Deliberately Few. Deliberately Clear.
Meridian takes a limited number of engagements, and publishes its terms plainly. Every engagement includes the Meridian Portal — the grants, governance, and document platform your foundation runs on — because the platform is how the work is delivered, not a product sold separately.
Fixed-Scope Introductions
The Foundation Health Audit
$4,500
flat · $7,500 for foundations above $10M or corporate programs
A three-week, fixed-scope review of how your foundation actually runs: governing documents, meeting and minutes hygiene, grant files and diligence trail, filing calendar, distribution-requirement tracking, and conflict exposure.
- Written findings memo
- A prioritized 90-day remediation roadmap
- One board-presentation session
Half the audit fee credits against your first quarter of any Meridian engagement signed within 90 days.
The Giving Blueprint
$2,500
flat
For first-generation philanthropists and donor-advised fund holders: mission articulation, an educational comparison of giving vehicles, a three-year giving plan, and a grantee-diligence framework.
- Two working sessions
- A written blueprint you can put in front of your family or advisors
The Family Philanthropy Session
$3,500
half-day · $6,500 full-day
A facilitated family meeting on values, next-generation involvement, and a written decision charter — often hosted with your wealth manager or estate counsel.
- Structured facilitation and pre-session interviews
- A written family giving charter
The Retainer Tiers
Month-to-month, with sixty days' notice. Your records are always yours. Annual prepayment earns a five percent courtesy.
Meridian Stewardship
$1,950/month
+ $3,500 onboarding
For donor-advised fund holders, emerging funders, and foundations approaching $1M — the essential operating discipline, professionally kept.
- Giving calendar and grant administration — up to 12 grants a year
- Grant letters, payment tracking, and grantee acknowledgments
- Annual meeting support: agenda, minutes, resolutions
- Filing calendar for the 990 series, coordinated with your CPA
- The Meridian Portal: document vault, grant tracker, board room
- Email access and a standing monthly call
Meridian Signature
$4,500/month
+ $7,500 onboarding
For family foundations from $1M to $10M — the full back office of a professionally staffed foundation, without hiring one.
- Full grant lifecycle in the portal — up to 40 grants a year
- Grantee intake, due-diligence coordination, board dockets, payments, reporting
- Quarterly board cycle prepared and staffed: dockets, minutes, resolutions, conflict register
- Policy suite maintained — conflicts, gift acceptance, records, grantmaking
- Distribution-requirement tracking and filing data-room prep for your CPA
- Annual impact report and quarterly dashboards
- Direct line, same-week response, quarterly strategy session
Meridian Institutional
$9,500/month
+ $15,000 onboarding
For foundations above $10M, corporate giving programs, and multi-entity families — a complete foundation office, led personally. Limited seats.
- Everything in Signature — up to 100 grants a year
- Bespoke program design and RFP administration
- Site-visit coordination and multi-entity consolidation
- Monthly governance cadence and next-generation board onboarding
- Multi-jurisdiction compliance calendar and audit-support data room
- Bespoke family and board reporting
- Priority line, monthly strategy session, board-meeting attendance
Published fees are effective as of July 7, 2026 and will be honored for at least 30 days from that date.
Every engagement begins with a written services agreement defining scope, cadence, and fees — no work starts before it is signed. Meridian provides philanthropic administration, governance operations, and strategy; it does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice, and refers that work to independent professionals with written disclosure.
Compare the Tiers
| Stewardship | Signature | Institutional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designed for | DAF holders, emerging funders, foundations under ~$1M | Family foundations ~$1M–$10M | $10M+ foundations, corporate programs, multi-entity families |
| Grants administered | Up to 12 / year | Up to 40 / year | Up to 100 / year |
| Governance cadence | Annual meeting, prepared | Quarterly board cycle, staffed | Monthly cadence, board attendance |
| Compliance calendar | 990-series & state filings, CPA-coordinated | + distribution tracking & filing data room | + multi-jurisdiction & audit support |
| Reporting | Annual giving summary | Annual impact report + quarterly dashboards | Bespoke family & board reporting |
| The Meridian Portal | Included | Included — full grants lifecycle | Included — multi-entity |
| Access | Email + monthly call | Direct line, same-week response | Priority line, monthly strategy session |
How an Engagement Begins
Private inquiry
Tell us about your foundation or giving program. Every inquiry is read by the principal and treated as confidential.
Consultation & fit
A conversation about where you are and what you need. No obligation — and if Meridian is not the right fit, we will say so and point you to who is.
Proposal & written terms
A plain-English proposal with defined scope, cadence, and fees — plus written disclosure of any referral relationships, so the terms are never ambiguous.
Thirty-day onboarding
Your portal goes live, the compliance calendar is built, the governance kit is assembled, and your grant files are brought current.
The operating cadence
Board cycles prepared, grants administered, filings tracked, and reporting delivered — quarter after quarter.