Leon Levy had a passion for expanding knowledge and believed in the power of ideas and a just and equitable society. This broad humanism also defined his philanthropy.

As the guiding principle of the Leon Levy Foundation, the Trustees are resolved to follow Leon’s vision to encourage and support excellence in fields of particular interest to him.

Those interests can be grouped into six broad areas: Understanding the Ancient World; Arts and Humanities; Brain Research and Science; Preservation of Nature and Gardens; Human Rights and Civil Liberties; Jewish Culture.

The Leon Levy Foundation, founded in 2004, is a private, not-for-profit foundation created from the Estate of Leon Levy. The Foundation continues Leon Levy's philanthropic legacy by providing support for programs he started with his wife, Shelby White. Among them are the following:

This $200 million commitment, announced in 2006, is the Foundation's largest and most innovative undertaking. The Institute, which will admit its first graduate students in the fall of 2008, will serve as a center for advanced scholarly research and graduate education, intended to cultivate cross-cultural study of the ancient world, from the western Mediterranean to China. The inspiration for the Institute stemmed from Leon Levy's lifelong passion for archaeological study, antiquity and antiquities.

In April 2007 New York University announced the appointment of Dr. Roger Bagnall to head the new Institute.


The Shelby White-Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications at Harvard University.
Over the past decade, the White-Levy Publications program has enabled hundreds of archaeologists to publish their field research, making it available to the broader archaeological, scholarly community. In 2006, in conjunction with the White-Levy Publication program, the Foundation established the Philip J. King Professorship at Harvard, to support an outstanding scholar of the ancient world and to foster a cross cultural academic environment to enhance understanding of ancient world civilizations.

The Travel Grant Program at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University
The Travel Grant Program supports summer study trips for all first year students seeking advanced degrees.

The New Initiatives Program at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton
The New Initiatives Program for interdisciplinary scientific research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey and the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior at the Rockefeller University in New York City.


Proposal Policy and Financial Information
The Leon Levy Foundation is a private non-operating foundation with a small staff. It does not accept unsolicited proposals. The Leon Levy Foundation has approximately $600 million in charitable assets and its 990PF is available at Guidestar.org.