Not to be confused with the Mercer Family Foundation, the private foundation of the family of Renaissance Technologies investor Robert Mercer.

The Mercer Family Foundation of Oregon is a small foundation that awards scholarships of up to $7,500 to students planning to major in math and science and attend seven universities in Oregon. In the 2020-21 school year, the foundation awarded 11 scholarships.¹

This foundation should not be confused with the Mercer Family Foundation headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, which was founded by hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and is now headed by his daughter, Rebekah Mercer.  The Florida-based Mercer Family Foundation does not have a website.

Programs

The Mercer Family Foundation of Oregon’s single charitable program is providing scholarships to junior- and senior-year students majoring in math or science who attend the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Eastern Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, or Western Oregon University.² In the 2020-21 school year, the foundation awarded 11 scholarships.³

Financials

In its 2018 tax returns, the Mercer Family Foundation of Oregon reported making $29,500 in grants to its scholarship recipients and spending $1,698 on other expenses.⁴

1. “Recipients,” Mercer Family Foundation website, https://www.mercerff.org/recipients (accessed February 26, 2021).
2. “About the Foundation.” mercerff.org. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://www.mercerff.org/.
3. “Recipients,” Mercer Family Foundation website, https://www.mercerff.org/recipients (accessed February 26, 2021).
4. Mercer Family Foundation (Oregon), Return of a Private Foundation, 2018, Part I Lines 24 and 25. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/465733896/08_2019_prefixes_46-46%2F465733896_201812_990PF_2019083016610139