Chapman Foundation

Chapman Foundation, Inc. (EIN 20-1431411) is a small, founder-run family foundation based in Fountain Inn/Greenville, SC, established in 1999 by William P. and Kimberly M. Chapman under the tagline "Promoting Education Yesterday Today and Tomorrow." This is fundamentally a direct-to-student scholarship funder, not an organization-to-organization grantmaker in the traditional sense — the overwhelming majority of its IRS-reported giving (35 grants in the most recent detailed filing, totaling $29,605) flows as flat $500 contributions credited to the educational institutions its scholarship recipients attend, spanning historically Black colleges and universities (Benedict, Claflin, Miles, Stillman, Talladega, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Lawson State) alongside South Carolina and regional schools (USC, USC Upstate, Clemson, Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Converse) and a handful of out-of-region institutions (Duke, Penn State, Purdue, RPI, William & Mary). A small number of community goodwill gifts (Fountain Inn Police Department $75, March of Dimes $103, Alzheimer's Association $100, Charlotte Civic Orchestra $27) show the foundation also makes token local-goodwill donations unrelated to its scholarship mission. For a first-time applicant, the relationship is transactional and student-centered: there is no LOI-to-full-proposal-to-site-visit cultivation ladder — students apply directly through the foundation's online "CFI Scholarship Portal," which now organizes awards into distinct tracks (mass communications/journalism, marketing/advertising/business, beauty-industry workshops in cosmetology/barbering/esthetics, a non-profit volunteer scholarship requiring 80 service hours, an invite-only community impact scholarship for existing partner programs, and a media immersion workshop). Nonprofits and institutions cannot apply for general operating support here; the realistic path in is either (a) having your students apply for the individual scholarship tracks, or (b) exploring whether your organization qualifies as a "partner program" for the community impact track, which is closed to unsolicited applicants. The one outlier — a reported $50,000 grant in the most recent available 990 — suggests the foundation is capable of a much larger single award than its historical $500-$6,000 range, but its purpose and recipient were not identified in available public data, so seekers should not assume repeatability without direct confirmation from the foundation.

Based on the most complete IRS grantee-level detail available (35 grants, $29,605 total in that filing year), the median grant is $500, the average is $846, and the range runs from $27 (Charlotte Civic Orchestra) to $6,000 (Florida Memorial University, the single largest line item). Fourteen of the 35 grants that year were exactly $500, effectively a flat per-student scholarship rate; only three exceeded $1,500 (Florida Memorial University $6,000, Legacy Park $2,650, University of South Carolina and USC Upstate at $2,500 each). Geographically, that cohort skewed heavily to South Carolina (15 of 35 grants), followed by Alabama (6), Virginia (5), North Carolina (3), Florida (2), and single grants each in Maryland, New York, Indiana, and Pennsylvania — consistent with a Greenville-based scholarship fund whose recipients disperse to HBCUs and regional universities. A more recent snapshot (per Quillify's read of the latest Form 990-PF) shows total giving rising sharply to $102,000 across 27 grants — a typical size of $750, but with SC still dominant at $71K, followed by Florida $21K, Maryland $5K, North Carolina $3K, and Georgia $2K — and a single $50,000 grant pulling the average well above the historical norm. Total giving (which includes program and administrative costs beyond grants) has fluctuated year to year: $167,091 (FY2019), $138,326 (FY2020), $636,860 (FY2021, an outlier year), $157,047 (FY2022), and $168,194 (FY2023), while actual grants paid stayed in a tighter $29,200-$47,560 band across most of those same years — meaning grants paid are typically 20-30% of total giving/expenses, with overhead, program costs, and officer compensation ($24,045-$33,110/year) absorbing the rest. Assets grew from $410,865 in 2013 to $1,689,556 by FY2023 and reportedly to roughly $2.79M in the most current snapshot, alongside income of about $795,787 — a foundation still in a growth phase, not a mature, capped endowment.

All five identified peers sit within roughly $12,000 of Chapman Foundation's asset base ($2.78M-$2.80M) and share the same NTEE Education classification, but every one of them lacks a public website in our data — a strong signal they operate as closed, family-directed scholarship trusts with no open application process, likely making awards by invitation, family nomination, or a fixed local-school arrangement. Chapman Foundation stands out among this asset-matched peer set as the only one running a public, portal-based application system with defined eligibility documentation (transcript, recommendation letters, acceptance letter) — meaning it is comparatively far more accessible to an unaffiliated applicant than its closest financial peers, even though its typical award size ($500-$750) is modest.

No dated press releases or news articles specifically naming Chapman Foundation, Inc. (Fountain Inn/Greenville, SC, EIN 20-1431411) turned up in web search for 2025-2026 — this is a small family foundation without regular media coverage, so absence of news should be read as "no visibility," not "no activity." The most concrete recent signal is financial: the most recent Form 990-PF data available via third-party aggregator Quillify shows total giving of $102,000 across 27 grants in the latest filing year, versus $29,200-$47,560 in grants paid across FY2019-FY2023 in our own database — a meaningful jump, driven substantially by one $50,000 grant that has no historical precedent in the smaller grant-size profile seen in prior years. The foundation's leadership has also rotated: IRS filings list Darren Martin and Alexandra Gonzalez each serving as Executive Director in different fiscal years (compensation ranging from $6,400 to $33,110), with Cristina Visnansky as CFO/Treasurer (uncompensated) across multiple years — indicating an active but very lean staffing model with founder Kimberly ("Kim") Chapman still listed as the primary contact (chapmanfoundationorg@gmail.com, 864-862-6797). Programmatically, the live website now describes a broader menu of offerings than the pure-scholarship model reflected in older 990 grantee data — including cosmetology/barbering/esthetics workshops, an 80-hour non-profit volunteer scholarship, an invite-only community impact scholarship, and community events (MayFest, Summer Camp, Food Drive, Toy Drive, Unity Weekend) — suggesting the foundation has expanded its program design in recent years even without corresponding press coverage.

Applications for Chapman Foundation, Inc. scholarships run through the online "CFI Scholarship Portal" on chapmanfoundationinc.org, not a paper or email submission — start there rather than searching for a downloadable PDF. The foundation's own IRS-filed instructions specify three required attachments: a high school transcript, two letters of recommendation, and a copy of your college acceptance letter, plus a GPA-based eligibility restriction noted in its filings — so a strong, verifiable GPA and an already-secured college acceptance are prerequisites, not optional polish. The most recently disclosed application deadline in our data is May 15 (2025 cycle), consistent with a foundation funding graduating high school seniors before they start college in the fall — plan to submit 4-6 weeks ahead of that date to allow time for recommenders to respond. Because the portal now separates awards into distinct tracks (mass communications/journalism, marketing/advertising/business, beauty-industry workshops, a non-profit volunteer scholarship requiring 80 documented service hours, and a media immersion workshop), the single most common mistake an applicant can make is submitting a generic "scholarship" application instead of selecting the track that matches their intended field of study or activity — do this deliberately, since eligibility and required documentation differ by track. The "community impact scholarship" is explicitly reserved for existing award recipients or partner programs, so unsolicited organizations should not expect to compete for it directly; instead, nonprofits interested in a relationship should inquire by phone (864-862-6797) or email about becoming a recognized partner program rather than submitting a cold proposal. Given the foundation's historical concentration of awards among HBCUs and Greenville/Upstate South Carolina institutions, applicants attending or planning to attend one of those schools, or demonstrating ties to underprivileged Greenville-area communities (the foundation's stated original focus was underprivileged, often African American and Latino, graduating seniors), should foreground that alignment explicitly in any personal statement or interview. Finally, because typical awards remain modest ($500 historically, $750 in the most recent aggregate filing), applicants should frame this as one component of a multi-source financial aid plan rather than a primary funding source, while recognizing the newly observed $50,000 grant means larger awards are not unprecedented for the right fit.