Lesher Family Foundation logo

Lesher Family Foundation

Public charity · Grantmaker Rockport, ME EIN: 87-1858339 Website

Lff's mission is to empower people to take an active role in positively shaping where and how they live. The foundation supports the creation of dynamic, resilient communities by making grants and investments in four focus areas: arts and culture, early childhood development, affordable housing, and land stewardship and community revitalization. Through its grantmaking, the foundation promotes educational advancement, community engagement, access to the arts, environmental conservation, and the development of equitable, sustainable public resources. The foundation's grantmaking is focused in four primary areas:1. Arts & culture-increasing public access to the arts, defending freedom of expression, and supporting diverse and historically marginalized storytellers.2. Early childhood development-expanding access to high-quality, culturally aligned childcare and early education.3. Housing-promoting affordable housing and homeownership4. Land stewardship & community revitalization

Lesher Family Foundation at a glance

In short: Lesher Family Foundation reported $500 in grants paid in 2025 (a total; its filing lists no individual grants). Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

Grants paid (2025)
$500 — reported as a total on the IRS filing, without an itemized list
-99.9% vs 2024
Total assets
$41,808,645
+3.5% vs 2024
Revenue (2025)
$1,719,896
-65.0% vs 2024
Net investment income (2025)
$1,472,918
-67.6% vs 2024
Expenses (2025)
$1,701,928
-1.2% vs 2024
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.

Who Lesher Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

17 grants across all recorded years

4<$50K5$50–100K5$100–250K3$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was in the $50–100K range: 5 grants of 17 (29%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

6states

Cities

JeffersonRockportNew YorkMiddleburySavannahTulsaWashington DC

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$500K$1M$1.5M10 grants2022 4 grants2023 3 grants2024 Total only2025

From 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $500 (2025) to $1.1M (2022). In 2025 it reported $500 in grants paid, as a total without an itemized list.

Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Darrowby Farm Sanctuary Jefferson, MESupport Grant$400,000
Coastal Heritage Society Savannah, GAEducational Grant$100,000
Maine Media Workshops College Rockport, MESupport Grant$22,500
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsNet Investment Income
2025$41,808,645$1,719,896$1,701,928$500Total only$1,472,918
2024$40,401,365$4,915,797$1,721,744$522,5003$4,542,796
2023$38,288,823$-1,702,710$1,064,655$653,9004$-1,903,956
2022$36,199,064$40,708,160$1,252,150$1,122,32510$37,581

"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.

About Lesher Family Foundation

Based on IRS filings

Lesher Family Foundation is a public charity, based in Rockport, ME. IRS filing data is available from 2022 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $41.8M in total assets. In 2025, it reported $500 in grants paid as a total on its IRS filing, without an itemized list. Net investment income was $1.5M.

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Lesher Family Foundation is led by Dominic Pepper, Executive Director on every filing since 2024; 3 of 7 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Dominic Pepper

    Executive Director

    On filings since 2024

    40 hrs/week

    $186K (2024) → $289K (2025)

  • J. Griffin Lesher

    President

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Meredith K. Lesher

    Director

    Member → Director, 2025

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $15K (2025)

  • Rachel E. Lesher

    Director

    Member → Director, 2025

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $8K (2025)

  • Justin Lesher

    Treasurer

    Treasurer & Int Executive Director → Treasurer & Int Executive, 2023

    Treasurer & Int Executive → Treasurer, 2025

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    $37K (2022) → $0 (2025)

  • Nicholas Lesher

    Secretary

    Secretary → Secretary & Interim Director, 2023

    Secretary & Interim Director → Secretary, 2025

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    $18K (2024) → $0 (2025)

  • Linda Lesher

    Vice President

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2022–2025. "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

Dominic Pepper — Executive Director: $289KDominic PepperExecutive Director$289KMeredith K Lesher — Director: $15KMeredith K LesherDirector$15KRachel E Lesher — Director: $8KRachel E LesherDirector$8K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $289K, to Dominic Pepper (Executive Director). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Lesher Family Foundation

How much does Lesher Family Foundation give each year?

Lesher Family Foundation reported $500 in grants paid in 2025 on its 2025 IRS Form 990, as a total without an itemized list of grants. In 2024 it gave $523K across 3 grants.

How large is Lesher Family Foundation?

Lesher Family Foundation reported $41.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.7M.

Where does Lesher Family Foundation operate?

Lesher Family Foundation has awarded grants in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maine, New York, Oklahoma.

What is Lesher Family Foundation's EIN?

Lesher Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 87-1858339. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2022–2025.

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

Data update history

(5)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 14, 2024)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 15, 2025)
  4. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
  5. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2022–2024

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Lesher Family 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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