Winston H. Chen and Phyllis Huang

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Solectron

FUNDING AREAS: Education, religious causes, Asian community, global development

OVERVIEW:  Winston Chen and his wife, Phyllis, do their grantmaking through the Paramitas Foundation, which mainly supports higher education, but also gives to Buddhist organizations and the Asian community. Paramitas made about $1.8 million in grants in a recent year.

BACKGROUND: Winston H. Chen graduated with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University, where he studied applied mechanics and applied mathematics. He worked at IBM and later served on the board of Intel. He joined Solectron in 1980, serving as executive vice president and then CEO and chairman of the board. Chen established Paramitas Investment Corporation and conducts his family’s philanthropy trough the Paramitas Foundation.

ISSUES:

 EDUCATION & YOUTH: Education is the main focus of the Paramitas Foundation’s grantmaking, accounting for well over half of all recent grants. Since 1992, Paramitas Foundation has set up numerous scholarships and research projects at Stanford University, Harvard University, Santa Clara University, California State University, the University of Vermont and National Cheng Kung University. Chen sits on the board of the Harker School, a pre-K through 12 college preparatory school in San Jose. Other K-12 grantees include the Epiphany School and Lakeside School, both of which are located in Seattle, Washington.

COMMUNITY: The couple has supported a select group of community organizations in California and Washington, including the Senior Taiwanese Association of California, Seattle’s Southbay Taiwanese American Association and Northwest Harvest in Seattle.

GLOBAL: Global development is a smaller area of grantmaking for the Paramitas Foundation, but recent grants have gone to Water First International, Global Partnerships and the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese international humanitarian organization.

RELIGIOUS: The couple met in the Yun Lin Temple in Berkeley and continue to support the organization via their foundation. Other grantees include Buddhist Society of America.

LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Chen and Huang's steady philanthropy to continue to focus on higher education and a few special areas of interest.

CONTACT:

Paramitas Foundation
P.O. Box 2699
Saratoga, CA 95070

(408) 395-8868