The Irving & Roberta Lewis Charitable Foundation concentrates its funding on organizations involved in legal advocacy, public affairs journalism, and pro-Israel causes. They make a small number of relatively large grants, with a strong tilt toward supporting legal/public-interest work that defends civil or communal interests. Grants indicate an interest in both national legal advocacy and local investigative journalism in Illinois, alongside philanthropic support for Israeli-related organizations.
A defining feature of the Irving & Roberta Lewis Charitable Foundation is its repeated support for The Lawfare Project, including a $250,000 grant in 2024 and a $75,000 grant in 2025. That pattern points to a funder that backs legal advocacy as a core priority rather than a one-off interest. The foundation also gave $50,000 to Friends of IDF in 2024, alongside grants to organizations connected to Israeli relief and communal support. Its portfolio is compact and selective: the recent grants list shows relatively few awards, but several of them are sizable. Alongside legal and pro-Israel giving, the foundation has supported public-interest journalism and a smaller set of community organizations in Illinois and elsewhere. Recent awards to Ravinia, The Ark, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, JUF, Cradles to Crayons, and Refugee One show that the foundation’s giving also reaches local cultural, health, and service institutions. Across the record on file, the foundation’s grantmaking looks intentional and concentrated, with repeat support to a limited number of recipients and a clear emphasis on civil or communal interests.
Legal advocacy is the clearest theme in the recent record. The foundation gave $250,000 to The Lawfare Project in 2024 and followed with $75,000 in 2025, showing sustained backing for that work. Public affairs journalism is another identifiable lane: in 2023, the foundation awarded $100,000 to Propublica Illinois. Israeli and pro-Israel support appears across several grants as well, including $50,000 to Friends of IDF in 2024 and $25,000 to Brothers and Sisters of Israel in 2025. The foundation also funded a mix of Chicago-area and broader community-serving organizations, such as $20,000 to The Ark and $10,000 to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in 2025. Those awards suggest a grantmaker that combines advocacy-oriented giving with selected community support.
Typical grants cluster in the mid-five-figure range, with a p25 of $18,750, a median of $37,500, and a p75 of $62,500. The recent record also includes a few larger outliers, which helps explain why the annual total is far above the median award size. The foundation’s pattern is concentrated rather than broad: multiple recipients appear in more than one year, including legal, Israeli, and local cultural grantees. The data shows charitable grants only, with no program-related investments and no individual funding. The record also suggests direct foundation giving rather than an intermediary donor-advised structure, with awards made to named organizations across several years.
$215K
$2.3M
$46K
$221K
Most grants fall between $19K and $63K, with a median of $38K.
25th Percentile
$19K
Median
$38K
75th Percentile
$63K
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Concentrated giving: few, relatively large grants with repeat funding to a primary grantee (The Lawfare Project); limited number of distinct beneficiaries overall.
Notable grantees: The Lawfare Project, ProPublica Illinois, Friends of IDF
Grants are entirely U.S.-based in the recent record, with 19 of 19 awards going to U.S. recipients. Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, driven by repeat support to Boston-based Friends of Ethiopian Jews. Illinois also receives a meaningful share, including recipients in Chicago and Highland Park. New York and Pennsylvania appear through organizations in New York City, Brooklyn, and Wynnewood. The geographic pattern is regional but not confined to one metro area: it combines Illinois institutions with national advocacy and relief organizations located in other major U.S. cities.
The recent grants show a strong emphasis on legal advocacy, public-interest journalism, and pro-Israel or Jewish communal organizations. Examples include The Lawfare Project, Propublica Illinois, Friends of IDF, and Friends of Ethiopian Jews. The foundation also gives to selected local community institutions in Illinois, including cultural, health, and social-service groups.
The distribution centers on mid-five-figure awards. The p25 grant size is $18,750, the median is $37,500, and the p75 is $62,500. The recent record also includes larger grants, such as $250,000 to The Lawfare Project and $100,000 to Propublica Illinois.
Yes. The recent grants show repeat support to several organizations across multiple years. The Lawfare Project appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Ravinia appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Friends of Ethiopian Jews appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That points to ongoing relationships with some grantees.
Massachusetts is the top state by grant count. Illinois is also prominent, with grants to Chicago and Highland Park organizations. Other recipients are located in New York, New York; Brooklyn, New York; and Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. All recent grants in the data go to U.S. recipients.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE LAWFARE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $75,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF ISRAEL | WYNNEWOOD, PA | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| RAVINIA | HIGHLAND PARK, IL | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS | BOSTON, MA | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| THE ARK | CHICAGO, IL | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| HATZALAH | BROOKLYN, NY | $15,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| ZAK'A SEARCH AND RESCUE | BROOKLYN, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| SHIRLEY RYAN ABILITY LAB | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| REFUGEE ONE | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| JUF | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| CRADLES TO CRAYONS | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| THE LAWFARE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $250,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE |
| FRIENDS OF IDF | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE |
| RAVINIA | HIGHLAND PARK, IL | $20,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE |
| FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS | BOSTON, MA | $15,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE |
| PROPUBLICA ILLINOIS | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| THE LAWFARE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| RAVINIA | HIGHLAND PARK, IL | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS | BOSTON, MA | $12,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF ISRAEL
$25,000CHARITABLE
RAVINIA
$25,000CHARITABLE
FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS
$20,000CHARITABLE
HATZALAH
$15,000CHARITABLE
ZAK'A SEARCH AND RESCUE
$10,000CHARITABLE
JUF
$5,000CHARITABLE
CRADLES TO CRAYONS
$5,000CHARITABLE
FRIENDS OF IDF
$50,000CHARITABLE
RAVINIA
$20,000CHARITABLE
FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS
$15,000CHARITABLE
PROPUBLICA ILLINOIS
$100,000CHARITABLE
RAVINIA
$25,000CHARITABLE
FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS
$12,000CHARITABLE