Cheng Family Foundation

Cheng Family Foundation is a small, closely held private family foundation led by President & Director Jennifer Cheng, alongside uncompensated directors Eugene Cheng (Treasurer), Keith Cheng (Secretary), and Jean Ling — the hallmark of a first- or second-generation family giving vehicle, not a staffed grants program. With $7.9M in assets, it operates preselected-only: the funder database flags "preselected_only: true," there is no application form URL or published deadline, and independent web research confirms the foundation "typically selects its grantees rather than accepting unsolicited proposals." The realistic path in is relationship, not a portal. Grantees cluster around institutions with plausible personal or family ties: Pasadena-area dance conservatories, Loma Linda University and Loma Linda University Health, USC's Kaufman School of Dance, Palisades Charter High School, and an Oregon cluster (Portland/Lake Oswego) alongside a Massachusetts (Boston-area) presence. First-time applicants should not cold-submit proposals; instead build visibility within the foundation's existing grantee network — Huntington Library, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Loma Linda University, and Pasadena dance-education circles — and pursue warm introductions through shared board members, alumni networks, or civic/arts events. Typical grant size clusters around a $50,000 median (per the foundation's own typical_grant_size data), with a $3,500-$75,000 range across the five most recent distinct grants tracked, and 33 total tracked grants averaging $30,798 each. Multi-year, repeat funding is the norm once a relationship is established: Loma Linda University Health has received 3 grants totaling $225,000, Monterey Bay Aquarium 4 grants totaling $200,000, and Grand Circle Foundation 4 grants totaling $135,000. Every one of the 33 tracked grants is labeled "GENERAL SUPPORT" — the foundation funds operations broadly rather than restricted programs, which lowers reporting burden for grantees but also means capital campaigns or narrowly scoped project asks are not the template that has historically succeeded here. Given the closed process, the most productive strategy for outside organizations is patient, long-horizon relationship-building within Pasadena/LA arts-education and Loma Linda health-education circles rather than formal, cold grant-seeking through directories or portals.

The foundation's own typical_grant_size data shows a median grant of $50,000 with a range of $3,500-$75,000 across its five most recently tracked distinct grants; the broader 33-grant historical dataset averages $30,798 per grant on total tracked giving of $1,016,322. Geographically, by grant count: California 21 of 33 (64%), Oregon 8 of 33 (24%), Massachusetts 4 of 33 (12%); by dollar volume, third-party data puts California at roughly 79% ($964K), Massachusetts at 11% ($130K), and Oregon at 10% ($126K) of cumulative giving. Every tracked grant carries a "GENERAL SUPPORT" purpose designation — there are no restricted or project-specific grants in the record. By theme: higher education and health (Loma Linda University plus Loma Linda University Health, roughly $300,000 combined across 4 grants), performing-arts and dance education (Dance Conservatory/Conservancy of Pasadena, USC Kaufman School of Dance, and Diavolo Dance Theater, roughly $170,000+ combined), environmental and science education (Monterey Bay Aquarium, $200,000 across 4 grants), K-12 education (Palisades Charter High School $74,000; Park Academy $55,000 across 3 grants), arts and culture (the Huntington Library/Gallery/Gardens cluster, roughly $34,600 across 4 separate line items), and smaller grants to music and Oregon/health-adjacent organizations (Chamber Music Northwest $10,000; OHSU Education Fund $10,000; Trillium Family Services $30,000 across 2 grants; Grand Circle Foundation $135,000 across 4 grants). Total charitable distributions reported on Form 990-PF have trended down over time: $1.05M (2019), $638K (2020, pandemic dip), $696K (2021), $781K (2022), $897K (2023); cash grants actually paid out ran consistently lower each year — $459,391 (2019), $150,581 (2020), $208,500 (2021), $229,657 (2022), $348,508 (2023) — and web sources put 2024 cash grants at roughly $283,061 across just 7 awards, the smallest annual grant total since the 2020 pandemic dip. Total assets peaked at $8.84M in 2022 (helped by a $2.06M net investment income year) and have since declined to $7.9M in 2024, meaning the foundation is currently drawing down assets faster than it is earning on them. Notably, President Jennifer Cheng's compensation ($270,000-$281,644 in recent years) is a large figure relative to the roughly $283K-$349K in annual cash grants — a sign this is a lean, family-operated vehicle rather than a program-officer-staffed grantmaker, not a criticism of the giving itself.

This peer set is asset-matched (all funders sit within roughly $1,800 of Cheng Family Foundation's $7,900,331 in total assets) rather than focus-matched, and it illustrates a broader pattern: funders in the "Philanthropy & Grantmaking" NTEE category at this asset size are almost uniformly small, closely held family or single-donor vehicles with little public disclosure of giving levels, focus statements, or application processes — Cheng Family Foundation's own preselected-only posture and general-support pattern is typical of this peer class, not an outlier. Grant seekers should expect similarly limited public entry points (no portals, no published RFPs) across most of this peer group, and should budget relationship-building time accordingly regardless of which foundation in this tier they approach.

No foundation-issued news, press releases, or public announcements for 2025-2026 were located in web searches — consistent with a foundation of this size and family-operated structure, which does not appear to conduct public communications. The most recent verifiable activity is the foundation's FY2024 Form 990-PF, filed November 14, 2025, disclosing 7 grants totaling $283,061, with the largest single award ($101,561) going to Dance Conservatory of Pasadena School — a notably larger single check than the foundation's recent $50,000 median grant, suggesting a deepened commitment to that one relationship in the most recent filing year. No leadership changes were found: the same four family board members (Jennifer Cheng, President & Director; Eugene Cheng, Director & Treasurer; Keith Cheng, Director & Secretary; Jean Ling, Director) appear consistently across every filing year captured in the underlying data, with no additions or departures visible. The foundation's own domain, chengfamilyfoundation.org, did not return retrievable page content during this research across the homepage and an /about path attempt — grant seekers should not assume a working public-facing grants portal exists there and should verify current contact details independently (e.g., by phone) before relying on any web listing. No new program announcements, changes in geographic focus, or major single-year gifts beyond the long-standing Loma Linda University, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Pasadena dance-education relationships were found in press or news coverage.

This is not an open-RFP funder: there is no published application form, portal, or deadline, and both the foundation's own data flags (preselected_only) and independent web research confirm it selects grantees rather than accepting unsolicited proposals. Do not spend time on a formal cold application — none of the standard channels (website grants page, LOI portal) could be located. Instead, treat outreach as a relationship-building exercise aimed at President Jennifer Cheng and the family board, most plausibly through a mutual contact at an existing grantee (Huntington Library, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Loma Linda University, or a Pasadena-area dance conservatory) or through Pasadena/San Marino civic and arts-education circles. Because every tracked grant (33 of 33) is coded "GENERAL SUPPORT," position any ask as unrestricted operating support rather than a restricted project or capital-campaign request — that is the format this funder has actually funded. Calibrate the ask size to the funder's demonstrated range: recent single grants have run $3,500-$75,000 with a $50,000 median; a first ask well outside that band (e.g., a $500,000 capital request) is unlikely to match this funder's typical check size or its recent, shrinking annual grant total (roughly $283,061 across just 7 grants in FY2024, the lowest cash-grant year since the 2020 pandemic dip). Given the foundation's lean, uncompensated-board structure (only the President is compensated), expect personal, board-level decision-making rather than a program-officer review process — a warm, personal introduction will do more than a polished but impersonal proposal packet. The foundation's giving is not purely Los Angeles-local: Oregon (Portland/Lake Oswego) and Massachusetts (Boston-area) organizations have received recurring grants, so out-of-state organizations with a credible personal or institutional tie to the family should not assume geography alone disqualifies them. A common mistake would be treating the "accepting_applications" flag seen on some directory listings at face value — actual practice, per both the foundation's own preselected-only designation and third-party research, is invitation-based. Alignment language should emphasize general operating impact and multi-year partnership potential, since renewal (not one-off grants) is the pattern for organizations that break in — Loma Linda University Health, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Pasadena dance-education cluster have each received multiple grants over time.