The Leir Foundation concentrates its giving into very large, strategic grants that support philanthropic infrastructure and direct program operations. It provides substantial unrestricted or purpose-flexible funding to intermediary foundations and to its own Leir Retreat Center, which runs programs for disadvantaged children and hosts charitable conferences. The foundation appears to prioritize sustaining organizational capacity and spaces that serve nonprofits and vulnerable youth rather than many small community-based projects.
Highly concentrated: very few, very large grants (several multi-million-dollar awards), repeated funding to select recipients, and preference for flexible/operational support and institutional partners rather than many small grants.
The Leir Foundation Inc. concentrates large grants into a small set of recipients, including a $5,000,000 award to PONT DE VUE Stiftung in 2025 for the donee’s exempt purpose and a $3,649,000 grant to The Leir Retreat Center for its programs for disadvantaged children and conference center. That pattern points to a funder that favors substantial, purpose-flexible support rather than a broad portfolio of smaller awards. Its giving also reaches beyond one-off project funding: the foundation repeatedly supports The Leir Retreat Center, an entity tied to both youth programming and convening space for charitable organizations. The grants suggest an emphasis on organizational infrastructure, operating support, and institutional capacity. The foundation’s recent activity also includes several large grants routed through “See Attachment A” entries, alongside direct support for its own retreat center. Those awards, together with the scale of the payouts, indicate a grantmaker that works through major allocations and specialized recipients. For researchers, the clearest read is a funder centered on sustaining exempt-purpose organizations, nonprofit facilities, and service delivery for disadvantaged children and charitable groups.
A clear theme in the portfolio is support for infrastructure and exempt-purpose operations. In 2025, The Leir Foundation Inc. gave $5,000,000 to PONT DE VUE Stiftung for the donee’s exempt purpose, showing a willingness to make very large unrestricted or broadly designated awards. Another recurring area is the foundation’s own retreat and program center. It awarded $3,649,000 to The Leir Retreat Center in 2025 for support of operations for programs for disadvantaged children and a conference center for charitable organizations. The same recipient also received $1,120,000 in 2023 for the same purpose. The grant list further shows sizable “See Attachment A” awards in Ridgefield, Connecticut, including $4,883,500 in 2023, $3,269,614 in 2025, $803,000 in 2025, and $710,493 in 2023, all described as grants for the donee’s exempt purpose.
Grant sizes are large and clustered toward the high end: the 25th percentile is $915,246, the median is $1,120,000, and the 75th percentile is $3,001,750. The 2025 and 2023 grant list suggests repeated support to the same recipient, especially The Leir Retreat Center, which appears in both years. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. Its recent grants also show a mix of direct awards and routed entries labeled “See Attachment A,” with the grant descriptions often framed as support for exempt purposes rather than tightly restricted projects.
$12.7M
$94.7M
$7.6M
$15M
Most grants fall between $915K and $3M, with a median of $1.1M.
25th Percentile
$915K
Median
$1.1M
75th Percentile
$3M
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CT.
Top 4 recipient countries by grant volume for Leir Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 7 | $18.1M | 38.9% |
| 2 | Germany | 6 | $560K |
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Notable grantees: SEE ATTACHMENT A, PONT DE VUE Stiftung, THE LEIR RETREAT CENTER
The grant geography is highly concentrated. All listed grants go to recipients in Connecticut, and the top state by grant count is CT. Ridgefield appears repeatedly as the recipient location, including The Leir Retreat Center and several “See Attachment A” awards. Outside the United States, the recipient distribution also includes Germany, Eswatini, and the United Kingdom, with 6 grants in Germany, 3 in Eswatini, and 2 in the UK.
It supports charitable organizations with substantial grants for exempt purposes, and it also funds its own Leir Retreat Center. The recent grants include support for programs for disadvantaged children, a conference center for charitable organizations, and multiple awards described as grants for the donee’s exempt purpose.
Yes. The Leir Retreat Center appears more than once in the recent grants list, with $3,649,000 in 2025 and $1,120,000 in 2023 for the same general purpose: operations for programs for disadvantaged children and a conference center for charitable organizations.
The grant size distribution is very large. The 25th percentile is $915,246, the median is $1,120,000, and the 75th percentile is $3,001,750.
Its giving is concentrated in Connecticut. The top state by grant count is CT, and 100% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, with Ridgefield appearing repeatedly in the recent grants list.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | $10.1M | 16.7% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 2 | $143K | 11.1% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PONT DE VUE Stiftung | Mollens | $5,000,000 | 2025 | GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| THE LEIR RETREAT CENTER | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $3,649,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT OF OPERATION OF PROGRAMS FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND CONFERENCE CENTER FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS |
| SEE ATTACHMENT A | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $3,269,614 | 2025 | GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| SEE ATTACHMENT A | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $803,000 | 2025 | GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| SEE ATTACHMENT A | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $4,883,500 | 2023 | GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
| THE LEIR RETREAT CENTER | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $1,120,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT OF OPERATION OF PROGRAMS FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND CONFERENCE CENTER FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS |
| SEE ATTACHMENT A | RIDGEFIELD, CT | $710,493 | 2023 | GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE |
PONT DE VUE Stiftung
$5,000,000GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
THE LEIR RETREAT CENTER
$3,649,000SUPPORT OF OPERATION OF PROGRAMS FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND CONFERENCE CENTER FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
SEE ATTACHMENT A
$3,269,614GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
SEE ATTACHMENT A
$803,000GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
SEE ATTACHMENT A
$4,883,500GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
THE LEIR RETREAT CENTER
$1,120,000SUPPORT OF OPERATION OF PROGRAMS FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND CONFERENCE CENTER FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
SEE ATTACHMENT A
$710,493GRANTS FOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE