Mellen Foundation

The Mellen Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in Connecticut. The foundation rewards grants to organizations that advocate for abortion access, 1 increased funding for public defenders, 2 and organizations with left-wing racial views. 3

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Formation:

1987

President:

Diane Mellen

Location: East Haven, CT View on map
Tax ID: 22-2778847
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $3,276,209 Revenue: $105,310 Expenses: $187,292

Contents

    The foundation’s President is Diane Mellen, a production executive for Pace Films who claims to be a humanitarian focused on social and environmental causes. 4

    History

    The Mellen Foundation was founded in 1987 by businessman Neil Mellen. Neil Mellen made his fortune by creating Town Fair Tire, a tire company with over 115 stores in the northeastern United States. Mellen created the foundation to help raise funds for philanthropic causes by offering a tax incentive to other philanthropists and wealthy individuals. Although Mellen made donations through his charity, he also gave personally, investing in areas such as medical care and food insecurity. Mellen was the bookkeeper and treasurer of the Mellen Foundation until he passed away in January 2024. The organization is run by his widow, Diane Mellen. 5 6

    Notable Grants

    Although the foundation is a grantmaking organization, it recorded no grants made during the 2022 fiscal year. However, in 2019 it gave grants to the Innocence Project, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood of Utah, and the Southern Center for Human Rights. 6

    Innocence Project

    The Innocence Project is a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for criminal justice reform by requiring interrogations to be recorded and increasing the funding and regulation of public defenders. It received a $25,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation in 2019. 6 2 7

    American Civil Liberties Union

    The American Civil Liberties Union is a left-wing advocacy group that advocates for easier access to rights and liberties for immigrants 8 and increased abortion access 9 among other civil liberties. 10 It received a $4,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation. 11 12

    Planned Parenthood of Utah

    Planned Parenthood of Utah is the Utah branch of the larger Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). PPFA was founded by the socialist Margaret Sanger in 1946 and advocates for liberal access to abortion and birth control. 13 The Mellen Foundation donated $3,500 to the PPFA of Utah in 2019. 6

    Southern Center for Human Rights

    The Southern Center for Human Rights is a public interest law firm that focuses on incarceration, the death penalty, and poverty in the southern United States. The organization asserts that a lack of wealth and limited access to mental health resources is the cause of a large portion of criminality in the southern United States. 14 The organization received a $2,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation in 2019. 6

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $3,276,209 $105,310 $187,292 View
    2023 $3,034,030 $183,433 $103,485 View
    2022 $2,624,685 $71,533 $21,793 View
    2021 $3,119,588 $149,398 $105,733 View
    2020 $2,792,646 $155,697 $97,401 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,329,675
    • Number of Grants: 343
    • Number of Recipients: 80

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $50,0002024 SUMMIT LAND CONSERVANCYGENERAL PURPOSE
    $50,0002024 Jules Stein Eye InstituteGENERAL PURPOSE
    $25,0002023 The Innocence Project IncGENERAL PURPOSE
    $25,0002021 The Innocence Project IncUNRESTRICTED
    $25,0002020 The Innocence Project IncUNRESTRICTED
    $10,0002020 Intermountain Health Care IncUNRESTRICTED
    $4,0002023 Clothing Children in Need IncGENERAL PURPOSE
    $4,0002023 SUMMIT LAND CONSERVANCYGENERAL PURPOSE
    $4,0002023 Weber State UniversityGENERAL PURPOSE
    $4,0002021 American Civil Liberties UnionUNRESTRICTED
    $4,0002021 SUMMIT LAND CONSERVANCYUNRESTRICTED
    $4,0002021 Weber State UniversityUNRESTRICTED
    $4,0002020 American Civil Liberties UnionUNRESTRICTED
    $4,0002020 Clothing Children in NeedUNRESTRICTED
    $3,5002020 SUMMIT LAND CONSERVANCYUNRESTRICTED
    $3,0002024 Association for Computing MachineryGENERAL PURPOSE
    $3,0002024 ThrockmortonGENERAL PURPOSE
    $3,0002023 Housatonic Community CollegeGENERAL PURPOSE
    $3,0002021 Housatonic Community CollegeUNRESTRICTED
    $3,0002020 Housatonic Community CollegeUNRESTRICTED
    $3,0002020 Weber State UniversityUNRESTRICTED
    $2,5002024 Grace Institute of New York IncGENERAL PURPOSE
    $2,5002023 Ulysses S Grant FoundationGENERAL PURPOSE
    $2,5002021 Warrior StoryfieldUNRESTRICTED
    $2,5002020 Warrior StoryfieldUNRESTRICTED

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. Parenthood, Planned. “About Us.” About Us | Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-utah/about-us.
    2. “Inadequate Defense.” Innocence Project, May 5, 2023. https://innocenceproject.org/inadequate-defense/.
    3. “Racial Justice.” American Civil Liberties Union, September 19, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice.
    4. IMDb. “Diane Mellen – Biography.” IMDb. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6775104/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm.
    5. Staff. “Obituary: Neil Mellen.” ParkRecord.com, January 12, 2024. https://www.parkrecord.com/news/obituaries/obituary-neil-mellen/.
    6. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
    7. “False Confessions.” Innocence Project, May 1, 2023. https://innocenceproject.org/false-confessions/.
    8.  “Immigrants’ Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, July 3, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights.
    9. “Reproductive Freedom.” American Civil Liberties Union, July 6, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/reproductive-freedom.
    10. “Human Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, February 16, 2022. https://www.aclu.org/issues/human-rights.
    11. [1] Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
    12. “About the ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.aclu.org/about-aclu.
    13. “Margaret H Sanger -.” Archives of Women’s Political Communication. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/margaret-h-sanger/#:~:text=Sanger’s%20experiences%20with%20slum%20mothers,could%20about%20birth%20control%20practices.
    14. “Home.” Southern Center for Human Rights. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.schr.org/mass-incarceration/alternatives-to-incarceration/.