Lyra
Lyra is a Denver, Colorado-based public charity formed in 2019. It incubates and accelerates education initiatives, working with education communities to address challenges facing students and educators.
Lyra at a glance
In short: Lyra gave $268K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $19K), mostly in Colorado. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $267,750
- -29.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +133.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $19,125
- -69.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $1,106,138
- -45.0% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Colorado (94% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Lyra
- Contact
Mailing address: 1390 Lawrence St Suite 400, Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (720) 937-7783
Website: https://lyracolorado.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Lyra funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative ($40K). Together the top 10 received $239K.
Grant Size Distribution
30 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 26 grants of 30 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Lyra says it is based in Denver and works in Colorado’s rural and urban communities. In its 2025 grants, 94% of grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado and 6% to recipients in Iowa.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
Cities
How Lyra gives
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (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 $25K (2023) to $875K (2020). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $268K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative Durango, CO | GROWN | $40,000 |
| Yampa Valley Partnership for Students Stewardship & Sustainabil Craig, CO | GROWN | $40,000 |
| Colorado Succeeds Denver, CO | GROWN | $40,000 |
| Colorado Mountain College Foundatio Glenwood Springs, CO | GROWN | $40,000 |
| Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO | Climate Literacy | $25,000 |
| Green Schools National Network Iowa City, IA | Climate Literacy | $15,000 |
| Colorado Workforce Development Council Denver, CO | GROWN | $10,000 |
| Western Slope Schools Career Collaborative Montrose, CO | — | $10,000 |
| Jeffco Public Schools Golden, CO | Climate Literacy | $9,500 |
| The Stead School Commerce City, CO | Climate Literacy | $9,250 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,106,138 | $747,496 | $1,611,987 | $267,750 | 14 | $29,174 |
| 2024 | $2,009,829 | $607,755 | $1,695,321 | $377,500 | 6 | $33,335 |
| 2023 | $3,132,301 | $3,118,604 | $1,468,900 | $25,000 | 1 | $29,561 |
| 2022 | $1,413,429 | $1,286,819 | $1,027,309 | $441,500 | 5 | $4,279 |
| 2021 | $1,113,355 | $1,520,796 | $981,802 | $505,000 | 4 | $113 |
| 2020 | $762,393 | $1,063,398 | $1,260,027 | $874,800 | 45 | $655 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
Lyra’s mission is to incubate and accelerate high-impact education initiatives that tackle major challenges in education and are rooted in diverse and inclusive community voices. Its 2025 filing describes work in climate education policy, rural education collaboratives, green-skills education pathways and career-connected learning, and youth engagement and leadership.
Lyra’s website describes Climatarium as preparing youth to build economically and environmentally resilient communities through education pathways. Its Climatarium hubs bring together rural school districts, higher education institutions, and industry partners around climate resilience and pathways into high-need jobs. The website also describes Innovation Zones as supporting school communities in designing and sustaining autonomous district public-school zones, and Mission Accelerators as connecting funders with community assets to advance education initiatives.
The 2025 grants included support for varied education-related organizations. For example, Yampa Valley Partnership for said its mission is to unite educators, industry leaders, and students to create shared career pathways and career-connected opportunities. Colorado Succeeds described itself as a non-partisan coalition of business leaders committed to improving the state’s education system. Green Schools National Network said its mission is for every learner to attend a healthy, equitable, and sustainable school. The STEAD School described its aim as helping students design and lead their postsecondary and career pathways through a science, technology, environmental, agricultural, and systems-design learning environment.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Lyra reported 14 grants totaling $267,750. Grants ranged from $5,500 to $40,000, with a median grant of $10,000. The largest listed grants were $40,000 each to Southwest Colorado Education, Yampa Valley Partnership for, Colorado Succeeds, and Colorado Mountain College Foundation; each was labeled “GROWN.” Other listed grants included $25,000 to Colorado State University for “CLIMATE LITERACY,” $15,000 to Green Schools National Network for “CLIMATE LITERACY,” and $10,000 to Colorado Workforce Development for “GROWN.” The filing also listed grants to Western Slope Schools Career ($10,000), Jeffco Public Schools ($9,500), The STEAD School ($9,250), Steamboat Springs School District ($9,000), and Denver School of Science & ($7,500); the listed purposes for these grants, where provided, were “CLIMATE LITERACY.”
The website describes the Education Innovation Fund as a past K–12 initiative that Lyra supported with partners. It reports that the fund distributed more than $335,000 in grants to 34 projects, with awards ranging from $2,700 to $20,000. Lyra provided grantmaking-process and back-office support for the distribution.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Mary Seawell as CEO; Meghan Sivakoff as COO; Elizabeth Harbaugh as vice president; Jess Roberts as chair; Billy Brown as vice chair; and Tom Gougeon as treasurer. It also lists Evy Valencia, Miguel Gonzales, Kate Bartlett, and Abby Schaller as board members.
Lyra is led by Mary Seawell, CEO since 2023 (on filings since 2020); 3 of 10 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Mary Seawell
CEO
President → CEO, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$106K (2023) → $239K (2025)
Jess Roberts
Chair
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Elizabeth Harbaugh
Vice President
Director of Climatarium → Director Cli, 2024
Director Cli → Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$20K (2021) → $146K (2025)
Meghan Sivakoff
COO
Chief Operating Officer → COO, 2024
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$42K (2022) → $194K (2025)
Billy Brown
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Evy Valencia
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Abby Schaller
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kate Bartlett
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Miguel Gonzales
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tom Gougeon
Treasurer
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (6)
- Former: Jessica Roberts (2020–2023) — Chair
- Former: Thomas Gougeon (2020–2023) — Treasurer
- Former: Adeeb Khan (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Felipe Vieyra (2020–2021) — Denver Director
- Former: Alana Romans (2020) — Chief of Staff
- Former: Janet Lopez (2020) — Chair
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $239K, to Mary Seawell (CEO). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Lyra
How much does Lyra give each year?
Lyra gave $268K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $378K across 6 grants.
What is Lyra's typical grant size?
Lyra's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $19,125, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Lyra give grants?
Lyra gives mostly in Colorado: 94% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest state was Iowa (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (3 grants) and Fort Collins, CO (2 grants).
Does Lyra give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 13 grants with a stated purpose on Lyra's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Climate Literacy" (8 grants) and "Grown" (5 grants).
Who are Lyra's largest grantees?
Lyra's largest 2025 grantees include Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative ($40,000), Yampa Valley Partnership for Students Stewardship & Sustainabil ($40,000) and Colorado Succeeds ($40,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 45% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Lyra?
Lyra reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $747K.
What does Lyra fund?
Lyra’s mission is to incubate and accelerate high-impact education initiatives that tackle major challenges in education and are rooted in diverse and inclusive community voices. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Lyra?
Lyra has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check lyracolorado.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Lyra's EIN?
Lyra's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-2619458. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS September 5, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 7, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Lyra's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Lyra funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/lyra-morg_1dc364aebe2843eeb8bdcc281bb6763d
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_842619458_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Lyra funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/lyra-morg_1dc364aebe2843eeb8bdcc281bb6763d},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. 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 Lyra'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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