Lefkofsky Family Foundation

The Lefkofsky Family Foundation is a left-of-center foundation that provides financial support to organization that advocate for increased gun control legislation and taxpayer-funded abortions. 1 2

At-A-Glance

President:

Liz Lefkosky

Formation:

2006

Location: Chicago, IL View on map
Tax ID: 20-7066362
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $64,477,308 Revenue: $10,721,325 Expenses: $8,530,741

Contents

    It was created in 2006 by billionaire businessman Eric Lefkofsky and his wife, Liz Lefkofsky. 3 Eric Lefkofsky is the chairman and co-founder of Groupon, an e-commerce company, and the managing director of Lightbank, a venture capital firm. 4

    Funding

    In 2018, the Lefkofsky Family Foundation received $24,000 in grant and contributions, in addition to $622,967 in dividends and interest from securities and $4,488,308 in capital gains income. 5  The organization reported $5,127,890 in total revenue,6 $8,047,178 in expenses,7 and $52,387,199 in net assets that year. 8

    Gun Control

    The Lefkofsky Family Foundation financially supports the left-of-center Fund for a Safer Future (FSF). 9 FSF is a gun control organization that seeks to influence public opinion by funding university studies that disincentive gun ownership, such as a 2018 study funded by FSF that claimed the presence of firearms in a house increases the risk of suicide. 1

    In 2016, the Lefkofsky Family Foundation supported the production of a documentary examining the shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 10 The documentary focused on the families of the victims and the grief they experienced. Time called the documentary “quietly yet intrepidly political” for its attempt to use the personal experiences of victims’ families to advocate for stricter gun control laws. 11

    Healthcare and Abortion Policy

    The Lefkofsky Family Foundation has financially supported the Culture Change Fund, a project of the Women’s Foundation of California. The Women’s Foundation of California is a far-left organization that advocates for government-controlled healthcare, taxpayer-funded abortion, and increased welfare spending. The organization advocated for California Senate Bill 24, a bill that made California the first state to mandate that state universities provide abortion services for students. Today, student health centers at all 34 public universities and colleges in California offer abortion services. 2

    The Culture Change Fund uses support from the Lefkofsky foundation to produce research and advance advocacy campaigns that seek to shift public opinion on issues including increased welfare spending, taxpayer-funded abortion services, and race-based social policy programs. 12

    Leadership

    Liz Lefkofsky is the president of the Lefkofsky Family Foundation. 13  Liz Lefkofsky is co-trustee of the organization with her husband, Eric. 14

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $64,477,308 $10,721,325 $8,530,741 View
    2023 $62,269,843 $2,434,198 $9,321,778 View
    2022 $67,455,104 $4,630,282 $8,460,636 View
    2021 $73,887,976 $26,071,782 $5,107,944 View
    2020 $59,387,811 $11,115,630 $6,832,347 View

    Prior year filings: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Rachel GrahamDIRECTOR$114,792
    Ayanna MaddoxOFFICER$105,000
    Elizabeth Kramer LefkofskyTRUSTEE$90,000
    Elizabeth LefkofskyEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR$90,000
    Erika FaulkerMANAGER$51,000
    Shauntel Vaughn PageMANAGER$48,500

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $53,214,665
    • Number of Grants: 855
    • Number of Recipients: 401

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $1,000,0002022 Steppenwolf Theatre CompanyCharitable
    $1,000,0002021 Steppenwolf Theatre CompanyCharitable
    $1,000,0002020 Steppenwolf Theatre CompanyCharitable
    $700,0002022 Association for Computing MachineryCharitable
    $400,0002020 Art Institute of ChicagoCharitable
    $333,3332020 University of MichiganCharitable
    $300,0002020 University of MichiganCharitable
    $250,0002022 Anti-Defamation LeagueCharitable
    $250,0002022 Art Institute of ChicagoCharitable
    $250,0002022 Chicago Abortion FundCharitable
    $250,0002021 Jewish United FundCharitable
    $200,0002022 Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan ChicagoCharitable
    $200,0002022 Northwestern UniversityCharitable
    $166,6672022 Friends of the Israel Defense ForcesCharitable
    $166,6672022 Peer Health ExchangeCharitable
    $150,0002022 Art Institute of ChicagoCharitable
    $150,0002022 Childrens Cancer Therapy Development InstituteCharitable
    $150,0002022 Youth Development Labs IncCharitable
    $150,0002021 Art Institute of ChicagoCharitable
    $150,0002021 Northwestern UniversityCharitable
    $150,0002020 Art Institute of ChicagoCharitable
    $150,0002020 Education Equity Covid-19 Response FundCharitable
    $150,0002020 Steppenwolf Theatre CompanyCharitable
    $125,0002022 Children's Hospital FoundationCharitable
    $120,0002020 Museum of Contemporary ArtCharitable

    References

    1. UW News Staff. “Suicide More Prevalent than Homicide in US, but Most Americans Don’t Know It.” UW News, University of Washington. 30 Oct. 2018. Accessed April 17, 2021.  www.washington.edu/news/2018/10/30/suicide-more-prevalent-than-homicide-in-us-but-most-americans-dont-know-it/.
    2. “Reproductive Health” Women’s Foundation California. https://womensfoundca.org/what-we-do/policy-wins/
    3. “About LFF” Lefkofsky Family Foundation. http://www.lefkofskyfoundation.com/about/
    4. “About Eric Lefkofsky” Lefkofsky Family Foundation. http://www.lefkofskyfoundation.com/about-eric-lefkofsky/
    5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Lefkofsky Family Foundation. Part I, lines 1-7. 2018.
    6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Lefkofsky Family Foundation. Part I, line 12. 2018.
    7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Lefkofsky Family Foundation. Part I, line 26. 2018.
    8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Lefkofsky Family Foundation. Part I, line 31. 2018.
    9. “Fund for a Safer Future (FSF)” Lefkofsky Family Foundation. http://lefkofskyfoundation.com/human-rights/fund-for-a-safer-future/
    10. “Eric Lefkofsky — Liz Lefkofsky Support Production of Newtown Documentary” yahoo! Finance. January 21, 2016. Accessed April 17, 2021. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/eric-lefkofsky-liz-lefkofsky-support-230000534.html
    11. Zacharek, Stephanie. “Newtown: A Vivid Portrait of a Grieving Community” Time Magazine. https://time.com/4520923/newtown-vivid-portrait-of-grieving-community/
    12. “Culture Change Fund” Women’s Foundation California. https://womensfoundca.org/what-we-do/grantmaking/culture-change-fund/
    13. “liz Lefkosky” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-lefkofsky-7906a211a/      
    14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Lefkofsky Family Foundation. Part VIII, line 1. 2018.