What Meridian does, and what it does not.
Five services for people and organizations that do good: those who give, and those who do the work. Each is delivered by an attorney-led team, runs on the Meridian Portal, and stops precisely where legal, tax, and investment advice begin. That work goes to the right professionals, in writing, every time.
Foundation Administration
The back office of a professionally staffed foundation, without hiring one.
- Grants administered end to end: intake, diligence coordination, board approval, payment, acknowledgment, and a complete file
- Compliance calendar kept: Form 990-PF, extensions, excise estimates, state filings
- Distribution requirement tracked all year, not calculated in April
- Filing data room delivered to your CPA assembled, not excavated
- Records management and retention
Governance and Compliance Operations
The record a foundation is supposed to have, kept as a matter of course.
- Board cycles prepared and staffed: dockets five business days ahead, minutes and resolutions five business days after
- Policy suite maintained: conflicts, gift acceptance, records, grantmaking
- Conflict register and annual attestations
- Audit readiness and remediation roadmaps
- Board training and next-generation onboarding
Giving Strategy
A written plan the whole family can point to, before anyone drafts anything.
- Mission articulation and focus areas
- Vehicle comparison at educational altitude: foundation, donor-advised fund, direct giving, or a mix
- Grantmaking framework: criteria, cadence, diligence
- Measurement and reporting a board can read
- Family philanthropy sessions and next-generation involvement
Starting a Foundation
From intention to determination letter to first grant, under one agreement.
One engagement, one agreement, one team. Meridian coordinates the whole path: the Giving Blueprint, formation of the entity, the Form 1023 application (most funded foundations do not qualify for the shorter EZ form), state charitable registration where required, and the Launch Concierge that puts your portal, governance kit, compliance calendar, and first board docket in place. The steps that require a lawyer are performed by Clemenza Law Group, our affiliated law firm, inside the same agreement you sign with Meridian: nothing separate to sign, one point of contact, one invoice. Formation outside New York is performed only through locally admitted counsel, coordinated by the Firm and billed at cost. The agreement says plainly which parts are legal services, and you may use your own counsel for those steps if you prefer.
- The Giving Blueprint
- Entity formation, bylaws, and policies
- Form 1023 and state charitable registration where required
- Launch Concierge: portal live, governance kit installed, calendar built, first docket prepared
- Honest timing: the IRS controls exemption processing; everything else is ready the day the letter arrives
Nonprofit Advisory
Board, governance, and planning support for established organizations, including public charities.
Not every organization we work with makes grants. Established nonprofits engage Meridian for the same operating discipline we bring to foundations: a board that runs on a docket and a record, policies that are current, a compliance calendar that is kept, and a strategic plan that fits the budget.
- Board and governance operations: dockets, minutes, resolutions, committee charters
- Policy review and annual attestations
- Compliance calendar for the 990 series and state registrations, coordinated with your CPA
- Strategic planning and board retreats
- Executive transition and succession support
- Grant readiness and funder reporting discipline
The Meridian Portal
Every engagement runs on the Meridian Portal: grants pipeline, document vault, board room, compliance calendar, and governance record in one place, visible to your board at any hour. It is how the work is delivered, not a product you buy.
See the portal →