Lift A Life Foundation Inc.

The Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation operates as a tight, relationship-driven family foundation with 25+ years of Kentucky-focused grantmaking behind it. Founded in 1999 by David C. Novak — retired CEO of Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut — and his late wife Wendy L. Novak, the foundation channels both personal wealth and David Novak's business-leader philosophy into nonprofit capacity-building. The foundation is legally registered as Lift A Life Foundation Inc. and administered through Cornerstone Family Office in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, but all programmatic activity is Kentucky-centered.

The foundation's grantmaking philosophy centers on a single premise: the quality of an organization's leadership determines its impact. In David Novak's framing, nonprofits fail not from lack of passion but from lack of execution capability. This means first-time applicants must lead with their leadership credentials — board quality, executive track record, and talent development systems — before describing programmatic outcomes.

Two tracks exist. Strategic Partnerships are long-term, high-dollar engagements reserved for organizations the foundation has thoroughly vetted; the $10M commitment to the University of Missouri's Novak Leadership Institute, the $6.1M to Norton Children's Hospital's Wendy Novak Diabetes Center, and the $2.9M to the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning all reflect deep personal connections between the Novak family and these institutions. Community Impact Grants are the annual competitive cycle open to qualifying Kentucky nonprofits.

The 2026 Community Impact Grant cycle ran February 3 through April 22: LOIs due February 27, full applications from invited organizations due April 3, notifications April 22. Organizations that missed this cycle should join the email reminder list at liftalifefoundation.org and prepare for the next round.

First-time applicants should understand several structural realities. Only Kentucky-based or Kentucky-serving 501(c)(3) public charities are eligible. The foundation will not fund political or lobbying activities, direct support to individuals, one-time events or sponsorships, or travel. Only one Community Impact Grant per organization per calendar year is permitted. The current open-cycle focus areas are Food Insecurity, Early Childhood Education, and Military & First Responder Support. Leadership development and juvenile diabetes work are most likely to be funded through the Strategic Partnership track, not the competitive open cycle. The grants manager, Kiana Brown (kiana@liftalifefoundation.org), is the primary point of contact.

Lift a Life's grantmaking shows significant year-to-year volatility driven by periodic large strategic commitments. Total grants paid ranged from $4.2M in FY2021 to $10.9M in FY2022 across the most recent years with available data, with FY2023 recording $6.1M in grants paid on $25.1M in total revenue (including $14.5M in net investment income). The foundation holds $70.2M in assets as of FY2023 — a 41% increase from $49.9M in FY2020 — suggesting growing capacity for future grantmaking.

For the 143 grants captured in the database, the average grant size is $203,544, but this figure is heavily skewed by multi-million-dollar strategic commitments. The median grant stands at $35,000, with a range from $5,000 to $1,168,275. Approximately half of all recorded grants fall below $50,000, making $25,000-$75,000 the realistic target range for new Community Impact applicants.

By dollar volume, leadership development dominates the tracked portfolio. The University of Missouri alone received $10M across three grants, representing 34% of all tracked giving ($29.1M total). Norton Children's Hospital received $6.1M (21%), and the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning received $2.9M (10%). These three relationships account for 65% of total tracked dollars. The remaining $10.2M is spread across 140 smaller grants averaging $73,000 each.

By program area, hunger relief accounts for approximately $2.6M of tracked giving (9%), split among Dare to Care Food Bank ($1.2M), mRelief ($100K), the Lee Initiative ($81K), Feeding Kentucky ($35K), and several community pantry organizations. Early childhood education totals approximately $2.7M (9%), led by Metro United Way ($1.8M) and Community Coordinated Child Care ($736K). Juvenile diabetes and healthcare represents approximately $7M (24%), concentrated in Norton Children's Hospital and the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute. Military family support totals approximately $300K (1%), primarily through Folds of Honor Foundation.

Geographically, 97 of 143 grants (68%) went to Kentucky-based organizations. New York received 10 grants (7%), largely reflecting national health and leadership organizations with Kentucky ties. Illinois (7), Tennessee (5), Virginia (4), Florida (7), Missouri (3), Oklahoma (3), Indiana (2), and Texas (2) round out the footprint.

The database identifies five peer foundations in the $64-65M asset range under Philanthropy & Grantmaking, all independent private foundations. Lift a Life currently holds $70.2M in assets, placing it at the top of this cohort.

Lift a Life distinguishes itself from these peers in several important ways. First, it operates under an identifiable founder's leadership philosophy — David Novak's emphasis on execution capacity is embedded in the eligibility criteria — giving it a more coherent programmatic focus than comparably-capitalized funds with broad mandates. Second, its 25-year track record, 55+ documented partner relationships, and named program areas provide applicants with a stable, predictable institution to approach. Third, its structured annual LOI cycle is more applicant-friendly than the invitation-only or opaque models common among similarly-sized foundations. Finally, with $70.2M in assets, $14.5M in net investment income in FY2023, and growing contributions, Lift a Life has the financial capacity to meaningfully expand beyond its recent $6-12M annual giving range.

The foundation has been active on multiple programmatic fronts in 2024-2025, despite the loss of co-founder Wendy L. Novak, who passed away on February 24, 2024 after a long battle with Type 1 diabetes. The family honored her memory by deepening investment in her signature cause: a $15M gift created the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute (WNDI) at Norton Healthcare. In 2024, WNDI opened a perinatal clinic and added a world-renowned diabetes researcher; the PGA TOUR's ISCO Championship returned to Louisville in 2025 with proceeds benefiting the institute.

On early childhood education, the foundation backed the creation of Thrive By 5 Louisville in 2024, a nonprofit formed alongside Mayor Craig Greenberg's universal pre-K initiative for 3-4 year-olds. Director Ashley Novak Butler — daughter of the founders and paid director of the foundation at $223,292 in FY2023 — serves as Thrive By 5's Board Chair, with Reylene Robinson named as inaugural Executive Director.

In May 2025, the foundation awarded a grant to Community Ventures for the Chef Space Entrée-preneurship program in West Louisville, supporting culinary entrepreneur training for 75+ participants over 12 months and backing a program that created 18 jobs and 12 full-time entrepreneurs in 2024. The Community Impact Grants cycle that closed in early 2025 was succeeded by a 2026 cycle opening February 3, 2026. The Louisville Forum presented the Novak family its Fleur de Lis award, reflecting the family's sustained civic presence in Louisville.

Several concrete patterns emerge from Lift a Life's grant history and published materials that should directly shape your application strategy.

Lead with leadership credentials, not program metrics. The foundation's eligibility criteria explicitly list 'strong leadership track record' and 'outstanding execution' before program outcomes. Every LOI and full application section should demonstrate who leads the organization, how they were developed, how they develop others, and what management disciplines they apply. David Novak built Yum! Brands on recognition-and-accountability culture — applicants that can show they operate a high-performance internal culture will resonate far more than those leading with statistics alone.

Use the LOI as a precision instrument. The 2026 LOI deadline was February 27. LOIs should be concise — 1-2 pages — addressing three questions: What is the problem? Why is your organization uniquely positioned to solve it? What specific measurable outcome are you committing to? Funders with CEO backgrounds respond to crisp problem-solution-outcome framing over narrative prose.

Align strictly to the three open-cycle focus areas. As of 2026, Community Impact Grants explicitly target Food Insecurity, Early Childhood Education, and Military & First Responder Support. Leadership development and juvenile diabetes work belong in a strategic partnership conversation, not a competitive application. Attempting to force-fit your work will likely eliminate you early.

Contact Kiana Brown before the LOI deadline. The Grants Manager (kiana@liftalifefoundation.org) is the appropriate pre-application contact. A professional introduction email confirming eligibility and asking one substantive question about current cycle priorities signals organizational maturity and opens a relationship channel.

Reference authentic Kentucky civic ties. The grantee history is dense with Louisville civic anchors: Dare to Care, Norton Healthcare, Community Foundation of Louisville, Metro United Way, Louisville Urban League, and Thrive By 5. Demonstrating genuine Louisville or Kentucky community embeddedness differentiates your application.

Plan for a multi-year relationship trajectory. Initial grants in the $25,000-$75,000 range appear to establish the relationship; top grantees show 2-3 grants each with growing amounts. Frame your first application as partnership initiation, with explicit language about long-term organizational goals the foundation can join.