Lyrasis
Atlanta, GA · EIN 23-1365979. Reported 61 grants totalling $895,374 to 61 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Lyrasis, the IRS classifies it under education rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE B70C) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 61 distinct organizations, with 4% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 0% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $7,250. Half of what it reported fell between $7,250 and $24,850; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $39,950. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
5 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $154,002 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian College Association | Lexington, KY | $39,950 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | $39,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| State of West Virginia | Morgantown, WV | $39,300 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA | $36,300 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Rowan University Foundation Inc | Glassboro, NJ | $35,300 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lousiana State University | Baton Rouge, LA | $31,800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Texas A&m Foundation | College Sta, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Research Foundation of the City University of New York | New York, NY | $28,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | $28,047 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Maui Arts & Cultural Center | Kahului, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The International Association of Blacks in Dance Inc | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Towson University Foundation Inc | Towson, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation | Lexington, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| World Arts West | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of Benicia Public Library | Benicia, CA | $24,850 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of Kentucky Libraries Inc | Frankfort, KY | $23,808 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $23,375 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Valdosta State University Foundation Inc | Valdosta, GA | $22,205 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Proprietors of the Boston Athenaeum | Boston, MA | $21,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library Inc | Topeka, KS | $20,130 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Virginia Foundation | Charlottesvle, VA | $19,223 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Oregon State University Foundation | Corvallis, OR | $17,220 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Westmoreland Cultural Trust | Greensburg, PA | $16,069 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Area Stage Inc | South Miami, FL | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Black Hills Playhouse Inc | Rapid City, SD | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| California Center for the Arts Escondido Foundation | Escondido, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cleveland Institute of Music | Cleveland, OH | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Coro De Ninos De Ponce Inc | Ponce, PR | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Denver Center for the Performing Arts | Denver, CO | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| East Lake Expression Engine | Chattanooga, TN | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Elgin Symphony Orchestra Assoc | Elgin, IL | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Festiv-All Charleston West Virginia Inc | Charleston, WV | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Grupo De Teatro Sinergia-Siner | Los Angeles, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Inc | Garrison, NY | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kayenta Arts Foundation | Ivins, UT | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| La Pena Cultural Center Inc | Berkeley, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lone Tree Arts Center Fund | Lone Tree, CO | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Montgomery County Council for the Arts Inc | Mt Sterling, KY | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Orleans Film and Video Society Inc | New Orleans, LA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Parlando Incorporated | Boulder, CO | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Performing Arts Houston | Houston, TX | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Portland Playhouse | Portland, OR | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Red Clay Dance Company Inc | Chicago, IL | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Richmond Ballet Inc | Richmond, VA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Shreveport Symphony Inc | Shreveport, LA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The California Shakespeare Theater | Orinda, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Chamber Orchestra of the Springs | Colorado Spgs, CO | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Choir School of Delaware Inc | Wilmington, DE | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Theatre at Boston Court | Pasadena, CA | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wonderbound | Denver, CO | $7,250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Denver Young Artists Orchestra Assoc | Denver, CO | $5,297 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Admiral Theatre Foundation | Bremerton, WA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Atlas Performing Arts Center | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Dallas Opera | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Florida Orchestra Inc | St Petersburg, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Newfields Inc | Indianapolis, IN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rawdance | San Francisco, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Reno Philharmonic Association Inc | Reno, NV | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Stuarts Opera House Inc | Nelsonville, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
0 of 61 (0%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Appalachian College
FINDING THE WAY FORWARD: RISK, REWARD, AND BUILDING CAPACITY TOGETHER - George Mason University
CREATE A MODEL FOR ADVANCING SOCIAL JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP USING A BLEND OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES PRACTICES AND HISTORICAL FIELDWORK IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. - West Virginia University
PROJECT TO PROVIDE OPEN ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL ARCHIVES BY USING OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE (OSS) INTO A SINGLE ONLINE PORTAL. - Worcester Polytechnic Institute
THE PROJECT "DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP WITH PURPOSE" - Rowan Universtiy
VALUES-BASED AGREEMENTS: DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE LICENSING PROCESS FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIES - Lousiana State University
TO ADVANCE DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR SMALL AND UNDER-FUNDED CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTIONS BY SETTING UP A REGIONAL HUB IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA.
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 48 of 61 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5 | $126,118 | $23,375 |
| 2021 | 5 | $159,408 | $31,800 |
| 2022 | 5 | $154,002 | $28,500 |
| 2023 | 46 | $455,846 | $7,250 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
11% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $7,250 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Lyrasis's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 46 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 3390 Peachtree Rd Ne 400, Atlanta, GA, 30326.
EIN 23-1365979 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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