The Samuel Lyon Charitable
The Samuel Lyon Charitable is a private foundation based in Louisville, Kentucky. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with most grant dollars going to recipients in Kentucky.
The Samuel Lyon Charitable at a glance
In short: The Samuel Lyon Charitable gave $78K across 28 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Kentucky. 7% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $78,000
- +4.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 28
- +7.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $2,786
- -3.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,250
- Total assets
- $1,020,330
- +4.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 7% first-time grantees (2 of 28, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Kentucky (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 The Samuel Lyon Charitable
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 712 Braeview Road, Louisville, KY 40206
Phone: (502) 587-1283
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Samuel Lyon Charitable funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Keneseth Israel Congregation ($18K). Together the top 10 received $61K.
Grant Size Distribution
125 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 125 grants of 125 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, Kentucky recipients received 85% of grant dollars. The remaining reported shares went to Illinois (8%), New York (5%), Tennessee (1%), and Texas (1%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 28 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Samuel Lyon Charitable open to new grantees?
7%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 28 grantees (7%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $3K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $1K repeat.
- 89% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+5%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 99% 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 (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 $60K (2020) to $80K (2023). In 2025 it made 28 grants totaling $78K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Keneseth Israel Congregation Louisville, KY | Support | $18,000 |
| Jewish Family & Career Services Louisville, KY | Support | $11,000 |
| The Temple Louisville, KY | Support | $8,500 |
| Home of the Innocents Louisville, KY | Support | $5,000 |
| Meredith-Dunn Learning Center Inc Louisville, KY | Support | $5,000 |
| Northwestern Annual Fund Evanston, IL | Support | $5,000 |
| National Council of Jewish Women Louisville, KY | Support | $2,500 |
| Mt Sinai Health System New York, NY | Support | $2,000 |
| Mercy Academy Louisville, KY | Support | $2,000 |
| Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies Louisville, KY | Support | $1,500 |
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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 | $1,020,330 | $120,145 | $81,185 | $78,000 | 28 | $78,713 | $119,433 | $79,332 |
| 2024 | $981,370 | $92,610 | $77,013 | $75,000 | 26 | $75,556 | $92,054 | $74,623 |
| 2023 | $965,773 | $108,718 | $81,996 | $80,000 | 21 | $80,517 | $55,228 | $68,393 |
| 2022 | $939,051 | $98,646 | $75,414 | $74,000 | 27 | $74,601 | $49,611 | $68,596 |
| 2021 | $915,819 | $96,557 | $64,002 | $61,500 | 23 | $61,500 | $65,549 | $73,112 |
| 2020 | $883,264 | $80,358 | $61,860 | $60,100 | 21 | — | $78,598 | $61,268 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Samuel Lyon Charitable reported a distributable amount of $79K 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 grants show support for organizations working in areas including Jewish community services, health, disability services, education, and community programs. For example, Hosparus describes its mission as meeting the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of terminally ill people and their families; Harbor House of Louisville says it empowers people with disabilities and their families through employment, education, and community-building opportunities. These are the recipient organizations’ stated missions.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 28 grants totaling $78,000. Grants ranged from $500 to $18,000, with a median of $1,250. Its largest reported grants included $18,000 to Keneseth Israel Congregation, $11,000 to Jewish Family & Career Services, and $8,500 to The Temple, all in Louisville. Other grants included $5,000 each to Home of the Innocents, Meredith-Dunn Learning Center, and Northwestern Annual Fund.
The 2024 recipients included the National Council of Jewish Women ($2,000), the American Heart Association ($1,250), and Hosparus ($1,250). The National Council of Jewish Women describes its work as advancing social justice and safeguarding individual rights and freedoms; the American Heart Association says its mission is to promote longer, healthier lives.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Sheldon M Yoffe, Elaine Y Weinberg, and Marlene Y Schaffer as trustees.
The Samuel Lyon Charitable's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Elaine Y. Weinberg
Trustee
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Marlene Y. Schaffer
Trustee
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Sheldon M. Yoffe
Trustee
On filings since 2020
0.5 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 The Samuel Lyon Charitable
How much does The Samuel Lyon Charitable give each year?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable gave $78K across 28 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $75K across 26 grants.
What is The Samuel Lyon Charitable's typical grant size?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable's median grant in 2025 was $1,250, and its average grant was $2,786, across 28 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Samuel Lyon Charitable that year got $1K on average.
Where does The Samuel Lyon Charitable give grants?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable gives mostly in Kentucky: 85% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Illinois (8%) and New York (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were Louisville, KY (20 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).
Does The Samuel Lyon Charitable give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 28 grants with a stated purpose on The Samuel Lyon Charitable's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Support" (28 grants).
Who are The Samuel Lyon Charitable's largest grantees?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable's largest 2025 grantees include Keneseth Israel Congregation ($18,000), Jewish Family & Career Services ($11,000) and The Temple ($8,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 48% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Samuel Lyon Charitable?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable reported $1.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $79K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $79K (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 The Samuel Lyon Charitable fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants show support for organizations working in areas including Jewish community services, health, disability services, education, and community programs. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Samuel Lyon Charitable?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Samuel Lyon Charitable's EIN?
The Samuel Lyon Charitable's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 31-6651291. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does The Samuel Lyon Charitable 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Samuel Lyon Charitable funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-samuel-lyon-charitable-morg_63bbece6c3a24c6b8ae812731ec39734
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_316651291_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Samuel Lyon Charitable funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-samuel-lyon-charitable-morg_63bbece6c3a24c6b8ae812731ec39734},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Samuel Lyon Charitable'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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