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Silent Partner Grants
Founded in 2016 by Gregory Chapman, Silent Partner Grants is a California-based private foundation whose public footprint is limited to required IRS...
Silent Partner Grants
Founded in 2016 by Gregory Chapman, Silent Partner Grants is a California-based private foundation whose public footprint is limited to required IRS disclosures. Chapman serves as President and CEO, with a small board that includes Melissa Cerny, Jason Beccaris, Nicholas Ghiselli, and Phil Baker. The foundation shares a nexus with the Chapman Family Foundation, suggesting the vehicle is one component of a broader family philanthropic architecture. The foundation's grantmaking is modest in volume but concentrated. It made 18 grants in its latest available filing year, with the David Lynch Foundation — which promotes Transcendental Meditation in schools, military settings, and trauma-recovery programs — as a disclosed recipient. The foundation maintains a balance sheet beyond its grantmaking accounts, holding commercial properties at 2638 Seaman Avenue in El Monte, California and 826 East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky, alongside a portfolio of corporate stocks and bonds. This asset mix creates a self-perpetuating capital base that can fund distributions without requiring annual contributions. Total assets exceeded $51 million as of 2022 (per public tax filings). The foundation does not publish a website, does not operate a LinkedIn presence, and has no known investment staff beyond its board officers. Its commercial real estate in two states — a retail property in a Los Angeles County suburb and another in Kentucky's capital — implies a direct-owned approach to a portion of its endowment, a structural choice that differs from the fully outsourced OCIO model common among private foundations of this size. What distinguishes Silent Partner Grants is its opacity. Most private foundations of $50 million or more maintain at least a basic web presence outlining program areas, and many publish annual reports or grant guidelines. This foundation discloses nothing beyond what Form 990-PF requires — no stated mission, no grant application portal, no thematic focus areas. That posture, combined with the family-foundation overlap and the real estate direct ownership, suggests a vehicle designed for internal continuity rather than external visibility or peer collaboration.
General information
Firm type
Private Foundation
Year founded
2016
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Marino
Corporate office
San Marino, CA, United States
Principals
Gregory Chapman
President and CEO
Melissa Cerny
Officer
Jason Beccaris
Board Member
Nicholas Ghiselli
Board Member
Phil Baker
Board Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is the relationship between Silent Partner Grants and the Chapman Family Foundation?
Public records show Gregory Chapman as the founder and CEO of Silent Partner Grants, and he is also associated with the Chapman Family Foundation. Without additional disclosure from the principals, the exact structural relationship is unknown, but the overlapping leadership implies a coordinated family philanthropic strategy where Silent Partner Grants may serve as one funding entity within a larger giving architecture.
Does Silent Partner Grants accept unsolicited grant proposals?
There is no website, published RFP, or grant application portal for Silent Partner Grants. The foundation's complete absence of public-facing program guidelines, combined with its low volume of 18 annual grants and a known recipient base that includes the David Lynch Foundation, suggests it does not accept unsolicited proposals and instead operates on an invitation-only or inner-circle funding model.
How is Silent Partner Grants' endowment invested?
Based on public tax filings, the foundation holds a mix of corporate stocks, corporate bonds, and directly owned commercial real estate in El Monte, California and Frankfort, Kentucky. This blended portfolio — combining liquid marketable securities with directly held property — indicates an internally managed or hybrid investment approach rather than a fully outsourced OCIO mandate common at peer foundations of similar asset size.
Who makes grant decisions at Silent Partner Grants?
Gregory Chapman, as President and CEO, is the named executive. The board includes Melissa Cerny, Jason Beccaris, Nicholas Ghiselli, and Phil Baker. Given the foundation's low headcount and absence of disclosed program officers, grant decisions are almost certainly made by Chapman and the board rather than through a delegated professional staff process.
Why does Silent Partner Grants have no public website or contact information?
Private foundations are not required by law to maintain a website. Silent Partner Grants fulfills its public disclosure obligations entirely through IRS Form 990-PF filings, which report assets, grantees, and board members but nothing about programmatic intent. This minimal disclosure posture often reflects a family office mentality where there is no desire for external grantee outreach, fundraising, or reputational branding.
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