Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation

What Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation does

The Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) charitable foundation established in 1951 by Nicholas H. Noyes — the first comptroller of Eli Lilly and Company — and his wife Marguerite Lilly Noyes. The foundation operates as a perpetual family philanthropic vehicle, deploying capital from an endowment of approximately $160 million in 2025 to support nonprofit organizations serving the greater Indianapolis area, with a stated emphasis on Marion County. Its activities are governed by a family-controlled board comprising Noyes descendants, supported by a small staff of five (President, Vice President/Secretary, Treasurer, Executive Administrator, and Program Officer).

The foundation's core "product" is a structured annual grantmaking program organized into two funding cycles (Spring and Fall). Prospective grantees must first submit a Letter of Intent by email; if the LOI advances, a full proposal must be submitted by mail in fourteen hard copies. Funding is distributed across six program areas: arts and culture, education, health and human services, civic and community service, religion, and (by special board interest) environmental causes. In 2025, the foundation paid out $6,372,101 in charitable grants. Grantees file Annual Reports and Final Reports, and the foundation has begun supplementing paper reporting with an online reporting interface at annualreport.noyesfoundation.org.

Its business model is that of a classic private foundation: investment returns on a ~$160M endowment are recycled into a roughly 4–5% annual payout in line with IRS requirements, with grants acting as the primary "distribution" rather than commercial revenue. The foundation's commercial analog for go-to-market is its application workflow, which is geographically restricted — unsolicited applications from outside the greater Indianapolis area are not accepted, concentrating impact locally. There are no commercial products, subscription pricing, or technology platforms in the conventional sense; the digital reporting site is the only meaningful technology layer identified in the input.

Name

Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation

Legal name

Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr., Memorial Foundation

Website

https://noyesfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation established in 1951 that distributes roughly $6.4 million annually in grants to nonprofit organizations serving the greater Indianapolis area across arts, education, health, civic, religious, and environmental causes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Charitable grant funding
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Community foundation grants
• Foundation grantmaking
• Endowment grant programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment Investment Returns: The foundation operates as a charitable endowment. Revenue is derived from investment returns on foundation assets (approximately $160 million in 2025). These returns fund charitable grant distributions to qualified nonprofit organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that awards grants to qualified nonprofit organizations and educational institutions serving the greater Indianapolis area, with emphasis on Marion County. Funding is provided in two annual cycles (Spring and Fall) across arts and culture, education, health and human services, civic and community service, religion, and environmental initiatives, and supports program funding, general operating support, capital funds, and scholarships.

Product overview

The Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr., Memorial Foundation operates as a charitable grant-making organization established in 1951. The foundation offers a single unified grant funding service with supporting digital portals for application submission and grant reporting. The product portfolio consists of the core grant funding program, a grant application portal for Letters of Intent and full proposals, an annual report form for routine grantees, and a final report form for grants of $5,000 and above. All services are focused on supporting charitable organizations and educational institutions serving the greater Indianapolis area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charitable Grant Funding Program Two-cycle annual grantmaking program providing program support, general operating support, capital funds, and scholarships to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and educational institutions serving the greater Indianapolis area, with emphasis on Marion County, across arts/culture, education, health and human services, civic/community, religion, and environmental initiatives.
• Letter of Intent (LOI) and Grant Application Process Structured application process requiring an emailed Letter of Intent during specified windows; approved applicants then submit 14 collated copies of the full grant proposal by mail, with eligibility limited to 501(c)(3) organizations under 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3).
• Annual Report Submission (Routine List Grantees) Online reporting form hosted at annualreport.noyesfoundation.org for organizations on the Routine List to submit annual reports, due January 12-16 each year.
• Final Report Form (Grants $5,000 and Above) Online final report form for grantees receiving $5,000 or more, submitted approximately one year after grant award (April 15 or October 15 depending on funding cycle).

Quantifiable outcome

• $6,372,101 in charitable grants distributed in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• Lumina Foundation: Indianapolis-based large foundation focused on higher education and workforce; comparable in Indianapolis base and education grantmaking, though with national rather than purely local scope.
• Indiana University Foundation: Large institutional foundation in Indianapolis/Indiana funding education and community initiatives; broader scope (institutional) but operates in overlapping geography and mission.

Direct peers

• Ball Brothers Foundation: Indiana-based private family foundation (Ball Corporation legacy) funding education, arts, and human services; comparable in private-family-foundation structure and Indiana community focus.
• Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis: Indianapolis-area foundation focused on health and human services; comparable in geography and overlapping with one of the Noyes Foundation's primary funding areas.
• The Indianapolis Foundation (Central Indiana Community Foundation): Community foundation serving Central Indiana including Marion County; directly comparable in geography, mission, and grantmaking to Indianapolis-area nonprofits.
• Lilly Endowment: Indianapolis-based private foundation established by the Eli Lilly family; the most direct comparable peer given shared Indianapolis geography, similarly large endowment, and overlapping education/religion/community funding priorities.
• Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation: Indianapolis-based private foundation focused on Marion County and Central Indiana, with similar grant size and sectoral priorities (education, health, civic).
• Glick Philanthropies: Indianapolis-area family foundation supporting arts, education, and community initiatives; comparable in structure, geography, and multi-sector grantmaking approach.
• Ruff Family Foundation: Smaller Indianapolis-based family foundation supporting community initiatives; comparable in family-foundation structure and Marion County focus, though smaller in scale.

Emerging players

• Indianapolis Arts Council: Indianapolis-area grantmaking/arts-support organization; comparable as a regional arts-and-culture funder, though more public-sector affiliated than the Noyes Foundation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/981050898602492

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nicholas Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation