Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation supports higher education, public health, and STEM across the U.S., but particularly on the West coast, and local community organizations in the Bay Area of California.
IP TAKE: This funder is not transparent or accessible. In lieu of a website or clear way of making contact, it prefers a proactive grantmaking approach that reflects it’s founders evolving, personal interests rather than a theory of change implemented by a staff.
It looks looks like short of networking directly with this foundation’s founders or, perhaps, its grantees, there’s little in-road here for new grantees.
PROFILE: Established in 2007, the Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation is a private family foundation based in Palo Alto, California. Jen-Hsun Huang was born in Taiwan, immigrated to the U.S. when he was 10 and is the co-founder, CEO and president of the graphics chip maker Nvidia. He and his wife, Lori, channel their philanthropic giving through this foundation, which maintains a low profile and does not have a website. Lori Huang serves as the foundation’s president, while Jen-Hsun Huang is the secretary and CFO; however, there are no other board members or employees at the foundation. The couple’s giving largely focuses on higher education with an emphasis on supporting their alma mater of Oregon State University. Other foundation interests include cancer research, diversity in the tech industry and various local organizations in the Bay Area of Northern California.
Grants for STEM and Higher Education
While the Huang Foundation does not have a website or appear to have formal grantmaking programs, higher education appears to be the primary focus of its giving. Through the foundation, the Huangs support their mutual alma mater, Oregon State University, where they met. In 2008, the foundation gave $5 million to build a new laboratory for cancer research. It also directed $30 million to Stanford University, home to the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center. The Huangs joined Melinda Gates in supporting AI4ALL, “a national nonprofit working to increase diversity and inclusion in artificial intelligence.” Other education grantees include Johns Hopkins University, which received a gift of $1 million in a recent year, and City Year San Jose. For the most part, this foundation’s grantmaking for higher education supports the founders’ personal alma mater and interests.
Grants for Public Health and Access
Public health initiatives and access to healthcare are other areas that receives a substantial amount of Huang’s attention, but effectively within it’s scope of previous grantees. In addition to the foundation’s support for cancer research at Oregon State, Huang recently joined other funders in a push to fund research on healthcare worker burnout in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, Stamford University’s WellMD Center received funding for one such study in a recent year.
Grants for Bay Area
The Huang Foundation has broadly supported a range of organizations in the Bay Area including the Tides Center, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley. It appears to funder large, established organizations rather than grassroots efforts.
Important Grant Details:
The Huang Foundation’s total grantmaking exceeded $17 million in a recent year, with almost all of that going to the Ge Force Fund. Ge Force is a division of Nvidia concerned with graphics processing for PC gaming, but it is yet unclear what the philanthropic purpose of the fund will be.
This funder does not maintain a website and does not appear to accept unsolicited grant proposals or requests for funding.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
