The Monica Lester Charitable Trust
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Los Angeles, California. In its 2025 filing, it reported 16 grants totaling $600,000, supporting organizations whose stated grant purposes included medical research, cancer research, higher education, community services, and musical production.
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust at a glance
In short: The Monica Lester Charitable Trust gave $600K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $38K), mostly in California. 31% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $600,000
- +50.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 16
- +45.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $37,500
- +3.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $9,944,501
- -2.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 31% first-time grantees (5 of 16, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (86% 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 The Monica Lester Charitable Trust
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The trust states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 6310 San Vicente Blvd 250, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: (323) 934-0200
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Monica Lester Charitable Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ($150K). Together the top 10 received $545K.
Grant Size Distribution
51 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 24 grants of 51 (47%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The trust is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2025, 86% of its grant dollars went to recipients in California, 11% to New York, 2% to Illinois, and 2% to Tennessee.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Monica Lester Charitable Trust open to new grantees?
31%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 16 grantees (31%) were first-time recipients. With only 16 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $12K; repeat grants $49K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 69% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 33% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 118% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). 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 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $400K (2024) to $600K (2025). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $600K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA | Supporting Medical Research | $150,000 |
| Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Supporting Higher Education | $125,000 |
| City of Hope Duarte, CA | Funding Cancer Research | $100,000 |
| Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA | Supporting Medical Research | $60,000 |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation Santa Monica, CA | Funding Cancer Research | $50,000 |
| Tunnel to Towers Foundation Staten Island, NY | Providing Community Services | $20,000 |
| Chabad's Terror Victims Project Brooklyn, NY | Providing Community Service | $10,000 |
| Friends of United Hatzalah New York, NY | Providing Community Service | $10,000 |
| International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Chicago, IL | Providing Community Service | $10,000 |
| Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles, CA | Supporting Higher Education | $10,000 |
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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 | $9,944,501 | $921,909 | $1,123,196 | $600,000 | 16 | $640,100 | $34,099 | $542,992 |
| 2024 | $10,145,456 | $875,995 | $867,924 | $400,000 | 11 | $412,600 | — | $555,777 |
| 2023 | $10,137,385 | $503,261 | $819,621 | $580,000 | 8 | $610,100 | $78,311 | $643,569 |
| 2022 | $10,453,745 | $843,267 | $608,204 | $450,000 | 8 | $470,075 | $15,728 | $610,212 |
| 2021 | $10,218,682 | $478,505 | $630,900 | $475,000 | 8 | — | $30,062 | $558,564 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Monica Lester Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $543K 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 trust is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for medical and cancer research, higher education, community services, and musical production.
Among its grantees, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center describes its mission as elevating community health through healthcare, research, and education. City of Hope says its mission is to make hope a reality for people touched by cancer and diabetes. The Prostate Cancer Foundation says it funds research on prostate cancer biology and treatment, with the aim of improving patient quality of life and survival.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the trust reported 16 grants totaling $600,000. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $150,000, with a median of $10,000. The largest grants included $150,000 to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for medical research, $125,000 to Loyola Marymount University for higher education, $100,000 to City of Hope for cancer research, $60,000 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for medical research, and $50,000 to the Prostate Cancer Foundation for cancer research. Other reported grants included $20,000 to Tunnel to Towers Foundation for community services and $10,000 each to Friends of United Hatzalah and International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for community service.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Frank Lee, Joel Levine, and Paul Lester as trustees.
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; 2 of 3 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Frank Lee
Trustee
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$50K (2021) → $50K (2025)
Joel Levine
Trustee
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$50K (2021) → $50K (2025)
Paul Lester
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 $50K, to Frank Lee (Trustee). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about The Monica Lester Charitable Trust
How much does The Monica Lester Charitable Trust give each year?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust gave $600K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $400K across 11 grants.
What is The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's typical grant size?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $37,500, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Monica Lester Charitable Trust that year got $12K on average.
Where does The Monica Lester Charitable Trust give grants?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust gives mostly in California: 86% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Los Angeles, CA (5 grants), New York, NY (3 grants) and Brooklyn, NY (2 grants).
Does The Monica Lester Charitable Trust give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 16 grants with a stated purpose on The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Providing Community Services" (5 grants) and "Providing Community Service" (4 grants).
Who are The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's largest grantees?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ($150,000), Loyola Marymount University ($125,000) and City of Hope ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 63% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Monica Lester Charitable Trust?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust reported $9.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $640K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $543K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Monica Lester Charitable Trust fund?
No mission statement for the trust is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for medical and cancer research, higher education, community services, and musical production. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Monica Lester Charitable Trust?
The trust states that it 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 The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's EIN?
The Monica Lester Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-1000768. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Does The Monica Lester Charitable Trust 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
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025
Live grants for the work The Monica Lester Charitable Trust funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Monica Lester Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-monica-lester-charitable-trust-morg_8626c4d259eb4fd4b573d3202a5ee2ef
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_811000768_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Monica Lester Charitable Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-monica-lester-charitable-trust-morg_8626c4d259eb4fd4b573d3202a5ee2ef},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. 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 The Monica Lester Charitable Trust'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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