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Lappin Foundation
Robert I. “Bob” Lappin founded the Lappin Foundation in 1993 after building a fortune in vacuum cleaner manufacturing and through Shetland Properties, which...
Lappin Foundation
Robert I. “Bob” Lappin founded the Lappin Foundation in 1993 after building a fortune in vacuum cleaner manufacturing and through Shetland Properties, which owns the 1.5-million-square-foot Shetland Park industrial and office complex in Salem, Massachusetts. Lappin, who lost his personal assets in the Madoff fraud in 2008 and subsequently rebuilt Shetland Properties, died in 2020, leaving day-to-day control with President and Executive Director Deborah L. Coltin. The foundation’s board includes Lappin’s three children — Andrew, Peter, and Jacklyn — creating a governance structure that blends family trusteeship with professional non-profit management. Its headquarters sit in Beverly’s Cummings Center, while the core income-producing real estate remains in Salem. The foundation directs its philanthropic capital toward programming rather than market-rate investment returns, funding initiatives that strengthen Jewish identity across generations. Signature programs include the Youth to Israel Adventure, which sends Jewish teens on a life-changing trip to Israel, and the PJ Library partnership that mails free Jewish children’s books to families. Holocaust education and interfaith outreach round out a programmatic mix that operates at the intersection of grantmaking and direct operating-charity models. The foundation co-funds the Youth to Israel Adventure with Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a major Boston-area funder that acts as a co-investor on this flagship initiative. It does not operate as a typical endowed foundation making grants to third parties; instead, much of the activity is directly administered by Coltin’s team, giving it the operational posture of a program operator rather than a passive endowment. The foundation reports no publicly disclosed asset base, and its largest visible holdings are the Shetland Park commercial and self-storage properties in Salem, Massachusetts. Shetland Properties functions as a separate real estate business alongside the foundation, with income from its leases supporting the philanthropic programming. Coltin also serves on the board of the Spill the Honey Foundation, an organization using arts and education to advance the legacy of the Holocaust and other genocides, and advises the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, extending her professional network beyond Beverly. In recent years the foundation has maintained a steady schedule of Israel trips and community events, with no major strategic pivots visible in the public record.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1993
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Beverly
Corporate office
100 Cummings Center, Suite 220-G, Beverly, MA 01915, United States
Additional offices
Salem, MA
Principals
Deborah L. Coltin
President and Executive Director
Andrew Lappin
Trustee
Peter Lappin
Clerk and Director
Jacklyn Lappin
Board Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Lappin Foundation?
The foundation does not appear to operate a traditional investment portfolio of marketable securities. Its income derives principally from Shetland Properties, the real estate firm founded by Robert I. Lappin that owns the Shetland Park complex in Salem, Massachusetts. President and Executive Director Deborah L. Coltin manages the foundation’s day-to-day operations, while the Lappin family trustees — Andrew, Peter, and Jacklyn Lappin — provide governance oversight. There is no publicly named chief investment officer or investment committee.
Is the Lappin Foundation structured as a grantmaking foundation or a program operator?
It operates primarily as a program operator. Rather than issuing grants to outside organizations as its main activity, the foundation directly runs initiatives such as the Youth to Israel Adventure, Holocaust education programming, and PJ Library distribution. Major partnerships, such as the co-funding arrangement with Combined Jewish Philanthropies for the Israel trips, function more like program co-sponsorships than traditional grantor-grantee relationships.
How is the Lappin Foundation related to Shetland Properties?
Shetland Properties is the real estate company founded by Robert I. Lappin that owns the 1.5-million-square-foot Shetland Park office and industrial complex, along with self-storage operations, in Salem, Massachusetts. The foundation and the property company share common family ownership and leadership. The real estate holdings effectively serve as the foundation’s endowment, with income from commercial leases and storage fees underwriting the foundation’s programming budget.
How did the Madoff fraud affect the Lappin Foundation?
Robert I. Lappin lost his personal assets in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme in 2008. Following the loss, the foundation suspended operations briefly. Lappin subsequently rebuilt Shetland Properties, which he had retained separate from the lost investments, restoring the income stream that allowed the foundation to resume and continue its programming until his death in 2020.
Does the Lappin Foundation co-invest with other funders?
The foundation co-funds its Youth to Israel Adventure program with Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), the largest Jewish philanthropic organization in Greater Boston. This arrangement is a program-level partnership rather than an investment co-commitment. CJP acts as a co-sponsor on this flagship initiative, which sends Jewish teenagers on educational trips to Israel.
What is the foundation’s posture toward outside investment managers?
The foundation does not appear to retain outside investment managers in the manner of an endowed institution with a diversified portfolio. Since its operating capital is tied to income generated by Shetland Properties, the organization functions less like a typical foundation asset allocator and more like a philanthropy attached to a family-owned real estate business. No allocations to public equities, private equity funds, or hedge fund managers are publicly disclosed.
What is Deborah Coltin’s role beyond the Lappin Foundation?
Deborah L. Coltin serves on the board of the Spill the Honey Foundation, which uses art and education to advance the legacy of the Holocaust and other genocides, and sits on the board of advisors for the Holocaust Legacy Foundation. These positions extend the Lappin Foundation’s Holocaust education focus into broader inter-community and memorial work, connecting the Beverly-based philanthropy with national Holocaust remembrance networks.
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