Bilezikian Family Foundation Inc.

The Bilezikian Family Foundation is a tightly held, multi-generational family philanthropy headquartered at 231 Willow Street, Yarmouth Port, on Cape Cod. Doreen Bilezikian (President/Secretary/Director) anchors the board alongside Gregory C. Bilezikian (Treasurer/Executive Director), Jeffrey D. Bilezikian (Director), Kate T. Bilezikian (Grant Manager), and outside director Henry L. Murphy. The family's Armenian heritage adds a secondary giving thread — the Armenian Tree Project ($117,500 across 5 grants) and Armenian Memorial Church ($20,000 across 4 grants) have been consistent beneficiaries alongside the Cape Cod-centric portfolio.

The foundation's core philosophy is defined by depth over breadth: the top 50 grantees in the database each average 3–4 separate grants, and the largest single recipient — Cahoon Museum of American Art — has received $310,000 across 4 grants. This is a funder that deepens relationships with proven partners rather than diversifying into new organizations each cycle. Perkins School for the Blind ($303,875 across 3 grants) and Cape Cod Health Care Foundation ($258,500 across 4 grants) illustrate the same pattern in education and health respectively.

In practice, the five official focus areas — education, health and human services, science, arts, and the environment — translate to a clear on-the-ground geography: Cape Cod arts institutions, Cape Cod community health providers, Cape Cod environmental stewardship groups, and statewide Massachusetts education organizations. Of 220 tracked grants, 200 (91%) went to Massachusetts recipients, with the remainder split between Florida, New York, and scattered national grantees — suggesting that out-of-state giving reflects personal family connections rather than a programmatic interest in geographic diversification.

The foundation officially operates on a preselection model: the website contact form (200 words or fewer) is a screening mechanism, not a formal application portal. The foundation "replies only to organizations it will consider," according to its own application language. This means the practical pathway runs through community visibility before any formal submission. First-time applicants should prioritize becoming known to the Bilezikian family through mutual connections at organizations they already fund — United Way of Cape Cod & Islands, Cape Cod Community Foundation, and Cape Arts & Entertainment are logical starting points.

Over the six fiscal years with complete data (FY2019–FY2023), the Bilezikian Family Foundation distributed between $1.1M and $1.39M annually in total giving. The peak was FY2021 ($1,389,659), and the trend has gradually declined to approximately $1.1 million in FY2024 disbursements. Grants paid (cash transferred directly to grantees) ranged from $816,949 in FY2022 to $1,126,673 in FY2021 — the gap between grants paid and total giving reflects administrative expenses and timing differences.

The 220-grant database shows a total of $3,615,108, an average of $16,432 per grant, and a median of $10,000. This median reflects a large population of small recurring gifts ($5,000–$15,000 annually to civic Cape Cod organizations) alongside a much smaller number of major multi-year institutional investments.

Grant sizes fall into three distinct tiers. Major grants of $50,000 or more are reserved for long-term institutional partners: Cahoon Museum of American Art ($310,000 cumulative), Perkins School for the Blind ($303,875), Cape Cod Health Care Foundation ($258,500), United Way of Cape Cod & Islands ($130,600), Cape Arts & Entertainment ($125,000), and Cape Cod Museum of Natural History ($120,000). Mid-tier grants of $15,000–$49,999 go to established but newer relationships, particularly arts organizations, environmental groups, and health nonprofits. Community-scale grants of $150–$14,999 cover a wide range of recurring Cape Cod civic organizations, often $5,000–$10,000 per year.

By program focus, the observed giving breaks down approximately as follows based on grantee stated purposes: arts and culture approximately $740,000 (roughly 20% of total observed giving), health and human services approximately $660,000 (18%), education approximately $540,000 (15%), environment and science approximately $370,000 (10%), and social services and food security approximately $400,000 (11%). The Armenian diaspora thread — Armenian Tree Project, Armenian Memorial Church, and Armenian-heritage cultural preservation grants — accounts for approximately $155,000 across the grantee database.

The foundation's $18.76M asset base has remained stable since at least 2012 (ranging from $17.1M to $20.3M), funded entirely by investment returns with no outside contributions received in recent years. At current giving levels, the effective payout rate is approximately 5–7%, consistent with IRS private foundation minimums.

The following table compares the Bilezikian Family Foundation to its four closest asset-comparable peers, all categorized as private independent foundations under NTEE code T22 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking):

Note: Peer annual giving estimates are based on the IRS-required 5% minimum distribution for private foundations and are not confirmed from filed 990s.

The Bilezikian Foundation stands apart from its asset-comparable peers in two concrete ways. First, it maintains a paid, named Grant Manager (Kate T. Bilezikian) — a level of operational infrastructure uncommon in family foundations of this size, suggesting more systematic grantee tracking. Second, its giving is unusually concentrated geographically (91% to Massachusetts) and relationally (multi-year repeat grantees dominate the portfolio), indicating a mature, stable grantmaking strategy rather than exploratory philanthropy. Peer foundations in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New York at identical asset levels are likely community-anchored in their own regions but lack publicly accessible application pathways, making cross-comparison on process difficult.

The most concrete recent development is the filing of the foundation's FY2024 Form 990-PF on November 14, 2025. The filing shows net assets of $18,758,315, total revenue of $1,927,325 (a strong year driven by $1,287,009 in asset sale proceeds and $640,316 in dividends), and total charitable disbursements of approximately $1,098,372 across roughly 70 grants. This represents a rebound in revenue from FY2023's $773,227 but a modest decrease in grantmaking volume from the FY2021 peak.

The most significant structural change is a leadership transition: Jeffrey D. Bilezikian — who held the Treasurer/Executive Director role with $95,000 annual compensation across multiple prior years — now serves as an uncompensated Director. Gregory C. Bilezikian has assumed the Treasurer/Executive Director title, with compensation declining from $85,000 to $30,000 in the most recent filings, suggesting either a part-time engagement or an intentional restructuring of the family's governance model. Kate T. Bilezikian remains in the Grant Manager role at approximately $50,560, providing operational continuity through the transition.

No new programmatic announcements, new focus areas, capital campaigns, or strategic initiatives were found in public sources for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains no public blog, press room, or social media presence. Grantees with active relationships — including Cahoon Museum of American Art and Armenian Tree Project — show consistent multi-grant patterns without evidence of changes in funding criteria. The foundation's giving appears to be in a steady-state phase, holding near $1.0–1.1M annually rather than the $1.3–1.4M range seen in FY2020–FY2023.

The Bilezikian Family Foundation's defining feature as a funder is its preselection model: the foundation explicitly states it "replies only to organizations it will consider." This is not a competitive grant program with equal access — it is discretionary family philanthropy, and no amount of proposal polish compensates for a lack of prior community visibility.

Optimal timing: The foundation publishes no application deadline or grant cycle. Given that 990-PF filings show grants paid throughout the fiscal year, grantmaking appears to occur on a rolling internal schedule. Submitting a contact inquiry in late winter or early spring (February–April) is a reasonable hedge if you assume any informal annual rhythm, but there is no published confirmation of this.

Contact form strategy: Stay tightly under 200 words. Lead with your Cape Cod or Massachusetts geographic presence — or your Armenian diaspora connection if applicable. Name two or three specific programs that map directly to the foundation's five focus areas (education, health and human services, science, arts, environment). Use hyper-local, community-embedded language. Do not frame your work in national terms or reference global scope. Specific community metrics (number of Cape Cod residents served, years operating on the Cape) outperform abstract impact language.

Grant type alignment: Request general operating support, not project-specific funding. The foundation's entire top-50 grantee list shows general operating grants, not program grants. Positioning your inquiry around organizational sustainability and community presence aligns with their track record.

Relationship building: The highest-leverage action is a warm introduction from someone already in the Bilezikian network. United Way of Cape Cod & Islands, Cape Cod Community Foundation, Cape Arts & Entertainment, and Cape Cod Museum of Natural History are all multi-grant recipients whose board members likely have direct relationships with the family. Shared board members, community events, and Cape Cod philanthropic forums are natural introduction points.

Common mistakes to avoid: Do not send a full proposal without being invited. Do not follow up repeatedly after submitting the contact form — the foundation has been described as providing minimal feedback regardless of outcome. Do not emphasize national or multi-state scope. Do not frame requests around project deliverables.

Alignment language: Use phrases like "Cape Cod community," "serving families and individuals on the Cape," "environmental stewardship of Cape Cod's coastal resources," "arts and cultural life of Yarmouth Port and surrounding towns," or — for Armenian-connected work — "continuing the legacy of Armenian heritage and community resilience."