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Lisa & Michael Leffell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lisa & Michael Leffell Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
54
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$262k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

International$6.1MEducation$5.1MPhilanthropy$2.9MReligion$2.8MArts & Culture$875kCivil Rights$475kHealth$412kCrime & Legal$178kOther$0
02FY2024 · 54 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k14 grants · $39k
  • $10k–50k29 grants · $647k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $945k
  • $250k+1 grant · $262k
$20,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION$262,240
UJA FEDERATION OF NEW YORK$200,000
Individual grant recipient$110,000
JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA$105,000
FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES$100,000
CENTRAL FUND OF ISRAEL$100,000
STEVEN WISE FREE SYNAGOGUE$75,000
SINAI TEMPLE$75,000
Individual grant recipient$75,000
TEMPLE ISRAEL CENTER$55,000
MOISHE HOUSE$50,000
IMAGINATION PRODUCTIONS INC$40,000
CENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION$40,000
FUENTE LATINA$40,000
NATIONAL BLACK EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL$40,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–22, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%YAMBA MALAWI: $500 → 20%YAMBA MALAWI: $500 → 20%YAMBA MALAWI: $500 → 20%YAMBA MALAWI: $500 → 20%YAMBA MALAWI: $500 → 20%JCC MANHATTAN: $1k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
WY
OH
PA
NJ
CA
MD
DC
GA
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$18M · 71 repeat orgs$1.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +53% since the first grant, against +41% for those funded once.

71 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2024, 25 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

71
55

Total granted

$18M
$831k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+53%
+41%

Still filing today

63%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $194k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
InternationalEducationHealthReligionPhilanthropyArts & CultureOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • UJ
    UNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.7M · revenue +39%
  • JI
    JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA
    7× · 2017–2024 · $747k · revenue +62%
  • FF
    Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $535k · revenue +147%

Funded once

  • BI
    BOUNDLESS ISRAEL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $150k · revenue +90%
  • EJ
    EMORY JEWISH STUDENT CENTER INC - CHABAD AT EMORY
    one grant, 2022 · $100k
  • B
    BOUNDLESS
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
University of Judaism Foundation
—
2
The Jewish Agency for Israel

The jewish agency binds jews across ideologies and civilizations together in a worldwide jewish family with israel at its center. it provides the global framework for aliyah, ensures global jewish safety, strengthens jewish identity and…

—
3
The Jerusalem Connection
—
4
Us Middle East Project Inc

The organization's mission is to engage in non partisan analysis of u.s. foreign policy in the middle east, with special emphasis on the middle east peace process, and to present policymakers in the united states, in the region and in the…

International
5
Sherit Isroel
—
6
Connect Israel

Connect israel is a life-long program that aims to strengthen the gap between american jews and israelis through business, creative teamwork, and developing personal relationships.

International
7
The Israel Institute Inc

The israel institute, inc. (the institute) enhances knowledge about modern israel by ensuring that more students have access to courses about israel during their time on campus.

International
8
Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

Biu produces students who excel in the sciences, humanities, law, engineering, business & the arts.

—
9
Foundation for Conservative Judiasm of South Florida
—
10
Friends of Institute for Zionist

The organization seeks to reinforce the foundations of israel as a jewish and democratic state. it acts to promote programs to educate the israeli public on the importance of both values and to demonstrate how each contributes to and…

International
11
Voices United for Israel

Educational information regarding Israel and the Middle East.

International
12
Clal-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership Inc

A leading advocate for pluralism and diversity, clal offers jewish wisdom that enhances public life, deepens civic engagement and cultivates personal growth.

Religion
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jewish Funders Network; the most unlike its peers is Heart of a Nation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

79 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 79 of the 136 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
78/79
Grantees still filing
62/79
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE LEFFELL SCHOOL: $4,372,644 · OtherTHE LEFFELL SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $750,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTEMPLE ISRAEL CENTER: $512,750 · OtherTEMPLE ISRAEL CENTERHADAR INSTITUTE: $400,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCES: $363,000 · Other+75 more: $2,715,905 · Other+75 moreAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $2,585,020 · InternationalAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUN…JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA: $747,000 · InternationalJEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL …CENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION INC: $548,000 · InternationalCENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION IN…Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc: $535,000 · InternationalFoundation for the Defense of …+10 more: $775,200 · International+10 moreUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $2,695,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED JEWISH APP…+9 more: $307,403 · Philanthropy+9 moreONETABLE INC: $126,800 · ReligionMOISHE HOUSE: $125,000 · ReligionOPENDOR MEDIA INC: $100,000 · ReligionJLENS: $90,000 · ReligionWESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL INC: $72,000 · ReligionHILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: $36,000 · Religion+2 more: $12,500 · ReligionBOUNDLESS ISRAEL INC: $150,000 · EducationSIXPOINT INC: $130,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY: $63,834 · EducationISRAEL ON CAMPUS COALITION INC: $55,000 · EducationTHE TIKVAH FUND: $50,000 · EducationYESHIVA UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · EducationHETERODOX ACADEMY: $25,000 · Education+6 more: $34,783 · EducationREUT USA: $425,087 · Arts & CultureBrothers for Life: $51,150 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $10,900 · Arts & CultureZIONESS MOVEMENT INC: $175,000 · Civil RightsA WIDER BRIDGE: $95,000 · Civil RightsUNITED NATIONS WATCH - USA: $30,000 · Civil RightsANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $25,000 · Civil Rights
Other$9,114,299International$5,190,220Philanthropy$3,002,403Religion$562,300Education$533,617Arts & Culture$487,137Civil Rights$350,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $2,695,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $2,585,020 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetJEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA: $747,000 over 7y, 2.6% of budgetCENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION INC: $548,000 over 7y, 15% of budgetFoundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc: $535,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetREUT USA: $425,087 over 7y, 5.1% of budgetZIONESS MOVEMENT INC: $175,000 over 5y, 4.7% of budgetCentral Fund of Israel: $150,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: $150,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBOUNDLESS ISRAEL INC: $150,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetThe Shalem Foundation: $145,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetFuente Latina Inc: $140,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetNational Black Empowerment Council Inc: $140,000 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetSIXPOINT INC: $130,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetONETABLE INC: $126,800 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetMOISHE HOUSE: $125,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPENDOR MEDIA INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR PEACE COMMUNICATIONS INC: $100,000 over 6y, 4.9% of budgetBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetA WIDER BRIDGE: $95,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetPROJECT ALS INC: $92,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetJLENS: $90,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetSTARDUST JEWISH FERTILITY FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 3y, 5.7% of budgetHeart of A Nation: $75,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetWESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL INC: $72,000 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY: $63,834 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetISRAEL ON CAMPUS COALITION INC: $55,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetBrothers for Life: $51,150 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE TIKVAH FUND: $50,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF ELNET: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetJEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL - NORTH AMERICAN COUNCIL: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWhite Plains Hospital Medical Center: $45,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY-POLICE RELATIONS FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetHILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE: $36,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF MAJOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS: $35,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetJumpstart Labs Inc DBA Jewish JUMPSTART JSLABS: $30,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD SOUTHEAST INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUNITED NATIONS WATCH - USA: $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTHE TRAVELING PRESS FUND INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetPEF ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYESHIVA UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHETERODOX ACADEMY: $25,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetInstitute for a Secure America Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetThe Louis D Brandeis Center Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetJEWISH FUNDERS NETWORK: $18,303 over 7y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds UNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN ISRAEL EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc ↗
  • Who funds REUT USA ↗
  • Who funds ZIONESS MOVEMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds Central Fund of Israel ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES ↗
  • Who funds BOUNDLESS ISRAEL INC ↗
  • Who funds The Shalem Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Fuente Latina Inc ↗
  • Who funds National Black Empowerment Council Inc ↗
  • Who funds SIXPOINT INC ↗
  • Who funds ONETABLE INC ↗
  • Who funds MOISHE HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds THE JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA INC ↗
  • Who funds OPENDOR MEDIA INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR PEACE COMMUNICATIONS INC ↗
  • Who funds BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds A WIDER BRIDGE ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT ALS INC ↗
  • Who funds JLENS ↗
  • Who funds STARDUST JEWISH FERTILITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Heart of A Nation ↗
  • Who funds WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Jewish Communal FundJewish Community Fede…United Jewish Appeal-…The Margaret and Dani…Combined Jewish Phila…FjcJewish Federation of …The Diane and Guilfor…Newton & Rochelle Bec…Jewish National Fund …The Shimon Ben Joseph…Jewish Community Foun…
Jewish Communal FundNY49.9× affinity41 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York Inc · The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Fjc · Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Inc · The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation · Newton & Rochelle Becker Charitable Trus · Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael) Inc · The Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation Dba Jim Joseph Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Lisa & Michael Leffell Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lisa & Michael Leffell Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 90%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Sharsheret Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Trustees of Clark University: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 136 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Lisa & Michael Leffell’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home