About Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation
The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation concentrates on major, unrestricted gifts to arts and culture organizations—especially performing arts, theater, and music—with a clear emphasis on institutions that serve or are based in New York City and Harlem and on organizations supporting Black cultural life and leadership. It also makes significant grants to education when aligned with its cultural and community focus, typically through large, general-purpose awards that give grantees flexibility.
Focus Areas
Performing arts and theater organizations in New York City (e.g., Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem)Jazz and traditional music preservation and presentation (e.g., Preservation Hall Foundation)Black cultural institutions and arts organizations serving Harlem and the broader Black communityPublic media and cultural broadcasting (e.g., WNET)Support for Historically Black Colleges (large unrestricted gift to Spelman College)
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated: a small number of very large, unrestricted grants to established cultural and educational institutions. Emphasis on repeat large-scale investments in NYC/Harlem-based arts and Black cultural leadership rather than many small or project-specific awards.
About Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation
CHARLES & LUCILLE KING FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is headquartered in Garden City, NY. It reported $14,789,540 in annual grants in its latest 990 year on file, 2024. The foundation’s recent grantmaking is concentrated in arts and culture, especially performing arts, theater, music, and cultural organizations in New York City and Harlem. It also gives to education and public media when those grants fit its broader cultural and community priorities. Recent large grants include $2,000,000 to PRESERVATION HALL FOUNDATION, $1,025,000 to THE PUBLIC THEATER, and $1,000,000 to SPELMAN COLLEGE. Other major awards include $1,000,000 to CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM and $800,000 to WNET. The foundation’s recent grants are often unrestricted, and the grant descriptions repeatedly state that awards were made to further each donee’s exempt purpose. Its stated focus areas include Black cultural institutions and arts organizations serving Harlem and the broader Black community, jazz and traditional music preservation and presentation, and public media and cultural broadcasting. The foundation’s geographic scope of giving is regional, and New York is the state where it gives most often.
What Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Funds
Recent grantmaking spans performing arts and theater, jazz and traditional music preservation, Black cultural institutions, and public media. Notable grants include $2,000,000 to PRESERVATION HALL FOUNDATION for an unrestricted grant to further the donee’s exempt purpose, $1,025,000 to THE PUBLIC THEATER for the same purpose, and $1,000,000 to CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM. The foundation also gave $800,000 to WNET, $500,000 to NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO, and $1,000,000 to SPELMAN COLLEGE. Across these grants, the stated purposes are typically general organizational support, program operations and overhead, institutional sustainability, or mission-aligned activities.
How Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Gives
CHARLES & LUCILLE KING FAMILY FOUNDATION INC makes unrestricted and project grants through its General Grantmaking program, which does not accept unsolicited applications. Its typical grant size is $2,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $63,750 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards range from small grants to multimillion-dollar gifts, with many of the largest grants directed to established nonprofit organizations. The grant descriptions emphasize unrestricted support and flexible funding for exempt purposes.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.8M
Total Assets
$0
Total Revenue
$730K
Total Expenses
$1.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $2K and $64K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$64K
Geographic Reach
Regional21 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Unlock Deep Analysis
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeSee Similar Funders
Free Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeExplore related grant guides
Want a Personalized Pitch for Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation?
Sign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Free plan available
No contracts
Cancel anytime