Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation
The Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation is a private foundation based in Memphis, Tennessee. In filing year 2025, it gave $70,000 through 17 grants to organizations in Tennessee and other states.
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation at a glance
In short: Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation gave $70K across 17 grants in 2025 (avg $4K), mostly in Tennessee. 47% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $70,000
- +14.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 17
- +54.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $4,118
- -26.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,500
- Total assets
- $830,736
- +6.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 47% first-time grantees (8 of 17, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (51% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The filing lists Bernard Lapides as the contact and requests a letter stating the purpose.
- Contact
Application contact: Bernard Lapides
Mailing address: 710 South Street, Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: (901) 681-2349
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Woman's Exchange of Memphis ($16K). Together the top 10 received $63K.
Grant Size Distribution
73 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 73 grants of 73 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 51% of grant dollars went to recipients in Tennessee, 33% to New York, 11% to Mississippi, 4% to South Carolina, and 1% to Utah.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 17 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation open to new grantees?
47%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 17 grantees (47%) were first-time recipients. With only 17 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $3K repeat.
- 29% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 114% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 125% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $33K (2022) to $76K (2020). In 2025 it made 17 grants totaling $70K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Woman's Exchange of Memphis Memphis, TN | General Charitable Purpose | $16,364 |
| American Federation of the Arts New York, NY | GIFT | $15,500 |
| Real Good Dog Resuce Memphis, TN | General Charitable Purpose | $10,000 |
| Mississippi Museum of Art Jackson, MS | Support | $5,000 |
| Temple Israel Memphis, TN | General Charitable Purpose | $3,236 |
| Baron Hirsch Congregation Memphis, TN | Gift-Cathy L Weil | $2,900 |
| Aperture Foundation New York, NY | Gift-Mary Lapides | $2,500 |
| College of Charleston Foundation Charleston, SC | Gift-Mary Lapides | $2,500 |
| American Friends of Israel Museum New York, NY | Gift-Mary Lapides | $2,500 |
| Mifa Memphis, TN | General Charitable Purpose | $2,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $830,736 | $144,298 | $97,017 | $70,000 | 17 | $75,742 | $129,623 | $60,824 |
| 2024 | $783,446 | $120,471 | $86,238 | $61,360 | 11 | $66,912 | $107,511 | $58,623 |
| 2023 | $749,635 | $73,419 | $75,694 | $53,015 | 16 | $58,218 | $67,130 | $53,834 |
| 2022 | $752,382 | $55,427 | $56,762 | $32,710 | 10 | $38,000 | $48,581 | $54,402 |
| 2021 | $753,737 | $82,508 | $83,148 | $58,219 | 19 | $63,829 | $75,999 | $59,901 |
| 2020 | $754,537 | $47,934 | $98,772 | $76,419 | 12 | — | $41,191 | $53,741 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation reported a distributable amount of $61K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees included organizations working in areas such as arts and culture, education, assistance for people who are indigent or handicapped, and animal welfare. For example, Woman’s Exchange of Memphis describes its mission as helping indigent and handicapped individuals produce and sell gifts and crafts; Mississippi Museum of Art describes its mission as developing cultural and artistic enlightenment; and Best Friends Animal Society says it works to save dogs and cats in shelters and make the country no-kill.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation made 17 grants totaling $70,000. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $16,364, with a median grant of $2,500. Notable grants included $16,364 to Woman’s Exchange of Memphis, $15,500 to American Federation of the Arts, $10,000 to Real Good Dog Rescue, and $5,000 to Mississippi Museum of Art.
The filing states that the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It lists no award restrictions and no deadline.
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's only listed officer is First Horizon Bank, Trustee on every filing since 2020 (compensated).
Officers on the 2025 filing
First Horizon Bank
Trustee
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
$10K (2020) → $11K (2025)
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $11K, to First Horizon Bank (Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation
How much does Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation give each year?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation gave $70K across 17 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $61K across 11 grants.
What is Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's typical grant size?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $4,118, across 17 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation that year got $1K on average.
Where does Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation give grants?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation gives mostly in Tennessee: 51% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were New York (33%) and Mississippi (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Memphis, TN (5 grants) and New York, NY (5 grants).
Does Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 29% of Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (5 of 17) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Gift-Mary Lapides" (7 grants) and "Gift-Cathy L Weil" (3 grants).
Who are Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's largest grantees?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Woman's Exchange of Memphis ($16,364), American Federation of the Arts ($15,500) and Real Good Dog Resuce ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 60% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation reported $831K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $76K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $61K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees included organizations working in areas such as arts and culture, education, assistance for people who are indigent or handicapped, and animal welfare. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation?
The filing lists Bernard Lapides as the contact and requests a letter stating the purpose. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's EIN?
Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 58-1556976. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 5, 2023)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 21, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/bernard-and-shirley-lapides-foundation-morg_1415a548ee9946b08fe23ef9846c6e18
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_581556976_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/bernard-and-shirley-lapides-foundation-morg_1415a548ee9946b08fe23ef9846c6e18},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Bernard and Shirley Lapides Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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