Lillis Foundation

The Lillis Foundation is a small Castle Rock, Colorado family foundation run by Charles M. and Gwendolyn H. Lillis alongside four other family trustees (Jessica L. Isaacs, Lori L. Hoff, Timothy S. Lillis, Michael B. Lillis) plus a next-generation Junior Trustee (Geneva Irene Lillis), with Carrie C. Knox as the sole paid Executive Director ($74,689 in FY2023). With roughly $5.16M in assets (FY2024), it operates on an 'engaged funding philosophy' that explicitly says it invests in leadership, not just dollars: relationships typically start with a small, focused grant to evaluate how an organization functions, then deepen into a genuine partnership on creative solutions if the fit is right. Critically, the Foundation states it does not solicit or fund from unsolicited proposals as a rule — it identifies most opportunities through its own research and collaboration with other grantmakers — though its Contact and Eligibility pages do invite a Letter of Inquiry from organizations whose mission aligns with its three funding pillars: educational access (the largest use of dollars, mostly scholarships and Student Assistance Funds), disadvantaged young children, and quality-of-life/loneliness-and-isolation programs for seniors. It favors 501(c)(3)s and public charities with 'visionary executive leadership,' an active board, a clear mission with measurable outcomes, and a specific, often early-stage project with a realistic funding plan — not annual operating budgets. It will not fund general operating support, endowments, capital campaigns, debt repayment, fundraising events, religious missions, or lobbying/electioneering. First-time applicants should recognize this is a high-volume, small-dollar shop: of 383 tracked grants totaling $1.33M, the average is $3,477 and the Foundation's own typical-grant-size record shows a $3,000 median (range $500-$12,000). Geographically, 252 of those 383 grants (66%) went to Colorado — concentrated in Douglas County/Denver-metro community organizations (Castle Rock Senior Center, Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation, Wellspring Community) — with the remaining grants almost entirely individual college scholarships following students to out-of-state schools (Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska, California, Arizona). A warm introduction through an existing grantee, a Douglas County community foundation, or another funder is a far more realistic entry point than a cold LOI.

Total giving rose from $111,724 in FY2012 to $393,446 (FY2019), $392,726 (FY2021), $514,017 (FY2022), and a record $547,593 in FY2023, before FY2024 total revenue dropped to $310,518 (total_giving not yet reported) as net investment income cooled from FY2022's unusually strong $965,915. Assets tracked that arc, rising from $3.62M (2012) to a peak of $5.73M (2022) and settling at $5.16M-$5.42M in 2023-2024. Officer compensation appeared starting FY2022 ($64,447) and rose to $74,689 in FY2023 — roughly 13-14% of that year's total giving, notable overhead for a foundation this size with only one paid position. On individual grant size, the Foundation's own typical-grant-size field shows a $3,000 median and $3,297 average across 92 recorded grants, range $500-$12,000 — this is dominated by per-student scholarship checks and small trustee-directed 'discretionary' gifts (each family trustee — Chuck, Gwen, Carrie, Lori, Jessica — appears to have a personal discretionary line, typically $1,000-$3,000 per grant). Looking at cumulative multi-year totals by recipient (383 grants / $1,331,659 sampled, avg $3,477/grant), the largest career totals are almost entirely university scholarship programs: University of Wyoming $51,000 across 13 grants, Colorado State University $38,000/18 grants, Colorado School of Mines $37,500/12, University of Colorado Boulder $36,500/20, Regis University $31,500/6, Arizona State $25,000/7. The largest single organizational (non-scholarship) grants are Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation's $30,000 one-time gift for a sensory-wall playground, Littleton High School's $29,750 Student Assistance Fund (6 renewals), Castle Rock Senior Activities Center's $28,000 Active Minds Lecture Series (2 grants), Kids First Health Care's $27,000 across building-campaign and equipment grants, and A Little Help's $20,000 for its Older Adults Service Program. By rough program mix within the top-50 sample, education/scholarships (university line items plus K-12 Student Assistance Funds) account for well over half of dollars; seniors' programs (Castle Rock Senior Center/Activities Center, A Little Help, Seniors' Resource Center) roughly 10%; children/family services (Early Connections Learning Centers, Read To Me, A Precious Child, Wellspring Community) roughly 15%; and small discretionary trustee gifts make up the remainder. Geographically, Colorado captured 252 of 383 tracked grants (66%), with the balance spread thinly across Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska, California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Indiana — almost entirely scholarship dollars, not organizational expansion.

The data bundle's peer set was matched by asset size (all clustered near $5.15M-$5.16M and filed under the generic 'Philanthropy & Grantmaking' NTEE bucket) rather than by mission, and none besides Adib Foundation maintain a public website — typical for small, low-visibility family trusts and foundations of this size, where detailed giving and application data isn't publicly disclosed.

Lillis stands out in this asset-matched cohort as the only foundation with a public website, a stated giving philosophy, and a named, documented application pathway (Letter of Inquiry via email or mail) — most $5M-asset peers of this type operate with no public grant guidance at all, meaning a grant seeker's ability to even attempt an approach to Lillis is unusually good for a foundation its size. Its FY2023 giving of $547,593 also implies a higher payout relative to assets (roughly 10%) than is typical for foundations sitting on flat or shrinking asset bases, suggesting active rather than dormant grantmaking.

No 2025-2026 press coverage, leadership announcements, or new program launches were found for the Castle Rock, CO Lillis Foundation; web searches for 'Lillis Foundation' news instead surfaced the unrelated Peggy Lillis Foundation (a C. diff patient-advocacy nonprofit holding its 2026 National Summit and Lobby Day on April 13, 2026, in Washington, DC) and Lilly Endowment Inc. — neither connected to this funder. That absence of media presence is itself consistent with the Foundation's profile: a single-employee family trust that does not run press outreach. The most concrete recent-activity signal from IRS filings is board composition: Timothy S. Lillis and Geneva Irene Lillis (the latter titled 'Junior Trustee,' suggesting a mentorship seat for a rising-generation family member) both joined in September 2022, alongside continuing trustees Charles M. and Gwendolyn H. Lillis, Jessica L. Isaacs, Lori L. Hoff, and Michael B. Lillis — pointing to a deliberate, quiet generational succession rather than any public strategy shift. Financially, FY2023 marked the Foundation's highest recorded total giving ($547,593) and asset base activity was last IRS/web-enriched and verified as recently as August 15, 2026, indicating the profile is current. The Foundation's most durable, ongoing 'activity' remains its multi-year scholarship commitment to the University of Puget Sound (two freshman scholarships per year, ~$54,608 each, December 1 application deadline), which continued uninterrupted into the current admissions cycle. Grant seekers should not expect a news-driven signal of the Foundation's priorities; the IRS 990 grant history and its own website remain the only reliable sources of current intent.

Do not cold-submit a full, unsolicited proposal — the Foundation's own philosophy page states it identifies most funding opportunities through internal research and collaboration with other grantmakers, and does not proactively solicit from strangers. The documented entry point is a brief Letter of Inquiry sent to info@lillisfoundation.org or PO Box 1479, Castle Rock, CO 80104 (fax 720-708-2343), requesting funding guidelines or an application; there is no published deadline or funding cycle in either the IRS filings or the website, so treat this as a rolling, relationship-driven process rather than a competitive round. Anchor your ask to one of the three explicit pillars — educational access, disadvantaged young children, or senior isolation/quality-of-life — and frame it as a specific, fundable, often early-stage project with measurable success indicators, since the Foundation explicitly says it wants 'a realistic, achievable funding plan and a compelling impact,' not annual budget support. Hard excludes to avoid entirely: general operating/ongoing operational support, endowments or reserve funds, capital campaigns, debt repayment, fundraising-event sponsorships, religious-mission activities, and any lobbying or election-related work. Size the ask realistically: the Foundation's own typical-grant-size data shows a $3,000 median and $500-$12,000 range for most disbursements, while even its largest one-time organizational grants (e.g., Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation's $30,000 sensory-wall playground project) top out well below what larger regional foundations might give — asking for six figures from a first LOI will be a mismatch. Expect the relationship to start small: the philosophy page is explicit that the Foundation typically begins with a modest, focused grant to evaluate how an organization functions before considering deeper, multi-year partnership funding, so a first-time grantee should propose a contained, low-risk pilot rather than a multi-year ask. Because trustees personally direct small discretionary grants (evidenced by 990 line items tagged with individual trustee names, e.g., 'Discretionary Grant - Chuck Lillis, General Operating'), demonstrating a genuine personal or community connection to a trustee or to Douglas County/Castle Rock nonprofits carries real weight — this is not a foundation where a strong cold application alone is likely to break through. The most common mistake would be treating this like a large institutional funder with an online portal and open cycle; it is a six-figure-to-low-seven-figure family trust with one paid staffer, so a personal letter or phone call referencing the Foundation's own language (leadership quality, active board, measurable impact, 'engaged funding') will land better than a generic grant-portal-style proposal.