Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation

OVERVIEW: Retired Merrill Lynch investment banking executive Charles Ashby Lewis and his wife, Penny Bender Sebring, established Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation to support youth services, education, higher education and human services in the Chicago area.

IP TAKE: Urban education has been one of the biggest points of focus for the Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation over the years. Grants tend to go to large, well-established nonprofits and range upwards of $1 million.

PROFILE: Established in 1996, the Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation is based in Evanston, Illinois. It is the foundation of Retired Merrill Lynch investment banking executive Charles Ashby Lewis and his wife, Penny Bender Sebring. Prior to assuming this role full-time, Charles spent 34 years at Merrill Lynch & Co. as the investment bank’s vice chairman. The Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation’s grantmaking interests include youth services, K-12 education, higher education and human services. Most funding is directed toward organizations in the Chicago and Evanston areas.

Public K-12 education is a Lewis-Sebring priority, and the foundation has been a prominent supporter of the Chicago Public Education Fund. The funder once awarded a $5 million grant to the University of Chicago to support its work to improve urban schooling in Chicago and nationwide. Other foundation grants have gone to the University of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Lewis-Sebring giving tends to gravitate toward big-name and well-established institutions that already have a pre-existing relationship with the foundation.

Most foundation grants range in size between $10,000 and $100,000 each. Assets and giving have remained fairly steady over recent years. More than half of the foundation’s grantmaking remains in the Chicago and Evanston areas.

The Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation doesn’t have a website and doesn’t make its grantmaking processes known to the public. It does not appear to accept unsolicited grant applications. Direct general inquiries to the foundation at 847-328-4310.  

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