Charities
The New York Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. is the philanthropic arm of the New York Grand Lodge, Order Sons of Italy in America. The Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
The Foundation was incorporated in 1982 to raise money and donate to various recognized charities and to initiate and donate to educational programs that will foster awareness of Italian heritage and culture. For over three decades the New York Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. has donated nearly a million dollars to national and international charities and philanthropies.
Our most prestigious charitable endeavor is our New York Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. Scholarship Awards Program, which has distributed millions of dollars in scholarship awards to deserving young Italian American students in scholarship and special grants.
The Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, and Gift of Sight are some of the major charities supported by the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America®. The NYS Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. is happy to announce the recent addition of The Marty Lyons Foundation as a new state charity. The Mission of the Marty Lyons Foundation is to fulfill the wishes of children ages three (3) to seventeen (17) who have been diagnosed as having terminal or life-threatening illnesses. We look forward to this new partnership.
For over four decades the New York Grand Lodge Foundation, Inc. has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to national and international charities and philanthropies, including but not limited to:
Past and Present Supreme Lodge Charities
- American Committee for Italian Migration
- Arthritis Foundation
- Breast Cancer
- Children’s Inn at NIH
- Coaches for Cancer
- Dante Foundation
- Fieri International
- Futures in Education
- Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
- Gift of Sight
- Italian Genealogical Group
- National Bone Marrow Registry
- National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Fund
- Providence Rest Foundation
- Special Olympics
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island American Immigration Wall of Honor Foundation
- Veteran’s Affairs
- World War II Memorial Project
On an OSDIA National level, The Sons of Italy Foundation® is the philanthropic force empowering culture, fostering brilliance, transforming lives. Through charitable giving and visionary projects, we uplift communities and shape a future of opportunity, unity, and enduring impact.
The SIF’s main fund-raising vehicle is its annual National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala in Washington, D.C. The gala raises money for the foundation’s many worthy charitable causes, honors its scholarship winners, and acknowledges community leaders with award presentations.
In addition, the Foundation establishes campaigns when needed in response to crisis or special fund-raising needs, such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, L’Aquila earthquake and Asian tsunami relief efforts, and the establishment of tributes to 9/11, World War II and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.