Ainslie Foundation

The Ainslie Foundation is a quintessentially private family foundation — invitation-only, deliberately low-profile, and entirely relationship-driven. Established in 2017 by Lee S. Ainslie III, the founder and managing partner of Maverick Capital (one of the world's largest long/short equity hedge funds), and his wife Elizabeth M. Ainslie, the foundation functions as a vehicle for the couple's personal philanthropy rather than an accessible public grant program.

The foundation's own IRS filings state explicitly that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds." There is no grants page, no published guidelines, no LOI portal, and no application deadline. The Dallas address (1900 N Pearl Street, 20th Floor) and listed phone number ((214) 880-4000) belong to Maverick Capital's offices, not a philanthropic staff. No program officers, grants managers, or external-facing philanthropy staff are identified in any filing.

Understanding the Ainslies' giving map is foundational to any strategy. The concentration of grants across New York (196 of 436 recorded grants), Virginia (55), Florida (52), and Massachusetts (49) traces directly to the family's personal geography: New York City as a professional base, Alexandria Virginia as the home of Episcopal High School (the foundation's top grantee at $23.9M across 5 grants — almost certainly the family's alma mater connection), the Palm Beach/Martin County corridor as a second home, and coastal New England (Bowdoin College, Colby College, Nantucket organizations) as a recreation and alumni geography.

The relationship between the Ainslie Foundation and the Maverick Capital Foundation is particularly instructive. With $12.3M in recorded grants, the hedge fund's charitable arm is the second-largest recipient in the portfolio. This re-granting vehicle may serve as both a conduit for employee engagement philanthropy and a secondary pathway for organizations connected to Maverick's broader investor network.

For organizations serious about entering this portfolio, the only viable pathway is a warm introduction through a personal connection to Lee Ainslie III, Elizabeth Ainslie, or a senior Maverick Capital managing director. The foundation's track record — most top 50 grantees have received 4-6 consecutive annual grants — confirms that the Ainslies are long-term relationship investors who stay with proven partners rather than rotating grantees. New entrants face a high barrier but, once inside, tend to remain supported for years.

The Ainslie Foundation's annual grantmaking has grown substantially across its short history: $10.3M in FY2019, $12.1M in FY2020, $15.6M in FY2021, $18.0M in FY2022 (the peak year), and $15.6M in FY2023. FY2024 total expenses of $17.7M suggest a return toward peak giving levels. Over five years, annual disbursements increased 51%, while total assets grew from $317.7M (FY2019) to $456.1M (FY2024) — a 44% increase. The payout rate has ranged from 3.2% (FY2019) to 6.3% (FY2022), averaging approximately 4.3% across the period.

Across 436 recorded grants totaling $76.6M, the average grant is $175,619. However, the foundation's typical grant size data (drawn from 88 grants with amounts reported) shows a median of $10,000 — a stark contrast revealing a sharply bimodal distribution. The Ainslies operate two distinct giving tracks: transformational multi-million-dollar commitments to core institutional partners, and a broader portfolio of mid-range and smaller grants to community organizations.

The top tier is heavily concentrated. Five recipients — Episcopal High School ($23.9M, 5 grants), Maverick Capital Foundation ($12.3M, 5 grants), Robin Hood Foundation ($11.4M, 6 grants), Wildlife Conservation Society ($9.6M, 5 grants), and West Palm Golf Community Trust ($1.75M, 3 grants) — account for $59M, or approximately 77% of all recorded grant dollars, from just 24 grants.

By program area: Education is the dominant sector, with Episcopal High School alone representing 31% of all recorded giving; adding Jefferson Scholars ($1.55M), Bowdoin ($1.15M), Rockefeller University ($1.6M, split education/research), KIPP NYC ($165K), UNC Chapel Hill ($75K), and others pushes education's share above 40%. Environmental preservation is the clear second pillar, led by Wildlife Conservation Society ($9.6M) and supplemented by Environmental Defense Fund ($500K), Everglades Foundation ($500K), Nantucket Conservation Foundation ($117.5K), and The Nature Conservancy ($60K). Social services rank third — Robin Hood Foundation ($11.4M) plus Harlem Children's Zone ($350K), Maine Recovery Fund ($300K), and Boys & Girls Clubs (Martin County: $1.28M; New York: $654K). Medical/biomedical research includes Rockefeller University ($1.6M), Broad Institute ($500K), NY-Presbyterian ($275K), and Hospital for Special Surgery ($200K). Arts are represented primarily through New York institutions (World Trade Center PAC: $1.5M; Cooper Hewitt: $385K) and Nantucket ($56K). Grant sizes range from $1,000 to approximately $5.2M (the largest single documented grant).

The five peer foundations below were matched by the Granted database on asset size (all within $450-460M), providing context for where Ainslie sits among similarly-capitalized grantmakers.

Among these similarly-sized peers, the Ainslie Foundation is notably more concentrated and more personal in its giving architecture. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and James S. McDonnell Foundation represent the opposite end of the accessibility spectrum — both maintain transparent, published grant programs and accept proposals within defined parameters. Kellogg in particular has a robust open application process with dedicated program staff.

Ainslie aligns most closely with the Clark Foundation and Powell Foundation models: true family foundations where giving reflects personal conviction and established relationships rather than a published theory of change or competitive grant cycle. The key differentiator is that Ainslie's asset base has grown unusually fast (44% in five years) due to Maverick Capital's strong investment returns, creating significant and growing grantmaking capacity relative to a still-small grantee portfolio.

No formal press releases, grant announcements, or public communications from the Ainslie Foundation were identified for 2025 or 2026. The foundation does not issue public statements about its grantmaking and has never been covered in the philanthropic press with grant-specific news.

The most significant recent development is the dramatic asset growth documented in FY2024 filings: total assets reached $456.1M, up from $352.3M in FY2023 — an increase of roughly $104M in a single fiscal year. This reflects strong investment returns from the Maverick Capital portfolio, which Lee Ainslie III was actively managing and repositioning as of December 2025 according to public 13F filings tracked by investment research outlets.

The foundation's FY2024 filing shows $1.19M in total revenue — an unusually low figure relative to the $456M asset base — composed primarily of contributions (89.1%) with minimal investment income (10.7% dividends). This contrasts sharply with FY2023, when net investment income reached $44.3M. The shift suggests the FY2024 revenue figure may reflect timing differences in how investment gains flow through the foundation's accounting.

The foundation's SASB contributor listing remains active, indicating continued engagement with sustainability accounting standards — consistent with multi-year giving to the Environmental Defense Fund, Everglades Foundation, and Wildlife Conservation Society. All four board officers — Lee S. Ainslie III (President), Elizabeth M. Ainslie (Co-Chair), Alex Rafal (Secretary), and W. Keith Hennington (Treasurer) — continue in their roles with zero compensation, consistent with prior years. No new program staff additions were identified.

Given that the Ainslie Foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited applications, the following guidance is strategic and relationship-focused — designed for organizations building a long-term case for consideration.

Map your network to Maverick Capital first. Lee Ainslie III trained under Julian Robertson at Tiger Management and is a respected figure in the Tiger Cub hedge fund community. The Maverick Capital network spans New York and Dallas and includes institutional investors, fund-of-funds managers, and family offices. If your organization has board members, major donors, senior advisors, or event sponsors from this community, you have the most direct actionable pathway to a personal introduction.

Leverage Episcopal High School and Robin Hood Foundation relationships. The foundation's two deepest institutional commitments are Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA ($23.9M) and Robin Hood Foundation in New York ($11.4M). Organizations already supported by Robin Hood carry strong credibility within the Ainslies' giving circle. Episcopal High School alumni — whether on your board, major donor list, or in your leadership — represent an equally high-value connection.

Align rigorously with one of three pillars. Every grantee maps cleanly to education, environmental preservation, or medical/biomedical research. There is no evidence of Ainslie Foundation grants to faith-based organizations, domestic policy advocacy, international humanitarian work (beyond Global Citizen Year at $100K total), or arts organizations outside New York City and Nantucket. Organizations outside these three areas should not expect traction regardless of personal connections.

Prioritize geographic relevance. New York organizations dominate by grant count (196 of 436 recorded). Virginia (55 grants, concentrated in the Northern Virginia/Alexandria corridor), Florida's Palm Beach and Treasure Coast regions (52 grants), and coastal New England including Maine's college communities and Nantucket (49 Massachusetts grants, 14 Maine grants) are the active secondary geographies. Organizations headquartered outside these corridors should identify their specific ties to these communities in any conversation.

Frame for multi-year impact. The average Ainslie Foundation relationship spans 4-6 grant years. Approach any introduction as the beginning of a long-term partnership, not a single grant cycle. The Ainslies are fundamentally relationship investors, not program officers evaluating proposals on merit alone.

Avoid unsolicited written outreach. Email, letters of inquiry, and grant proposals sent without a personal introduction will not reach anyone empowered to act. Invest the relationship-building time before any written communication.