The Joly Family Foundation concentrates on programmatic partnerships that advance youth technology access, higher-education institutions, and cultural organizations, often through sponsorships and multi-grant relationships with intermediary or corporate foundations. A large portion of funding goes to a single recurring partner (Best Buy Foundation) for public library teen tech centers, while other grants support universities, arts institutions, and community funders domestically and internationally.
A recurring pattern defines the Joly Family Foundation’s giving: multiyear sponsorships for Best Buy Teen Tech Center sites in public-library and community settings. In 2025, it gave $100,000 each to the Best Buy Foundation for Teen Tech Center presenting-partner sponsorships tied to Capri and Grand Street Settlement, extending a line of support that also included a $50,000 sponsorship for Brooklyn Public Library in 2024 and a $47,500 grant in 2023 connected to New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundation, Grand Concourse, for construction, furniture, and technology. That youth-technology thread sits alongside grants to higher-education and civic institutions, showing a funder that works through program-specific partnerships rather than broad unrestricted support. The foundation also backs organizations tied to education and culture. Recent examples include $135,500 to Friends of Hec Inc in 2023 and $17,000 to US Sciences Po Foundation in 2023, plus cultural support such as $50,000 to Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts in 2024. Grants in 2025 also went to Just Capital and The Jed Foundation, reflecting a portfolio that mixes youth digital access, education, and mission-based institutional support.
Youth digital access is the clearest theme in the Joly Family Foundation’s recent grants. It gave $100,000 to the Best Buy Foundation for a Teen Tech Center presenting-partner sponsorship at Capri and another $100,000 for Grand Street Settlement in 2025. In 2024, a $50,000 grant supported a Best Buy Teen Tech Center sponsorship tied to Brooklyn Public Library. The foundation also funds library-based technology buildouts. A 2023 grant of $47,500 to the Best Buy Foundation supported the New York Public Library Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundation at Grand Concourse for construction, furniture, and technology. Beyond youth tech, education and civic institutions appear in the record. The foundation gave $135,500 to Friends of Hec Inc in 2023 and $17,000 to US Sciences Po Foundation in 2023. Arts funding is present as well, including $50,000 to Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts in 2024.
Typical grants cluster in the mid-five-figure range, with p25 at $23,000, a median of $48,750, and p75 at $71,375. The recent record also includes several six-figure gifts, led by $150,000 in 2023 and multiple $100,000 grants in 2025. The pattern is relationship-based rather than one-off: the Best Buy Foundation appears across multiple years, with repeated sponsorships tied to different Teen Tech Center sites. The foundation is a grantmaker, not an individual-funding vehicle, and it does not make program-related investments. Its recent awards are project- and sponsorship-specific, including construction, furniture, and technology support as well as exempt-purpose funding.
$345K
$11.7M
$1M
$384K
Most grants fall between $23K and $71K, with a median of $49K.
25th Percentile
$23K
Median
$49K
75th Percentile
$71K
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 FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Concentrated, relatively few large grants with notable repeat funding to select intermediaries (especially multi-year/multi-grant support to Best Buy Foundation). Mix of domestic and international beneficiaries, preference for program sponsorships and general operating support over many small awards.
Notable grantees: Best Buy Foundation, Friends of HEC Inc, Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Just Capital (and Just Capital Foundation)
Giving is concentrated in New York, which accounts for 50% of grants to recipients in the HQ state. The largest cluster of recipients is in New York City, including multiple grants to organizations in New York, NY. Other named recipient locations include Minneapolis, MN and Allentown, PA. The recipient country distribution is entirely domestic in the recent sample, with 16 grants in the US and no non-US countries represented.
Recent grants show a strong emphasis on youth technology access through Best Buy Teen Tech Center sponsorships, plus support for higher-education and policy-related institutions such as Friends of Hec Inc and US Sciences Po Foundation. Cultural and civic organizations also appear, including Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, Just Capital, and The Jed Foundation.
The foundation often uses sponsorships and restricted project support. Recent grants include Teen Tech Center presenting-partner sponsorships, and one award explicitly supported construction, furniture, and technology at a New York library site. Several other grants are described as furthering the donee’s exempt purpose.
The grant-size distribution centers in the mid-five figures: p25 is $23,000, the median is $48,750, and p75 is $71,375. The recent record also includes larger gifts of $100,000 and $150,000.
In the recent grant sample, all 16 grants went to US recipients. Named recipient cities include New York, New York; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST BUY FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $100,000 | 2025 | BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: CAPRI |
| BEST BUY FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $100,000 | 2025 | BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: GRAND STREET SETTLEMENT |
| UNITED WAY OF THE GREATER LEHIGH VALLEY | ALLENTOWN, PA | $50,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION |
| BEST BUY FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $50,000 | 2025 | BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY |
| JUST CAPITAL | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION |
| THE JED FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION |
| FRIENDS OF HEC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION |
| MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $50,000 | 2024 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| BEST BUY FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $50,000 | 2024 | BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP RE: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY |
| JUST CAPITAL FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST | JENKINTOWN, PA | $6,000 | 2024 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| FACE FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2023 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| FRIENDS OF HEC INC | NEW YORK, NY | $135,500 | 2023 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| BEST BUY FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $47,500 | 2023 | BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP RE: NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATION, GRAND CONCOURSE, FOR CONTRUCTION / FURNITURE / TECHNOLOGY |
| US SCIENCES PO FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $17,000 | 2023 | FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
BEST BUY FOUNDATION
$100,000BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: CAPRI
BEST BUY FOUNDATION
$100,000BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: GRAND STREET SETTLEMENT
UNITED WAY OF THE GREATER LEHIGH VALLEY
$50,000TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION
BEST BUY FOUNDATION
$50,000BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
TO FURTHER THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION
MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS
$50,000FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
BEST BUY FOUNDATION
$50,000BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP RE: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
BEST BUY FOUNDATION
$47,500BEST BUY TEEN TECH CENTER PRESENTING PARTNER SPONSORSHIP RE: NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATION, GRAND CONCOURSE, FOR CONTRUCTION / FURNITURE / TECHNOLOGY