Entrepreneur and Innovation Leader Shelton Mercer III Launches MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund, Investing $250,000 to Drive Transformational Outcomes Across Philadelphia

Award-winning entrepreneur, humanitarian, and Philadelphia native Shelton Mercer III today announced the launch of the MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund, with an initial $250,000 investment through the Mercer Family Trust designed to accelerate innovation, strengthen community impact, and create measurable outcomes across Philadelphia and beyond. Launched in celebration of America's 250th Anniversary and Philadelphia's role as a host city for FIFA World Cup 2026™, the initiative reflects Mercer's lifelong commitment to transforming moments of opportunity into lasting outcomes.

The MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund will be grown and distributed over the next five years, initially supporting six Philadelphia-based organizations whose work is advancing the social, cultural, and economic vitality that helps make Philadelphia a world-class city.

Building on this initial investment, Mercer aims to grow the MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund into a $25 million catalyst for transformational outcomes by 2030, supporting innovative organizations and transformational leaders across Philadelphia and communities nationwide.

The 2026 MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund recipients are:

• Sharing Excess
• The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
• City Year Philadelphia 
• African American Chamber of Commerce
• Please Touch Museum 
• Global Philadelphia Association

"Throughout my career, whether building companies, launching innovation districts, advising global organizations, or leading humanitarian initiatives, I've been driven by a key aspiration: How do we produce transformational outcomes? Philadelphia is where that mindset began,” said Shelton Mercer III, founder and Chairman of Mercer Innovation Group and Managing Trustee of Mercer Family Trust. “This city taught me the value of resilience, collaboration, and possibility. As Philadelphia welcomes the world during America's 250th anniversary and the World Cup, I believe we have an opportunity to do more than host major events. We can use this moment as a catalyst for innovation and invest in the people and organizations creating and envisioning meaningful outcomes that will strengthen our city for generations."

For Mercer, innovation has never been limited to technology or business growth. It is a framework for solving complex challenges, creating opportunities, and generating measurable outcomes that improve people's lives.

"Shelton understands that meaningful impact happens when innovation is paired with action," said Evan Ehlers, founder and CEO of Sharing Excess. "At Sharing Excess, we're focused on solving food insecurity by redirecting surplus food to the people who need it most. Shelton's investment reflects a belief we share, that transformational outcomes are possible when leaders come together to tackle big challenges and create lasting solutions for Philadelphia."

"Shelton's investment reflects a powerful belief that meaningful change happens when leaders invest in people and communities," said Regina A. Hairston, President and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. "We're honored to be part of the MERCER 250 initiative and excited about the opportunities it will create across Philadelphia."

“We are deeply grateful to Shelton Mercer and his family for their generous support of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism," said Jim Friedlich, Executive Director and CEO of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. "The Lenfest Institute mission is to leverage technology, innovation, and creative capital to support local journalism in the public interest. No one embodies these values better than my entrepreneurial, inventive, and deeply civic-minded friend Shelton Mercer. He has inspired us to live and to act with great purpose. As founder of The Mercer Innovation Group and architect of the MiOS™ (Mercer Innovation Outcomes System), Mercer has spent decades helping organizations transform ideas into action and vision into results. Through the MERCER 250 Outcomes & Innovation Fund, he is applying that same outcomes-focused approach to philanthropy by supporting organizations whose work is strengthening Philadelphia's future through education, civic engagement, culture, food security, and community development."

About Shelton Mercer III

Shelton Mercer III, Next-Level CEO — Chief Executive of Outcomes is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, humanitarian, and investor who has founded or co-founded more than 10 companies. He is the co-founder of Audigent, a leading AI and blockchain-powered advertising technology company acquired by Experian in 2024, and founder and chairman of The Mercer Innovation Group. Through his MiOS™ (Mercer Innovation Outcomes System), Mercer has launched multiple innovation districts and hubs with Ivy League and Tier 1 universities advised Fortune 100 companies and global organizations, including Disney, Amazon, GE, Microsoft, and Comcast NBCUniversal, to drive innovation and measurable growth.

A renowned humanitarian, Mercer has mobilized millions of volunteers and raised hundreds of millions of dollars supporting disaster relief, poverty alleviation, food security, housing initiatives, and clean water access around the world. His leadership and impact have been recognized by organizations including Inc. 5000, Deloitte Fast 500, Fast Company, Wired, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the United Nations Foundation. For more information on Shelton Mercer III, visit sheltonmercer.com or follow Mercer on LinkedIn, Instagram, or X. 

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