PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending July
2016

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

PDF (2 of 2)

Fiscal Year Ending July
2015

Revenue

$1,646,593

Expenses

$509,303

Net Income

$1,137,290

Net Assets

$4,672,317

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$125,011	7.6%
Interest Revenue	$14	0.0%
Dividends	$300,005	18.2%
Sales of Assets	$1,221,563	74.2%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$493,305	96.9%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$4,672,317
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$4,672,317

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2014

Revenue

$365,539

Expenses

$440,041

Net Income

-$74,502

Net Assets

$3,535,027

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$50,000	13.7%
Interest Revenue	$11	0.0%
Dividends	$264,689	72.4%
Sales of Assets	$50,839	13.9%
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$428,630	97.4%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$3,535,027
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$3,535,027

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2013

Revenue

$330,310

Expenses

$384,253

Net Income

-$53,943

Net Assets

$3,609,529

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$100,000	30.3%
Interest Revenue	$34	0.0%
Dividends	$230,197	69.7%
Sales of Assets	$31	0.0%
Other Income	$48	0.0%

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$365,755	95.2%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$3,609,529
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$3,609,529

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2012

Revenue

$426,699

Expenses

$393,327

Net Income

$33,372

Net Assets

$3,663,472

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$110,100	25.8%
Interest Revenue	$54	0.0%
Dividends	$259,926	60.9%
Sales of Assets	$26,119	6.1%
Other Income	$30,500	7.1%

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$371,730	94.5%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$3,663,472
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$3,663,472

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2011

Revenue

$698,828

Expenses

$306,997

Net Income

$391,831

Net Assets

$3,630,100

Notable Sources of Revenue		Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions Received	$500,000	71.5%
Interest Revenue	$24	0.0%
Dividends	$198,804	28.4%
Sales of Assets	$0
Other Income	$0

Notable Expenses		Percent of Total Expenses
Charitable Disbursements	$292,165	95.2%
Compensation of Officers*	$0
* Officer compensation may be included in charitable disbursements, so Percent of Total Expenses may add up to greater than 100%.

Assets/Debt
Total Assets	$3,630,100
Total Liabilities	$0
Net Assets	$3,630,100

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2010

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending July
2009

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

990-PF

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

Primary tax return for a private foundation's activities, finances, and governance

PDF

About This Data

What Is This Data?

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

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Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

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Updated January 26, 2026

Merkel Foundation Inc

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue $8.35M (2025)

Expenses $2.44M (2025)

Total Assets $56.1M (2025)

Total Liabilities $0 (2025)

Tax Filings by Year

Fiscal Year Ending July 2025

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2024

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Compensation

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2016

No Extracted Financial Data

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Document Links

990-PF

Fiscal Year Ending July 2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990-PF

Revenue

$8.35M (2025)

Expenses

$2.44M (2025)

Total Assets

$56.1M (2025)

Total Liabilities

$0 (2025)

Fiscal Year Ending July
2025

Fiscal Year Ending July
2024

Fiscal Year Ending July
2023

Fiscal Year Ending July
2022

Fiscal Year Ending July
2021

Fiscal Year Ending July
2020

Fiscal Year Ending July
2019

Fiscal Year Ending July
2018

Fiscal Year Ending July
2017

Fiscal Year Ending July
2016

Fiscal Year Ending July
2015

Fiscal Year Ending July
2014

Fiscal Year Ending July
2013

Fiscal Year Ending July
2012

Fiscal Year Ending July
2011

Fiscal Year Ending July
2010

Fiscal Year Ending July
2009

Fiscal Year Ending July
2008

Fiscal Year Ending July
2007

Fiscal Year Ending July
2006

Fiscal Year Ending July
2005

Fiscal Year Ending July
2004

Fiscal Year Ending July
2003

Fiscal Year Ending July
2002