M J Surgala Tr
Erie, PA · EIN 11-6556638. Reported 199 grants totalling $2,895,261 to 87 recipients 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. M J Surgala Tr 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $4,250 and $20,000; the smallest was $250 and the largest $411,000. 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. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Educational Society | Erie, PA | $631,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Second Harvest Food Bank | Erie, PA | $130,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| United Way of Erie County | Erie, PA | $115,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie Zoological Society | Erie, PA | $114,540 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Experience Children's Museum | Erie, PA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie City Mission | Erie, PA | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie Homes for Children & Adults | Erie, PA | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mount St Benedict Monastery | Erie, PA | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Emmaus Ministries | Erie, PA | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mercy Center for Women | Erie, PA | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie Philharmonic Orchestra | Erie, PA | $66,900 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Inner City Neighborhood Art House | Erie, PA | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hamot Health Foundation | Erie, PA | $62,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Penn State Erie - the Behrend College | Erie, PA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| YMCA of Greater Erie | Erie, PA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Unitarian Universalist Church of Girard | Girard, PA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wqln | Erie, PA | $54,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Pauls Free Clinic | Erie, PA | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Flagship Niagara League | Erie, PA | $46,100 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Innocence Project | New York, NY | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie | Erie, PA | $45,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie Playhouse | Erie, PA | $44,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Erie Dawn | Erie, PA | $42,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Shelter Services | Erie, PA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Salvation Army | Erie, PA | $35,010 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bayfront Maritime Center | Erie, PA | $31,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Boca Raton Museum of Art | Boca Raton, FL | $29,850 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park | Erie, PA | $27,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hagen History Center | Erie, PA | $26,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Family Services of Nw Pa | Erie, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Safenet | Erie, PA | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Doctors Without Borders | Hagerstown, MD | $22,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Asbury Woods | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Erie | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Community Country Day School | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Erie Hunt and Saddle Club | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Erie Philharmonic | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Julia Hospice & Palliative Care | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Shriners Hospital for Children | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Joseph Health Foundation | Paterson, NJ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Upper Room | Erie, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Erie Inc | Erie, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Erie Cancer Wellness Center | Erie, PA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation | Boca Raton, FL | $11,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mercyhurst Institute of Arts & Culture | Erie, PA | $10,761 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Benedictine Sisters of Erie | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Children's Advocacy Center | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Crime Victim Center | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Erie Art Museum | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Erie Arts and Culture | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Greater Erie Community Action Committee (gecac) | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Sarah a Reed Children's Center | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sarah Reed Children's Center | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Sight Center of Nwpa | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Stairways Behavioral Health | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The Sight Center of Northwest Ohio | Toledo, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Upper Room of Erie | Erie, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Dr Gertrude Barber Foundation | Erie, PA | $6,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Erie Arts & Culture | Erie, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Erie Downtown Partnership | Erie, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fairview School Foundation | Fairview, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| George Snow Scholarship Fund | Boca Raton, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| House of Mercy Erie | Erie, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Meals on Wheels Erie | Erie, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mercy Ships | Lindale, TX | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Martin Center | Erie, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Achievement Center of Lecom Health | Erie, PA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Cancer Society | Erie, PA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| American Heart Association | Dallas, TX | $4,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Lung Association | Tallahassee, FL | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| St Mary's Home of Erie | Erie, PA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre | Erie, PA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Red Cross | Fort Lauderdale, FL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| First Unitarian Universalist Church of Girard | Girard, PA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Erie, PA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Harborcreek Youth Services | Harborcreek, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement | Erie, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Meals on Wheels | Erie, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Raymond F Kravis Center for the Performing Arts | West Palm Beach, FL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Stand Up to Cancer | Los Angeles, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Erie Yacht Club Foundation | Erie, PA | $1,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lake Erie Ballet Company | Erie, PA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cathedral of St Paul | Erie, PA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ceasefire Pa Education Fund | Philadelphia, PA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Harvard Divinity School | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Presque Isle Light House | Erie, PA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Lucy Catholic Church | Highland Beach, FL | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
55 of 87 (63%) 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 80%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 89 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | $625,160 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 58 | $728,540 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 35 | $712,711 | $5,600 |
| 2024 | 51 | $828,850 | $10,000 |
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
94% of its giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Pennsylvania.
- 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 M J Surgala Tr's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 5966 Wyndemere Drive, Erie, PA, 16505. 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 11-6556638 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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