J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation

OVERVIEW: The J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation supports education, the arts, human services and religious organizations in the Bay Area. 

IP TAKE: The DiNapoli Foundation is a grantmaker with lots of “future potential.” Unfortunately, it keeps a low public profile, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. An inaccessible funder, it does not appear to accept unsolicited applications for funding and does not provide a clear way for nonprofits to get in touch. An address, however, is provided below. Nevertheless, networking will be the best way to get on this funder’s radar.

PROFILE:  Established in 1984, the J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation is a private foundation that is focused on the Bay Area of California. Its founders are the financier and real estate mogul J. Philip DiNapoli and his wife, Jennifer. DiNapoli was the founding chairman of Plaza Bank of Commerce, a successful regional bank which merged in 2001 with Comerica Bank of Detroit. He is a director of JP DiNapoli Companies, a real estate investment, development and property management organization. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest that the J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation funds grantmaking related to education, the arts, human services and religious organizations. 

Grants for Community Development, Bay Area & NorCal, and Religious Causes

Nearly all of the DiNapoli Foundation’s grants stay in the Bay Area, and a large percentage of these go to human services and community development groups. Support has gone to Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, El Camino Health Foundation, Humane Society Silicon Valley, Family Supportive Housing, Innvision the Way Home, Diocese of San Jose, and Saint Mary's Church. Significant funding has also gone to Second Harvest Food Bank of San Jose.

Grants for K-12 and Higher Education

DiNapoli supports his alma mater, Stanford University. Much of the foundation’s other education giving focuses on Bay Area institutions, with an apparent preference for Catholic and parochial institutions. Grantees have included Sacred Heart Nativity School, Presentation High School, and Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Bellarmine College Preparatory has seen steady support, as has Cristo Rey San Jose High School and Notre Dame High School San Jose

Grants for Arts and Culture

The arts is not the foundation’s largest giving area, by any means, but several Bay Area organizations has seen support. The San Francisco Opera has received $10,000 annually for over a decade. Other Grantees include the San Joe Museum of Art, the Happy Hollow zoo in San Jose, and the Montalvo Arts Center, where DiNapoli's nephew's wife Gretchen is a trustee, and which has received strong, steady support over the years.

Important Grant Details

Grants range from $500 to $50,000, with $10,000 being the most common amount. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $187,000. Learn more about past local giving in the funder's recent tax records.

The J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation keeps a low profile, and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals. An address is provided below.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

J. Philip and Jennifer DiNapoli Foundation
99 Almaden Blvd, No. 565
San Jose, CA 95113