Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc
The Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Madison, Connecticut. Founded in 1941 in New York, it supports projects nationwide in education, health, and the environment, with particular interest in innovation and bringing good ideas to scale.
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc gave $8.0M across 103 grants in 2025 (avg $77K), top state District of Columbia. 42% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $7,960,000
- +22.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 103
- +19.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $77,282
- +2.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $218,451,414
- +9.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 42% first-time grantees (43 of 103, 2025)
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (23% 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 Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for support and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 71 Bradley Rd Ste 4-E, Madison, CT 06443
Phone: (212) 319-0670
Website: https://lowensteinfdn.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Johns Hopkins University ($700K). Together the top 10 received $3.5M.
Grant Size Distribution
468 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 315 grants of 468 (67%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation says it funds projects nationwide. In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars by recipient state went to Washington, DC (23%), Maryland (15%), New York (14%), Massachusetts (10%), and California (10%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 103 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc open to new grantees?
42%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 43 of 103 grantees (42%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $79K; repeat grants $76K. How we count
Medians: $30K first-time, $25K repeat.
- 50% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+7%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 92% 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 $6.1M (2021) to $8.0M (2025). In 2025 it made 103 grants totaling $8.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD | Charitable | $700,000 |
| National Association of Community Health Centers Bethesda, MD | Charitable | $500,000 |
| Mobile Health Care Association St. Louis, MO | Charitable | $450,000 |
| CitySchools Collaborative Washington, DC | Charitable | $300,000 |
| The Family Van - A Program of Harvard Medical School Boston, MA | Charitable | $300,000 |
| Amalgamated Foundation Washington, DC | Charitable | $250,000 |
| ClimateHaven Inc New Haven, CT | Charitable | $250,000 |
| Coalition for Green Capital Washington, DC | Charitable | $250,000 |
| Groundswell Washington, DC | Charitable | $250,000 |
| Invest in Our Future New York, NY | Charitable | $250,000 |
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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 | $218,451,414 | $9,340,593 | $10,111,614 | $7,960,000 | 103 | $9,178,996 | $9,114,447 | $10,017,736 |
| 2024 | $199,549,793 | $8,539,701 | $7,979,800 | $6,495,000 | 86 | $7,771,620 | $8,431,663 | $9,182,535 |
| 2023 | $173,213,876 | $14,054,446 | $7,959,869 | $6,920,000 | 86 | $7,914,166 | $13,936,685 | $7,734,549 |
| 2022 | $150,123,060 | $8,170,944 | $7,832,263 | $7,464,500 | 101 | $8,883,143 | $8,051,825 | $7,922,914 |
| 2021 | $192,905,578 | $9,663,976 | $7,772,873 | $6,132,500 | 92 | $6,696,409 | $9,563,474 | $8,837,357 |
| 2020 | $159,799,218 | $2,022,616 | $7,084,763 | $6,392,000 | 87 | — | $3,504,002 | $6,749,078 |
| 2019 | $142,562,866 | $4,028,882 | $6,695,413 | $6,188,440 | 78 | — | $3,902,264 | $6,644,700 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $10.0M 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
The foundation’s program areas are:
- Health: Expanding access to essential healthcare services through mobile health delivery, with an emphasis on equity and quality.
- Education: Increasing the number of people in student-success roles, including through high-impact tutoring and mentoring.
- Environment: Broadening the use of and access to clean energy, including in historically underserved communities.
Its 2025 grantees illustrate the range of organizations it supports. CitySchools Collaborative describes its work as catalyzing high-impact tutoring and strategic talent models to improve student well-being and academic performance. Learn To Be Foundation says it provides free one-to-one online tutors to students from under-resourced communities. ClimateHaven describes itself as a climate-tech incubator, while Groundswell says it develops equitable community-solar projects that deliver energy savings to low-income households.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 103 grants totaling $7,960,000. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $700,000, with a median of $25,000.
Among the largest reported grants were $700,000 to Johns Hopkins University, $500,000 to the National Association of Community Health Centers, and $450,000 to Mobile Health Care Association. Other notable grants included $300,000 to CitySchools Collaborative and $300,000 to The Family Van, a program of Harvard Medical School; $250,000 each to ClimateHaven, Coalition for Green Capital, Groundswell, and Invest in Our Future; and $225,000 each to Essential Hospitals Institute and Learn To Be Foundation.
The foundation’s website describes support for the Partnership for Student Success and its Community Collaboration Challenge, which distributes minigrants to support collaboration around services for students. It also describes support for Driving Health Forward, a nationwide campaign focused on scaling mobile healthcare.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation’s website identifies Andrew Bendheim as its president and Stewart Hudson as its executive director.
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc is led by Andrew Bendheim, President since 2023 (on filings since 2019); all 8 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Andrew Bendheim
President
Chair → President, 2023
On filings since 2019
20 hrs/week
$22K (2019) → $40K (2025)
Stewart Hudson
Executive Director
On filings since 2019
35 hrs/week
$220K (2019) → $322K (2025)
Tom Bendheim
Chair of Investment Committee
Director → Treasurer, 2023
Treasurer → Chair of Investment Committee, 2025
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
$10K (2019) → $25K (2025)
Joanna Schulman
Director
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
$14K (2019) → $25K (2025)
Anisa Kamadoli Costa
Director
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$17K (2021) → $50K (2025)
John Bendheim Jr.
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
$10K (2019) → $25K (2025)
Kim Bendheim
Vice President
Vice Chair → Vice President, 2023
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
$15K (2019) → $30K (2025)
Edward Estrada
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2023
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$17K (2021) → $50K (2025)
Former officers (5)
- Former: Elaine Wang (2023–2024) — Officer & Program Manager
- Former: Thomas Bendheim (2024) — Treasurer
- Former: Danielle Chaloux (2022–2023) — Program Assistant
- Former: Thomas Wright (2019–2022) — Secretary
- Former: Lynn Thoman (2019) — Director
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $322K, to Stewart Hudson (Executive Director). 8 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc
How much does Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc give each year?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc gave $8.0M across 103 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $6.5M across 86 grants.
What is Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $77,282, across 103 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc that year got $79K on average.
Where does Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc give grants?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's top state is District of Columbia, with 23% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Maryland (15%) and New York (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (17 grants), Washington, DC (11 grants), Boston, MA (9 grants) and Providence, RI (7 grants).
Does Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 103 grants with a stated purpose on Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (103 grants).
Who are Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Johns Hopkins University ($700,000), National Association of Community Health Centers ($500,000) and Mobile Health Care Association ($450,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 21% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc reported $218.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $9.2M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $10.0M (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 Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc fund?
The foundation’s program areas are: See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for support and 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 Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's EIN?
Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-6015951. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Leon Lowenstein 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 22, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 17, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/leon-lowenstein-foundation-inc-morg_a50f616175c242b890c9b8c4448acc6f
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_136015951_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Leon Lowenstein Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/leon-lowenstein-foundation-inc-morg_a50f616175c242b890c9b8c4448acc6f},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. 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 Leon Lowenstein 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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