Lowen Family Foundation
The Lowen Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Bellevue, Washington. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with most grant dollars going to recipients in Washington state.
Lowen Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Lowen Family Foundation gave $124K across 34 grants in 2025 (avg $4K), mostly in Washington. 9% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $123,810
- +6.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 34
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,641
- +6.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,000
- Total assets
- $1,925,580
- +14.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 9% first-time grantees (3 of 34, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Washington (82% 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 Lowen 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: 500 106Th Ave Ne 3215, Bellevue, WA 98004-8691
Phone: (206) 270-9088
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Lowen Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Seattle Jewish Federation ($28K). Together the top 10 received $85K.
Grant Size Distribution
181 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 181 grants of 181 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 82% of grant dollars went to recipients in Washington, 10% to New York, 5% to California, 2% to Washington, DC, and 1% to Virginia.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 34 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Lowen Family Foundation open to new grantees?
9%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 3 of 34 grantees (9%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $3K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $2K repeat.
- 91% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−6%). 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 $110K (2019) to $132K (2022). In 2025 it made 34 grants totaling $124K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Jewish Federation Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $27,500 |
| Jewish Family Service Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $16,000 |
| Temple Beth Am Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $10,230 |
| Hebrew Free Loan Assoc of Wa State Mercer Island, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $5,176 |
| ACLU Foundation of Washington Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $5,000 |
| Holocaust Center for Humanity Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $5,000 |
| Arts Fund Seattle, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $5,000 |
| URJ Camp Kalsman Bellevue, WA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $4,000 |
| Nepal Youth Foundation Sausalito, CA | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $3,800 |
| International Rescue Committee New York, NY | To Provide Support to Exempt Organization | $3,500 |
Ready to take the next step with Lowen Family Foundation?
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 | $1,925,580 | $289,016 | $130,649 | $123,810 | 34 | $129,026 | $287,693 | $134,317 |
| 2024 | $1,689,417 | $68,995 | $119,696 | $116,200 | 34 | $118,025 | $67,839 | $129,373 |
| 2023 | $1,751,165 | $113,145 | $132,693 | $129,806 | 38 | $131,552 | $112,004 | $118,410 |
| 2022 | $1,756,980 | $49,050 | $136,573 | $131,600 | 37 | $132,748 | $47,770 | $122,989 |
| 2021 | $1,871,435 | $241,816 | $136,087 | $127,061 | 38 | $127,881 | $233,610 | $133,912 |
| 2020 | $1,775,891 | $51,276 | $115,487 | $112,925 | 38 | — | $50,192 | $126,638 |
| 2019 | $1,840,102 | $110,437 | $116,405 | $110,030 | 35 | — | $106,419 | $113,561 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Lowen Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $134K 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 included Jewish community and religious organizations, human services, Holocaust education, civil liberties, arts, food assistance, and humanitarian organizations.
Grantees describe their own work in varied terms. Jewish Family Service says it supports Jewish individuals and families, refugees and immigrants, and the broader community in the Puget Sound region through services including food security, financial assistance, refugee support, and elder care. The Holocaust Center for Humanity says it teaches the lessons of the Holocaust and encourages students to confront bigotry and promote human dignity. The Nepal Youth Foundation describes its work as providing impoverished Nepali children with freedom, health, shelter, and education. The International Rescue Committee says it responds to humanitarian crises and helps people affected by conflict and disaster. Other 2025 recipients include FareStart, which describes its work as combining food, life skills, and job training, and Friends Without a Border, which says it provides medical care to children in Southeast Asia and supports health education and local health-care training.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 34 grants totaling $123,810. Grants ranged from $54 to $27,500, with a median of $2,000. Among the largest awards were $27,500 to Seattle Jewish Federation, $16,000 to Jewish Family Service, $10,230 to Temple Beth Am, $5,176 to Hebrew Free Loan Association of Washington State, and $5,000 each to ACLU Foundation of Washington, Holocaust Center for Humanity, and ArtsFund.
Other 2025 grants included $4,000 to URJ Camp Kalsman, $3,800 to Nepal Youth Foundation, $3,500 to the International Rescue Committee, and $3,000 each to Northwest Harvest and Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center. The stated purpose for the listed grants was “to provide support to exempt organization.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Howard Lowen as president, Cathy Lowen as secretary, and David Lowen as treasurer.
Lowen Family Foundation is led by Howard Lowen, President since 2024 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Howard Lowen
President
President & Treasurer → President, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Cathy Lowen
Secretary
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Lowen
Treasurer
Board Member → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2023
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 Lowen Family Foundation
How much does Lowen Family Foundation give each year?
Lowen Family Foundation gave $124K across 34 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $116K across 34 grants.
What is Lowen Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Lowen Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,000, and its average grant was $3,641, across 34 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Lowen Family Foundation that year got $10K on average.
Where does Lowen Family Foundation give grants?
Lowen Family Foundation gives mostly in Washington: 82% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were New York (10%) and California (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were Seattle, WA (18 grants), New York, NY (8 grants) and Mercer Island, WA (2 grants).
Who are Lowen Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Lowen Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Seattle Jewish Federation ($27,500), Jewish Family Service ($16,000) and Temple Beth Am ($10,230), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 43% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Lowen Family Foundation?
Lowen Family Foundation reported $1.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $129K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $134K (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 Lowen Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included Jewish community and religious organizations, human services, Holocaust education, civil liberties, arts, food assistance, and humanitarian organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Lowen 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 Lowen Family Foundation's EIN?
Lowen Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 91-1987399. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Lowen 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
(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 May 5, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Lowen Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Lowen Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Lowen Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/lowen-family-foundation-morg_1614325f99ea4212b21bd9f629502c8b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_911987399_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Lowen Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/lowen-family-foundation-morg_1614325f99ea4212b21bd9f629502c8b},
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 Lowen 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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