Air Legends Foundation

The Air Legends Foundation operates as a private operating foundation — a distinction that fundamentally changes how grant seekers should engage. Unlike a conventional private foundation that primarily distributes funds to external organizations, Air Legends dedicates the vast majority of its $60M in assets and roughly $375,000–$500,000 in annual program expenses to running its own programs: acquiring, restoring, and publicly exhibiting historically significant military aircraft. The foundation was established in May 2021 by the Lewis family (EIN 85-4325592, San Antonio, TX) and has grown from $18.55M in assets to nearly $60M in just four years, funded entirely by family contributions.

External grantmaking is rare, highly selective, and invitation-only. IRS filings from 2020 through 2024 show only one confirmed external grant payment: $10,000 to EAA Aviation Foundation Inc. in FY2023, designated for 'supporting EAA's education, safety, advocacy, and outreach programs.' Additional small awards have reportedly gone to Kiddie Hawk Air Academy and EAA Warbirds of America Inc. based on third-party grant databases, but no amounts are publicly confirmed beyond the EAA Aviation Foundation payment.

The foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited proposals. Its IRS registration flags it as 'preselected only,' and there is no public application process, open RFP, or published grant cycle. This is not an administrative gap — it reflects a deliberate, relationship-first giving philosophy in which the board identifies and invites organizations whose work complements the foundation's own aircraft preservation mission.

Leadership is tight-knit and family-driven. President Rodney R. Lewis, Secretary/Treasurer Alfred Holcomb, and Director Jessica Lewis Worth (whose surname suggests a family connection to Lewis) all serve without compensation. PR contact Lisa Damuth Snow (affiliated with Glacier Capital, the foundation's investment management firm) handles external communications. First-time applicants must understand that the relationship pathway runs through EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, where the foundation is among the highest-profile exhibitors each year — parking historic warbirds on Boeing Plaza and flying them in daily air shows.

Air Legends Foundation's financials reveal a bifurcated structure that grant seekers must parse carefully. The 'total giving' figures in IRS 990-PF filings primarily represent program service expenses for the foundation's own aircraft restoration and exhibition operations, not external grants.

• FY2024: Revenue $4.15M | Total assets $59.99M | External grants paid: not yet reported
• FY2023: Revenue $4.79M | Total assets $56.18M | Program expenses $496,187 | External grants paid $10,000
• FY2022: Revenue $30.27M | Total assets $51.9M | Program expenses $52,490 | External grants paid $0
• FY2021: Revenue $3.20M | Total assets $20.1M | Program expenses $1,629,069 | External grants paid $0
• FY2020: Revenue $18.55M | Total assets $18.55M | Program expenses $0 | External grants paid $0

The FY2022 revenue spike to $30.27M reflects an extraordinary contribution year — likely a major asset transfer or aircraft acquisition investment by the Lewis family. FY2023 and FY2024 revenues have stabilized in the $4–5M annual run rate, suggesting that is the ongoing contribution level.

External grants represent a tiny fraction of activity: the single confirmed external grant was $10,000 — less than 2% of FY2023 program expenses. When external grants are made, they are small (estimated range: $5,000–$25,000 based on the known data point and reported additional grantees). Organizations should not build program budgets around Air Legends funding.

All revenue is 100% contribution-based — the foundation has no investment income reported, no earned revenue, and no endowment draw structure in the conventional sense. The asset base is itself the mechanism for long-term aircraft ownership and maintenance. Geographic distribution of the one confirmed external grant is Wisconsin (EAA Aviation Foundation, Oshkosh), though the foundation's home state is Texas. Mission alignment to aviation education, advocacy, and heritage clearly outweighs geography as a factor.

Air Legends Foundation sits within a cohort of mid-sized Arts & Culture private foundations with assets in the $61–63M range. The critical differentiator is its operating foundation structure — it retains and deploys resources through its own programs rather than primarily distributing grants outward.

All five peer foundations operate in the invitation-only model standard among private foundations at this asset level, with no public-facing application processes. What distinguishes Air Legends Foundation most sharply from peers is the extreme mission specificity: military aviation heritage is a niche within Arts & Culture that more closely resembles a museum operating foundation than a traditional grantmaker. Seward Johnson Atelier and Seven Bridges Foundation are the closest structural analogs in terms of operating-foundation orientation, but neither shares the aviation focus. Grant seekers drawn to this foundation because of its Arts & Culture NTEE classification should recalibrate — this is functionally an aviation heritage institution that happens to file under Arts & Culture, not a broad arts funder.

The foundation's most significant recent public activities are both centered on EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025 (July 21-27, 2025).

In spring 2025, Air Legends announced two major participations. First, the 'Flight of the Cats' program: four rare Grumman fighters — the F4F-3 Wildcat (entered service 1940), F6F Hellcat (dominant U.S. Navy carrier fighter in the Pacific), F7F Tigercat (first twin-engine Navy fighter, served 1945-1954), and F8F Bearcat (Grumman's final piston-engine fighter) — will be displayed on Boeing Plaza, featured in the EAA Warbirds of America area, and flown in the daily afternoon air shows. This is believed to be the first time all four Grumman cat-series fighters have been assembled and flown together at Oshkosh.

Second, the C-121A Constellation 'Bataan' — General Douglas MacArthur's Korean War personal transport, acquired by the foundation in 2015 and restored by Fighter Rebuilders in Chino, California — will return to Oshkosh for its third consecutive year. The aircraft's first post-restoration flight took place in June 2023, a milestone after an eight-year restoration effort.

No new external grant awards have been publicly announced for 2025 or 2026. Board composition remains unchanged: Rodney R. Lewis (President), Alfred Holcomb (Secretary/Treasurer), Jessica Lewis Worth (Director), and Vincent Sosa (Director). Assets are approaching the $60M mark as of the most recent FY2024 filing.

The most critical thing to understand: Air Legends Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. There is no portal, no RFP, no grant calendar, and no form. Submitting a cold proposal — regardless of how well-crafted — will not result in funding. The foundation's IRS profile explicitly designates it 'preselected only.'

Given this, pursuing Air Legends Foundation requires a sustained relationship-building strategy across three channels:

1. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is the primary access point. The foundation is one of the highest-profile exhibitors at the annual event (July, Oshkosh, Wisconsin). Meeting leadership and staff in person at Boeing Plaza — where their aircraft are parked — is the most natural entry. Organizations that exhibit, volunteer, sponsor, or participate in EAA programs are in the right ecosystem. Plan for the July 21-27, 2025 event.

2. Use the right contact. Lisa Damuth Snow (LSnow@GlacierCap.com, 210-862-6684) is the foundation's identified PR and external relations contact. An introductory email of two to three short paragraphs — describing who you are, your aviation mission, and why it resonates with military aviation preservation and public education — is appropriate. Do not attach a proposal. Do not reference grant amounts. Ask only whether there is interest in learning more.

3. Alignment language is non-negotiable. Mirror the foundation's own mission language: 'preservation,' 'maintenance and repair,' 'presentation and exhibition to the public,' 'military aviation heritage,' 'education,' 'safety,' and 'advocacy.' The foundation's three known external grantees — EAA Aviation Foundation (education, safety, advocacy, outreach), Kiddie Hawk Air Academy (youth aviation), and EAA Warbirds of America (warbird heritage) — define the thematic lane precisely. Organizations working at the intersection of youth aviation, STEM education through aviation history, or warbird preservation are best aligned.

Common mistakes: Using generic Arts & Culture framing rather than aviation-specific language. Approaching without prior EAA engagement. Expecting a formal review cycle. Requesting large grants — available data suggests awards in the $10,000–$25,000 range.

Timing: No published grant cycle exists. Patience is essential; plan for an 12–24 month relationship-building runway before any funding conversation.