Lyerly Foundation
Lyerly Foundation is a private foundation based in Radford, Virginia. It makes grants to qualifying tax-exempt organizations operating in the United States; its 2025 filing lists grants to organizations in Virginia, North Carolina, and other states.
Lyerly Foundation at a glance
In short: Lyerly Foundation gave $503K across 35 grants in 2025 (avg $14K), mostly in Virginia. 14% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $502,899
- +81.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 35
- +16.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $14,369
- +55.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,057
- Total assets
- $3,748,086
- -6.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 14% first-time grantees (5 of 35, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Virginia (85% 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 Lyerly Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Applications should be submitted in letter format and include a description of the program for which funds are requested, the requesting organization’s IRS determination letter, and its most recent Form 990 and audit, if applicable. The filing names David Lyerly as the application contact. Awards are limited to qualifying tax-exempt organizations under IRC 501(c)(3) whose operations are in the United States.
- Contact
Application contact: David Lyerly
Mailing address: 605 Berkley St, Radford, VA 24141
Phone: (540) 731-1707
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Lyerly Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Virginia Tech Foundation Inc ($355K). Together the top 10 received $475K.
Grant Size Distribution
168 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 156 grants of 168 (93%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 85% of grant dollars went to recipients in Virginia and 10% to recipients in North Carolina. The remaining reported shares were 1% each for New York, Arkansas, and Kentucky.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 35 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Lyerly Foundation open to new grantees?
14%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 35 grantees (14%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $16K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $1K repeat.
- 69% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 57% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 221% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 $122K (2021) to $1.2M (2022). In 2025 it made 35 grants totaling $503K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech Foundation Inc Blacksburg, VA | Donation | $355,000 |
| UNC Arts and Sciences Foundtion Inc - Lyerly Student Fund Chapel Hill, NC | Donation | $50,000 |
| New River Community College Educational Foundation Inc Dublin, VA | Donation | $25,000 |
| Feeding America Southwest VA Salem, VA | Donation | $15,916 |
| Bobcat Backpack Program Radford, VA | Donation | $5,825 |
| Heifer International Little Rock, AR | Donation | $5,095 |
| Pasteur Institute - Clostpath New York, NY | Donation | $5,000 |
| Presbyterian Church USA Mission Agency Louisville, KY | Donation | $5,000 |
| Radford Fairlawn Daily Bread Radford, VA | Donation | $5,000 |
| Glencoe Museum Radford, VA | Donation | $3,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Lyerly 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 | $3,748,086 | $236,239 | $542,997 | $502,899 | 35 | $508,215 | $201,657 | $229,696 |
| 2024 | $4,021,066 | $233,159 | $321,952 | $277,750 | 30 | $285,466 | $195,651 | $224,167 |
| 2023 | $4,112,182 | $1,147,690 | $754,683 | $718,655 | 34 | $724,911 | $135,750 | $186,258 |
| 2022 | $3,706,384 | $3,077,050 | $1,196,331 | $1,172,200 | 33 | $1,177,863 | $66,497 | $121,556 |
| 2021 | $1,837,772 | $217,636 | $143,576 | $122,398 | 36 | $126,884 | $200,871 | $100,728 |
| 2020 | $1,763,255 | $64,527 | $156,333 | $137,300 | 33 | — | $47,878 | $88,670 |
| 2019 | $1,852,240 | $99,929 | $148,612 | $127,150 | 27 | — | $83,868 | $95,004 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Lyerly Foundation reported a distributable amount of $230K 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 is provided. Grants went to organizations whose own stated missions include advancing Virginia Tech’s priorities, providing free meals and holiday assistance to people and families in need, and addressing hunger, housing, child safety, and conservation. These are grantees’ missions, not stated priorities of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 35 grants totaling $502,899. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $355,000, with a median of $1,057. The largest grants included $355,000 to Virginia Tech Foundation Inc.; $50,000 to UNC Arts and Sciences Foundation Inc. – Lyerly Student Fund; $25,000 to New River Community College Educational Foundation Inc.; $15,916 to Feeding America Southwest VA; and $5,825 to Bobcat Backpack Program. The filing lists each of these grants’ purposes as “donation.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists David Lyerly as president and director, and Mary Denton Roberts as secretary/treasurer and director.
Lyerly Foundation is led by David Lyerly, President & Director on every filing since 2019; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
David Lyerly
President & Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mary Denton Roberts
Secretary, Treasurer & Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/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 Lyerly Foundation
How much does Lyerly Foundation give each year?
Lyerly Foundation gave $503K across 35 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $278K across 30 grants.
What is Lyerly Foundation's typical grant size?
Lyerly Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,057, and its average grant was $14,369, across 35 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Lyerly Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Lyerly Foundation give grants?
Lyerly Foundation gives mostly in Virginia: 85% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was North Carolina (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Radford, VA (10 grants), Roanoke, VA (3 grants), Blacksburg, VA (2 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).
Does Lyerly Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 35 grants with a stated purpose on Lyerly Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Donation" (35 grants).
Who are Lyerly Foundation's largest grantees?
Lyerly Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Virginia Tech Foundation Inc ($355,000), UNC Arts and Sciences Foundtion Inc - Lyerly Student Fund ($50,000) and New River Community College Educational Foundation Inc ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 86% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Lyerly Foundation?
Lyerly Foundation reported $3.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $508K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $230K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Lyerly Foundation fund?
No mission statement is provided. Grants went to organizations whose own stated missions include advancing Virginia Tech’s priorities, providing free meals and holiday assistance to people and families in need, and addressing hunger, housing, child safety, and conservation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Lyerly Foundation?
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Lyerly Foundation's EIN?
Lyerly Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-1930895. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
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 26, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Lyerly Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Lyerly Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Lyerly Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/lyerly-foundation-morg_381d6534630b43ae81607a6fb5f4f196
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_811930895_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Lyerly Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/lyerly-foundation-morg_381d6534630b43ae81607a6fb5f4f196},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Lyerly 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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