Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Its 2025 filing lists grants to charitable organizations in North Carolina, with grant purposes reported as general support.
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc gave $568K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $41K), mostly in North Carolina. 14% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $568,000
- +10.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +16.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $40,571
- -5.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $35,000
- Total assets
- $12,864,387
- +11.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 14% first-time grantees (2 of 14, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (100% 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 Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 23 Shore Drive, Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480
Phone: (910) 617-3722
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Saint Paul's Episcopal Church ($108K). Together the top 10 received $498K.
Grant Size Distribution
67 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 43 grants of 67 (64%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in North Carolina. Listed recipients include organizations in Wilmington and other North Carolina communities.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc open to new grantees?
14%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 14 grantees (14%) were first-time recipients. With only 14 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $25K; repeat grants $43K. How we count
Medians: $25K first-time, $43K repeat.
- 71% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+10%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 96% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $494K (2019) to $568K (2025). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $568K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Wilmington, NC | General Support | $108,000 |
| Families First Inc Whiteville, NC | General Support | $60,000 |
| Brigade Boys & Girls Club Inc Wilmington, NC | General Support | $60,000 |
| Good Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington Inc Wilmington, NC | General Support | $50,000 |
| Saint Mary's School Raleigh, NC | General Support | $50,000 |
| Salvation Army Wilmington, NC | General Support | $50,000 |
| Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Inc Wilmington, NC | General Support | $35,000 |
| National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of NC Wilmington, NC | General Support | $35,000 |
| American Red Cross of Eastern NC Greenville, NC | General Support | $25,000 |
| Ministering Circle of Wilmington NC Wilmington, NC | General Support | $25,000 |
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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 | $12,864,387 | $571,085 | $643,811 | $568,000 | 14 | $568,000 | $496,116 | $594,762 |
| 2024 | $11,572,204 | $347,846 | $601,355 | $516,000 | 12 | $516,000 | $276,388 | $567,873 |
| 2023 | $11,052,746 | $559,521 | $589,943 | $520,000 | 14 | $520,000 | $492,929 | $512,951 |
| 2022 | $10,012,143 | $301,116 | $602,550 | $515,000 | 14 | $515,000 | $230,374 | $532,358 |
| 2021 | $9,335,003 | $1,483,892 | $574,158 | $502,078 | 13 | $502,078 | $1,416,374 | $573,745 |
| 2020 | $8,425,269 | $259,163 | $554,985 | $498,304 | 14 | — | $206,776 | $521,624 |
| 2019 | $8,721,091 | $298,187 | $568,563 | $494,262 | 14 | — | $242,158 | $469,235 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $595K 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 grants include organizations whose stated missions span youth development, services addressing domestic and sexual violence, education, community health and wellness, social services, religion, and history. For example, Brigade Boys & Girls Club says it works to help young people realize their potential, while Families First says it addresses domestic violence and sexual assault. Saint Mary’s School describes itself as an independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 9–12. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own missions, not stated priorities of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $568,000 through 14 grants. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $108,000, with a median of $35,000. Among the largest reported grants were $108,000 to Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, $60,000 each to Families First and Brigade Boys & Girls Club, $50,000 each to Good Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington, Saint Mary’s School, and the Salvation Army, and $35,000 each to Lower Cape Fear Historical Society and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of NC. All listed 2025 grant purposes were general support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Alexander B Koonce, Martha H Clark, and John C Wessell III as directors.
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Alexander B. Koonce
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John C. Wessell III
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Martha H. Clark
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc
How much does Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc give each year?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc gave $568K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $516K across 12 grants.
What is Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $35,000, and its average grant was $40,571, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc that year got $25K on average.
Where does Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc give grants?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc gives mostly in North Carolina: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Wilmington, NC (8 grants).
Does Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (14 of 14) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Saint Paul's Episcopal Church ($108,000), Families First Inc ($60,000) and Brigade Boys & Girls Club Inc ($60,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 40% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc reported $12.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $568K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $595K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include organizations whose stated missions span youth development, services addressing domestic and sexual violence, education, community health and wellness, social services, religion, and history. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's EIN?
Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-0709589. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 8, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/isabel-james-lehto-foundation-inc-morg_918bcf0653084729ab42f1b0e02fc263
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_260709589_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/isabel-james-lehto-foundation-inc-morg_918bcf0653084729ab42f1b0e02fc263},
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 Isabel James Lehto Foundation Inc'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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