About the Levy Love Foundation
A private family foundation investing in Nashville's children through strategic, hands-on grantmaking.
Our Story
The Levy Love Foundation was established in the fall of 2014 by Jonathan and Rebecca Levy, lifelong Nashville residents who had spent decades building businesses and raising their family in the city they love. The foundation's genesis was not a single dramatic moment but a gradual accumulation of concern: as Nashville experienced unprecedented economic growth, attracting new residents and national attention, the Levys watched as that prosperity bypassed the children and families who needed it most.
Rebecca, who holds a Master of Education from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, served on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board from 2009 to 2013. During those four years, she saw firsthand the systemic challenges facing Nashville's public education system: chronic underfunding of arts programs, a widening literacy gap in low-income neighborhoods, teachers spending their own money on classroom materials, and families struggling to stay housed as rents climbed. When her board term ended, she and Jonathan made the decision to channel their family's resources into a foundation that would address these challenges directly, school by school, program by program, family by family.
Jonathan, the third-generation CEO of Levy Commercial Properties, a diversified real estate development company with holdings across Middle Tennessee, brings decades of business acumen, community relationships, and financial discipline to the foundation's operations. His approach to grantmaking mirrors his approach to business: invest in people, demand accountability, build long-term partnerships, and never confuse activity with impact. Together, Jonathan and Rebecca personally review every grant application, conduct site visits to prospective and current grantees, and maintain direct relationships with the educators, social workers, and community leaders who execute the programs they fund.
The name "Levy Love" was coined by the couple's youngest daughter, Elena, who was seven at the time the foundation was incorporated. When asked what the family's charity should be called, she said simply, "The Levy Love Foundation, because that is what we do." The name has guided the foundation's work ever since, serving as a daily reminder that behind every grant dollar, every program, and every data point is a child who deserves to know that someone in their community believes in them.
Our Founders
Jonathan Levy
Co-Founder & Board Chair
Jonathan is the third-generation CEO of Levy Commercial Properties, a diversified real estate development company with a portfolio spanning office, retail, and mixed-use properties across Middle Tennessee. A graduate of Vanderbilt University (BA Economics, 1988), Jonathan has served on the boards of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Nashville, and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. He brings three decades of financial management, community leadership, and strategic planning experience to the foundation's operations.
Rebecca Levy
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Rebecca holds a Master of Education in Education Policy from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, where she studied under Dr. Claire Smrekar. She served as an elected member of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education from 2009 to 2013, chairing the Budget and Finance subcommittee. Prior to founding the Levy Love Foundation, Rebecca worked as a literacy consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education's Read to Be Ready initiative and served as a reading tutor with Nashville's Book'em program for over a decade.
Advisory Committee
Our volunteer advisory committee brings expertise in education, child welfare, nonprofit management, and community development to inform the foundation's strategic direction and grant review process.
Dr. Patricia Hightower
Committee Chair
Professor of Education Policy, Tennessee State University. Former Director of Curriculum for MNPS.
Marcus DeLeon, LCSW
Family Services Advisor
Clinical Director, Nashville Family Solutions Center. 20 years in child welfare and family counseling.
Jennifer Park-Nguyen
Nonprofit Strategy
Executive Director, Center for Nonprofit Management Nashville. MBA, Owen School of Management.
David Okonkwo, CPA
Financial Oversight
Partner, Okonkwo & Associates, PC. Specializes in nonprofit audit and compliance.
Sofia Restrepo-Garza
Community Engagement
Founder, Nashville Newcomers Alliance. Specialist in immigrant and refugee family integration.
Rev. Michael Townsend
Youth Development
Senior Pastor, New Hope Community Church. Chair, North Nashville Youth Coalition.
Community Partners
We are proud to partner with Nashville's most respected educational and community organizations. These partnerships multiply the impact of every grant dollar and ensure that our programs are informed by the best available research, community knowledge, and institutional expertise.
PENCIL Foundation
Co-administer the Teacher Innovation Awards program. PENCIL's deep relationships with MNPS schools help us identify and support the most innovative educators across the district.
Nashville Public Library Foundation
Partner on early childhood literacy initiatives, including summer reading programs and the annual Educator Showcase. NPL provides venue space and programming expertise.
Vanderbilt Peabody College
Provides research consultation and program evaluation support. Graduate students assist with data analysis and outcomes assessment for funded programs.
United Way of Greater Nashville
Collaborate on family stability initiatives and community needs assessments. United Way's 211 referral data helps us identify emerging service gaps and crisis trends.
What We Believe
Invest Early
The research is unequivocal: the first five years of a child's life are the most critical for cognitive, social, and emotional development. Every dollar invested in early childhood yields exponentially higher returns than intervention at later stages. That is why early childhood literacy is our flagship program and why we weight our grantmaking toward the youngest and most vulnerable children.
Support the Whole Family
A child does not exist in isolation. When a family is unstable, when housing is uncertain, when parents are overwhelmed, children suffer academically and emotionally. Our Family Stability Fund and Parent Education Workshops recognize this interconnection and address the root conditions that make learning possible.
Empower Educators
Teachers are the linchpin of the educational system and the most important school-based factor in a child's success. Yet they are chronically underresourced and underrecognized. Our Teacher Innovation Awards exist to say: we see you, we trust your professional judgment, and we want to fund your best ideas.