Lissy Family Foundation
Lissy Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Needham, Massachusetts. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with operating support listed as the purpose for the largest grants.
Lissy Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Lissy Family Foundation gave $492K across 31 grants in 2025 (avg $16K), mostly in Massachusetts. 52% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $492,379
- -39.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 31
- +14.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $15,883
- -47.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $515
- Total assets
- $3,105,966
- -12.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 52% first-time grantees (16 of 31, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (79% 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 Lissy Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 63 Birds Hill Avenue, Needham, MA 02492-4259
Phone: (617) 577-8020
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Lissy Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Alzheimer's Association ($200K). Together the top 10 received $484K.
Grant Size Distribution
150 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 130 grants of 150 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, Massachusetts recipients received 79% of grant dollars and North Carolina recipients received 19%. New York received 1%; Rhode Island and New Jersey each received 0% as reported.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 31 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Lissy Family Foundation open to new grantees?
52%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 16 of 31 grantees (52%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $31K. How we count
Medians: $264 first-time, $1K repeat.
- 32% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−8%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out well above 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 $313K (2020) to $940K (2023). In 2025 it made 31 grants totaling $492K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Alzheimer's Association Waltham, MA | For Operating Support | $200,000 |
| Combined Jewish Philanthropy Boston, MA | For Operating Support | $135,000 |
| Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | For Operating Support | $95,000 |
| Beaver Country Day School Chestnut Hill, MA | For Operating Support | $10,497 |
| Bright Horizons Foundation for Children Newton, MA | For Operating Support | $10,000 |
| Coalition for Healthy Democracy Foxboro, MA | For Operating Support | $10,000 |
| One Company Fund Waltham, MA | For Operating Support | $10,000 |
| The Immigrant Learning Center Malden, MA | For Operating Support | $6,113 |
| Ithaca University Ithaca, NY | For Operating Support | $5,000 |
| The Giving Back Fund Boston, MA | For Operating Support | $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 | $3,105,966 | $52,489 | $512,970 | $492,379 | 31 | $492,379 | $31,898 | $15,546 |
| 2024 | $3,566,447 | $348,086 | $834,641 | $811,816 | 27 | $811,816 | $43,893 | $16,675 |
| 2023 | $4,053,002 | $3,076,362 | $955,813 | $939,878 | 33 | $939,878 | — | $12,079 |
| 2022 | $1,932,453 | $173,014 | $556,450 | $535,297 | 27 | $535,297 | — | $8,698 |
| 2021 | $2,315,889 | $917,492 | $490,473 | $469,650 | 32 | $469,650 | — | $12,267 |
| 2020 | $1,905,486 | $1,291,135 | $333,684 | $313,300 | 29 | — | — | $10,416 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Lissy Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $16K 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 foundation mission is stated. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose own missions span different activities: Bright Horizons Foundation for Children says it supports children, youth, and families in crisis; The Immigrant Learning Center says it offers English-language instruction to foreign-born adults; and Golf Fights Cancer says it raises funds for cancer-related organizations and families affected by cancer.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 31 grants totaling $492,379. Grants ranged from $100 to $200,000, with a median of $515. The largest grants were $200,000 to Alzheimer’s Association, $135,000 to Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and $95,000 to Wake Forest University. Other reported grants included $10,000 to Bright Horizons Foundation for Children and $6,113 to The Immigrant Learning Center.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists David Lissy and Suzanne Lissy as trustees.
Lissy Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
David Lissy
Trustee
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Suzanne Lissy
Trustee
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Lissy Family Foundation
How much does Lissy Family Foundation give each year?
Lissy Family Foundation gave $492K across 31 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $812K across 27 grants.
What is Lissy Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Lissy Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $515, and its average grant was $15,883, across 31 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Lissy Family Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Lissy Family Foundation give grants?
Lissy Family Foundation gives mostly in Massachusetts: 79% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was North Carolina (19%). The most frequent recipient cities were Boston, MA (4 grants), New York, NY (3 grants), Waltham, MA (2 grants) and Foxboro, MA (2 grants).
Does Lissy Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Lissy Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (31 of 31) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Lissy Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Lissy Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Alzheimer's Association ($200,000), Combined Jewish Philanthropy ($135,000) and Wake Forest University ($95,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 87% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Lissy Family Foundation?
Lissy Family Foundation reported $3.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $492K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $16K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Lissy Family Foundation fund?
No foundation mission is stated. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Lissy Family Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Lissy Family Foundation's EIN?
Lissy Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-5181325. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Lissy Family Foundation 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
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 12, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 1, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 15, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 8, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Lissy Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/lissy-family-foundation-morg_e6b8f8a20778471e8254a1a51cdaefa6
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_465181325_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Lissy Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/lissy-family-foundation-morg_e6b8f8a20778471e8254a1a51cdaefa6},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Lissy 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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