Lebherz Family Foundation

The Lebherz Family Foundation operates as a tightly held family philanthropy guided by the personal values of Philip Lebherz (President) and Sharon Lebherz (Vice President). Unlike foundations with competitive grant cycles and public RFPs, this foundation runs on a preselection model: it funds organizations it has already identified and cultivated relationships with, explicitly stating it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. The conventional grantseeker playbook — submitting a cold LOI, monitoring a grant portal — does not apply here.

The foundation's giving philosophy centers on three interlocking values: values-aligned education (especially for underserved and inner-city youth), free-market and limited-government advocacy, and community self-sufficiency over institutional dependency. Its two largest cumulative grantees — Nativity Prep Academy ($430,000) and Curriki ($289,800) — are both education-focused. Cathedral Catholic High School ($250,000) is a faith-based institution. Meanwhile, the American Enterprise Institute ($95,000), Stand Together ($110,000), and the Government Accountability Institute ($40,000) reveal a consistent ideological disposition toward accountability-focused and free-market nonprofits.

For first-time applicants, the critical insight is that getting funded is less about writing a strong proposal and more about being discovered through trusted networks. All four foundation officers — Philip Lebherz, Sharon Lebherz, Regan Musgrave, and Dean Westly — serve with 0.1 to 1 hour per week and receive zero compensation. Decisions are personal and informal. Philip Lebherz holds a 650 area code (San Mateo, CA) despite the Arizona mailing address, consistent with roots in the Southern California philanthropic community where major grantees like Nativity Prep Academy and Cathedral Catholic High School operate.

No LOI portal, no grant calendar, and no application form are publicly available. The foundation's registered website (lebherz.org) resolves to an unrelated amateur radio operator's personal page — confirming the absence of any public-facing grant infrastructure. The most realistic path to a relationship runs through existing grantees, particularly national networks like Stand Together or the American Enterprise Institute, which regularly connect aligned regional funders and nonprofit leaders.

The Lebherz Family Foundation has demonstrated steady, accelerating grantmaking growth since its founding in 2011. Grants paid rose from $69,083 in FY2011 to $1,139,600 in FY2023, then surged 71% to $1,954,708 in FY2024 — the largest single-year payout in foundation history. Total cumulative giving since inception exceeds $10.8 million across 13 years of 990-PF filings.

Within the documented grant portfolio of 44 grants totaling $1,731,321, education dominates at approximately 69% of total dollars. Family and human services accounts for roughly 19%, health-related giving 6%, policy and government accountability 4%, and animal welfare 2%.

Grant sizes span a wide range. The historical record shows grants as small as $200 (Tim Tebow Foundation) and as large as $260,000 per individual disbursement, with a median of approximately $16,000 and an average of $39,348 across the full dataset. However, 2024 data indicates a meaningful upward shift: Grantmakers.io reports a floor of $60,000 and a ceiling of $425,000 for the most recent year, with a median of $13,000 across 34 grants — suggesting the foundation is concentrating resources in fewer, larger relationships while maintaining some smaller discretionary gifts.

Geographically, California is paramount: 22 of 44 documented grants (50%) went to California nonprofits, with heavy concentration in San Diego County (Nativity Prep Academy, Cathedral Catholic High School, Vista Community Clinic, Veterans Association of North County). Virginia received 6 grants (14%), primarily to Washington D.C.-area policy organizations. D.C. proper received 3 grants (7%), Texas and Arizona 2 each (5%), and Florida 2 (5%).

The foundation's asset base grew from $2.2M in FY2011 to $24.8M in FY2023 and approximately $28M by the most recent filing — a nearly 13x increase in 12 years, driven by Philip Lebherz's periodic substantial contributions ($7.0M in FY2019 alone) supplemented by investment income. As assets continue to grow, grant capacity is expanding meaningfully and multi-year relationships are likely to escalate in dollar commitment.

The five peer foundations identified by asset size and NTEE T20 classification all cluster near $18.1M in assets compared to Lebherz's $24.8M (FY2023) — a 37% premium that translates directly into higher giving capacity and a more aggressive grant ramp.

Lebherz stands out in this cohort for three reasons: its documented 13-year giving history (rare transparency for a family foundation of this size), an accelerating grant trajectory that reached $1.95M in FY2024, and a clear, documented ideological and geographic focus that makes grant alignment assessable. Most peer foundations in this NTEE T20 cohort disclose minimal information publicly and lack comparable 990-PF paper trails. For grantseekers, Lebherz is paradoxically more legible than most private foundations of similar scale — even though its preselected-only policy creates a higher relationship barrier than peers that accept open applications.

No press releases, announcements, or media coverage specific to the Lebherz Family Foundation surfaced in 2025–2026 web research. The foundation maintains no public-facing website (lebherz.org resolves to an unrelated amateur radio operator's personal page), no social media presence, and no press infrastructure — all consistent with its preselected-only, family-directed operating model.

The most significant recent development is the 71% increase in grants paid in FY2024, rising from $1,139,600 to $1,954,708 based on ProPublica 990-PF data. This is the foundation's largest single-year grant payout since its 2011 founding and suggests accelerating philanthropic ambition. Total assets simultaneously grew to approximately $28 million per Grantmakers.io — a 13% increase over FY2023's $24.8 million despite the higher distributions, reflecting continued strong investment returns and/or new contributions.

Grantmakers.io data for FY2024 identifies apparent new grantees including the University of Austin (UATX) — a newly launched institution positioned around free inquiry and classical liberal values — and Young Americans for Liberty Foundation, signaling Philip Lebherz is expanding beyond established institutions like AEI toward emerging conservative higher education and youth civic organizations.

Leadership has been stable across all recent 990-PF filings: Philip Lebherz (President), Sharon Lebherz (Vice President), Regan Musgrave (CFO), and Dean Westly (Secretary). All officers remain uncompensated with reported time commitments of under one hour per week, reinforcing the informal, family-directed character of the operation. No leadership transitions or new board members have been publicly announced.

Because the Lebherz Family Foundation funds only preselected organizations and has no public application infrastructure, conventional grant-writing strategies are largely irrelevant. The following tips are specific to the dynamics of this funder:

Map the grantee network before anything else. The proven path to Philip Lebherz's attention runs through organizations he already trusts. Stand Together (formerly the Koch network's nonprofit arm) is particularly valuable: it is both a direct grantee ($110,000) and a meta-network that connects aligned funders and nonprofits. The American Enterprise Institute hosts programming that brings together foundation officers and nonprofit leaders — attend relevant forums where introductions become natural. Nativity Prep Academy, Cathedral Catholic High School, and the Government Accountability Institute are other high-value introductory nodes.

Anchor communications on self-sufficiency and individual agency language. Grant purpose descriptions like "educating inner city youth," "breaking the cycle of poverty," and "financial support for families in need" appear verbatim in the foundation's 990-PF records. Frame outcomes in terms of measurable independence rather than systemic change or government partnership.

Faith-based identity is a genuine asset with this funder. Three of the four largest grants went to Catholic or religiously affiliated organizations. If your organization has a faith-based dimension, it is not a liability — it is alignment. Organizations with entirely secular framing may benefit from contextualizing their values in terms of human dignity and community.

Do not cold-apply. There is no portal, no application form, and no grants page. Cold email LOIs are extremely unlikely to reach a decision-maker. If pursuing a direct outreach attempt, a phone call to 650-348-4131 (Philip Lebherz's area code) preceded by a warm reference is far preferable.

Conservative and free-market positioning resonates. Grantees include Prager University, Rescue California Educational Foundation, Judicial Watch, and Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Ideological neutrality is not an advantage with this funder — demonstrating commitment to limited government, individual agency, or free-market solutions will sharpen rather than hurt your positioning.

Prioritize San Diego County geography. Nativity Prep Academy, Cathedral Catholic High School, Vista Community Clinic, and the Veterans Association of North County are all San Diego-area grantees. Organizations with primary California operations — and San Diego County in particular — have the strongest documented funding track record with this funder.