Lmcl Inc.

LMCL Inc. is a Wexner family grantmaking vehicle that funds a tightly defined portfolio of Legacy Heritage educational programs serving Jewish day school teachers in New York. Susan R. Wexner holds all three officer roles — President, Secretary, and Treasurer — at zero compensation, confirming this is a founder-directed foundation rather than a professionally staffed grantmaker with open intake processes. The ten-member board of directors is also fully uncompensated.

Nearly all documented grantmaking flows to affiliated Legacy Heritage entities: the Teacher Leader Fellowship ($1.71M across three grants), Legacy Heritage Programming V LLC ($1.30M, four grants), the Institute for the Arts ($1.06M, three grants), the Teacher Maker Institute for Educational Technology ($998K, three grants), and the Teachers Institute ($531K, three grants). The sole clearly external recipient in available records is the Society for the Interpretation of Talmud, which received a single $24,000 grant. This structure — and the foundation's database flag of 'preselected only' — means there is no open RFP cycle, no application portal, and no LOI submission pathway.

First-time applicants should approach this funder with a relationship-first strategy. The operational arm, Legacy Heritage Fund Limited, employs a professional program staff (Senior Program Director, Program Directors) who likely evaluate programmatic fit before any board discussion. A genuine connection to program staff — built over time through Jewish education sector convenings — is the most realistic entry point.

Organizations best positioned for consideration are those already embedded in the NYC Jewish day school world, specifically providing professional development to classroom teachers. A track record of at least two to three years of measurable outcomes, endorsements from Prizmah, RAVSAK, or UJA-Federation of New York, and fluency in Legacy Heritage's program language ('replicable curricula,' 'sustainable innovation,' 'raising instructional quality') are prerequisite signals. Do not approach LMCL Inc. directly with a proposal. Build credibility in the ecosystem first.

LMCL Inc. holds a $28.4M endowment (FY2024) and distributes roughly $1.5M to $2.3M annually in grants and direct program support, depending on investment returns. Over ten fiscal years of available IRS data (FY2012–FY2024), total giving ranged from $141,195 (FY2020, COVID disruption of residential programming) to $2,328,928 (FY2022). The three-year average from FY2021–FY2023 is $2,052,197 in total giving and $1,750,609 in grants paid specifically.

Net investment income is the sole revenue driver — the foundation receives zero external contributions. Investment income ranged from $1.09M (FY2022) to $3.08M (FY2019), and giving levels track this with roughly a one-year lag. The FY2023 shortfall in giving ($1.67M vs. the FY2021–2022 average of $2.25M) correlates with the drop in net investment income to $1.86M in that year.

Individual grant sizing across six documented grant records: median $71,727, mean $322,076, range $15,044 to $1,288,578. The wide range reflects a mix of small ancillary payments and large flagship program grants. Flagship grants fall in the $177,000–$570,000 per-cycle range. All 20 documented grants are concentrated in New York (19 explicitly coded NY; one unlabeled). Program area breakdown: approximately 99.5% of dollars support Jewish day school teacher professional development across three tracks — Judaic text, arts, and educational technology. Talmudic/textual study outside the main programs represents less than 0.5% of total disbursements.

Multi-year grant relationships are the standard model: every major grantee received three to four grants across the observed period, with no evidence of one-time awards to flagship programs. LMCL Inc. funds institutional commitments, not pilots. Budget planning should assume a grant cycle of two to three years with renewal subject to program performance review.

The following foundations hold comparable total assets in the $28.4M–$28.5M range and share the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE designation. Giving data for peers is not publicly disclosed; only LMCL Inc. has detailed 990-PF records available.

Among this peer set, LMCL Inc. is the only foundation with a clearly documented and narrow programmatic focus. All four peer foundations are opaque family vehicles typical of this asset tier — they disclose minimal public information and do not operate open grant processes. Cohen Veterans Network is the only peer with a public website, but its veterans health focus makes it irrelevant as a model for Jewish education applicants. For strategic benchmarking, LMCL Inc.'s most meaningful peer was historically AVI CHAI Foundation, which shared a focus on Jewish day school excellence before completing its planned spend-down and closing in 2019 — a gap that may create expanded opportunity for LMCL-funded programs.

Web research returned no press releases, news articles, or public announcements from LMCL Inc. in 2025 or 2026. The foundation website (www.lmcl.org) returns a 403 Forbidden error, indicating it is intentionally inaccessible to the public — consistent with a closed operation that does not solicit applications or seek visibility.

The FY2024 IRS filing confirms active operations: $28,447,539 in net assets, $2,524,355 in revenue (dividends $737,460, asset sales $1,741,494, other $45,401), and charitable disbursements of $1,614,644. No leadership changes appear — Susan R. Wexner remains the sole officer across all three roles (President, Secretary, Treasurer).

The affiliated operational entity Legacy Heritage Fund Limited (EIN: 13-4077801) reports FY2024 active program delivery with professional staff: S. Saposh (Senior Program Director, $282,116 compensation), J. Mauskopf (Chief Accounting Officer, $219,096), and J. Belasco (Program Director, $205,290). Total FY2024 expenses of $2,313,592 with charitable disbursements of $2,025,795 confirm that Legacy Heritage programs remain in active delivery. The Legacy Heritage Teacher Institute, historically delivered at Hebrew University, Camp Stone, and Brandeis University, appears to be continuing based on staff compensation levels consistent with active programming. No wind-down or strategic pivot signals were detected in any available data source.

LMCL Inc. is a preselected-only funder with no public application process. The following tips reflect this reality and are calibrated for serious organizations seeking to position themselves over time.

Avoid cold outreach entirely. There is no intake mechanism — no application portal, no RFP, no LOI submission address. Unsolicited materials will not receive a response and signal unfamiliarity with how this funder operates.

Nail the programmatic lane. LMCL funds one thing: professional development for Jewish day school classroom teachers. Your program must serve teachers directly — not administrators, students, or parents as the primary audience. Fit one or more of the three tracks: Judaic text-based instruction, arts integration into day school curricula, or STEAM/maker space/educational technology.

Build sector credibility before any approach. Publish outcomes data, present at Prizmah or RAVSAK convenings, and pursue co-funding from UJA-Federation of New York's Jewish education programs. Third-party validation from recognized ecosystem players is how LMCL's leadership would first hear of your work.

Target Legacy Heritage Fund Limited program staff as the entry point. Senior program staff — not the LMCL board — are likely the first evaluation layer. Build genuine professional relationships at Jewish education conferences before any grant conversation.

Come with multi-year impact data. Every major LMCL grantee received three to four grants across the observed period. This is an institution-building funder, not a pilot-testing one. Minimum two to three years of measurable teacher outcomes and school partner documentation is expected.

Mirror Legacy Heritage program language in any materials. Use: 'replicable,' 'sustainable,' 'innovative curricula,' 'raising the quality of instruction and learning,' 'intensive training,' 'mentoring.' These phrases appear verbatim in Legacy Heritage program descriptions and signal alignment.

Stay New York-focused. All 20 documented grants are New York-based. National program organizations are unlikely to be competitive regardless of quality.