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Panda Charitable Family Foundation

Annual Giving
$32.5M
Grant Range
$200K - $100.0M

Panda Charitable Family Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $32.5 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available (invitation-only)
  • Decision Time: Not publicly available
  • Grant Range: $200,000 - $100,000,000
  • Geographic Focus: National (U.S.), with emphasis on California, Nevada, Missouri, Massachusetts

Contact Details

Address: 1683 Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead, CA 91770-3711

Phone: (626) 372-8205

Website: www.pandacare.org

Note: This is a private family foundation that does not have a public application process.

Overview

Founded in 1988 by Andrew and Peggy Cherng, co-founders and co-CEOs of Panda Express, the Panda Charitable Family Foundation is a private family foundation focused on creating measurable and long-term impact in communities through health and education initiatives. With total assets of approximately $54.8 million and annual giving of $32.5 million (2024), the foundation operates with a notably high payout ratio of 16%, well above the required 5% for private foundations. Between 2018 and 2022, the Cherngs contributed $53 million to the foundation and disbursed $42 million, operating on a "pay-as-you-go" model that prioritizes active grantmaking over building a large endowment. The foundation directs special emphasis toward the educational and medical assistance of children and has made transformational gifts to institutions including City of Hope ($100 million), Caltech ($30 million), and Huntington Hospital ($25 million).

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate formal grant programs with application cycles. Instead, grants are made at the discretion of trustees Andrew and Peggy Cherng based on their philanthropic interests and established relationships.

Recent Major Grants:

  • City of Hope (2023): $100,000,000 - Establishing the Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology, the largest single philanthropic contribution for cancer care in City of Hope history
  • Caltech (2017): $30,000,000 - Naming and endowing the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering
  • Huntington Hospital, Pasadena (2022): $25,000,000 - Supporting enhancements to the hospital's surgical care program
  • University of Missouri Honors College (2024): $5,000,000 - Supporting scholarships and programming (bringing total giving to Mizzou to over $10 million)
  • University of Nevada Las Vegas (2020): $5,000,000 - Supporting programs and building the country's first academic program in "fast casual" restaurant management
  • Families Forward Learning Center, Pasadena (2024): $200,000 - Supporting general operations and mental health programming

Priority Areas

Education: Higher education institutions, particularly those with personal connections to the Cherngs (University of Missouri is their alma mater), hospitality education, and programs supporting scholarships and innovative academic programs.

Health: Cancer care, integrative medicine combining Eastern and Western approaches, hospital surgical programs, children's healthcare, and women's health.

Youth Development: Educational and medical assistance specifically directed toward children and young people.

What They Don't Fund

Information about specific exclusions is not publicly available. However, based on documented giving patterns, the foundation focuses exclusively on education, health, and youth development. The foundation's Form 990s for fiscal years 2018-2022 do not list individual grantees, indicating a preference for privacy in their grantmaking.

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • Andrew Cherng - Co-founder and Co-CEO of Panda Express, immigrant from Yangzhou, China
  • Peggy Cherng - Co-founder and Co-CEO of Panda Express, electrical engineer by training, University of Missouri alumna

Both trustees receive $0 compensation from the foundation.

Key Quotes:

Andrew Cherng: "We didn't have a lot growing up, so we are very blessed to have what we have today. Giving back and helping others are our way of paying it forward."

Andrew Cherng: "I think that when our neighbors are doing well, when our community is doing well, when our country is doing well, everybody is doing well."

Peggy Cherng: "Giving is essential for us. Giving allows us to show our appreciation to communities that embraced us."

Andrew Cherng: "Generosity can become contagious the more you practice it. Giving and getting back and having a generous heart actually work better in life."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Panda Charitable Family Foundation does not have a public application process. Grants are made at the discretion of trustees Andrew and Peggy Cherng based on their philanthropic priorities and established relationships with organizations. The foundation operates on an invitation-only basis, identifying organizations through personal connections, board affiliations, and community engagement.

Getting on Their Radar

The Cherngs' philanthropic approach emphasizes relationship building and personal connection. Based on documented patterns:

Board Affiliations and Networks: Andrew Cherng serves on the UNLV Hospitality College's Dean's Global Advisory Board, which led to a $5 million gift in 2020. Cultivating relationships through board service and advisory roles appears to be a pathway to funding consideration.

Geographic Connections: The Cherngs have strong ties to Southern California (particularly the Pasadena/Rosemead area), Las Vegas (where they relocated in 2014), and Missouri (their alma mater). Organizations in these regions may have better opportunities for connection.

Personal Experiences: Their giving often reflects personal connections - they support their alma mater (University of Missouri) and institutions where they've received care or have direct relationships. The $100 million gift to City of Hope for integrative oncology reflects their belief in combining Eastern and Western medicine approaches.

Alumni and Hospitality Networks: Both Andrew and Peggy are University of Missouri alumni, and their business background in hospitality (founding Panda Express) creates natural connection points through these professional and educational networks.

Inspiring Others: The Cherngs agreed to have their name on Caltech's medical engineering department "in the hopes of inspiring others, particularly in the Chinese community, to follow in their footsteps," suggesting they value being approached about projects with community inspiration potential.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly available. As a private family foundation with only two trustees, decisions are made at the discretion of Andrew and Peggy Cherng without formal review cycles.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications.

Application Success Factors

While the foundation does not accept applications, understanding their giving patterns reveals clear priorities:

Transformational Scale: The Cherngs have increasingly made larger, transformational gifts ($100 million to City of Hope, $30 million to Caltech, $25 million to Huntington Hospital), suggesting they are interested in projects where significant funding can create substantial impact.

Innovative Approaches: Their largest gift supports integrative oncology combining Eastern and Western medicine - a pioneering approach. They funded the country's first academic program in "fast casual" restaurant management at UNLV. Innovation appears to attract their interest.

Personal Connection: Many major gifts connect to their personal story - supporting their alma mater, institutions in areas where they've lived (Pasadena, Las Vegas), and causes reflecting their immigrant experience and values of community support.

Long-term Relationships: The foundation has made "longstanding commitments" to organizations including Caltech, University of Missouri, UNLV, Huntington Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and City of Hope. They appear to prefer deeper, sustained relationships over one-time grants to many organizations.

Values Alignment: Organizations should align with their core values: putting people first, community well-being, generosity, and "paying it forward." They came from modest backgrounds and value giving back to communities that "embraced us."

Children's Focus: Special emphasis is directed toward the educational and medical assistance of children, making youth-serving organizations particularly aligned with their priorities.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Not Open to Public Applications: This foundation operates exclusively through trustee discretion and established relationships, not through an open application process
  • Relationship-First Approach: All documented major grants stem from personal connections, board affiliations, geographic ties, or institutional relationships built over time
  • Large-Scale Impact Focus: Recent giving patterns show increasingly large grants ($25M-$100M) for transformational projects, suggesting interest in significant, visible impact over many small grants
  • Education and Health Only: Giving is tightly focused on education (especially higher education) and healthcare (especially children's health and innovative medical approaches)
  • Geographic Concentration: Strong preference for Southern California, Nevada, and Missouri based on where the Cherngs have lived and studied
  • Innovation Attracts Attention: Support for pioneering programs (integrative oncology, first fast-casual restaurant academic program) suggests openness to novel approaches
  • Values-Driven: Generosity, community well-being, immigrant success, and paying forward their good fortune drive all giving decisions

References

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