The Garza Foundation

The Garza Foundation was officially launched in 2022. The dual purpose of the Foundation is personal to Oscar and Sharyl Garza and extremely important to them. Those purposes are to (i) provide educational grants to minority and otherwise under-resourced students, particularly for those that do not have access to traditional grants, and which will assist them to better integrate in business / society, and (ii) to continue the support that Oscar and Sharyl previously provided to scientific research regarding brain tumors – both cancerous and benign neuro-oncology (brain tumor) research.¹

Our Story: The Underlying Reasons For Establishing The Garza Foundation And The Foundation’s Dual Purpose (Education / Neuro-Oncology Research)

Education

Oscar Garza at a farm worker protest in 1966, (the boy in the vest (chaleco) holding the “Viva la Causa” and “Viva la Huelga” protest sign) — Oscar Garza at a farm worker protest in 1966, (the boy
in the vest (chaleco) holding the “Viva la Causa” and
“Viva la Huelga” protest sign)

Oscar’s parents were farm workers, working most of their lives in the fruit and vegetable fields. Despite a desire to continue her education, Oscar’s mother (Maria) was only able to obtain a third-grade education before being required to begin working full time as a farm worker. Oscar’s father (Horacio) was never able to attend any formal schooling. Despite their lack of education, they nevertheless understood the importance of educating their children, particularly given that they are Mexican Americans. In fact, they placed such a high priority on education that (prior to Oscar’s birth) they moved their entire family (including Oscar’s five siblings) from south Texas to Porterville, California to provide their children an opportunity at a better public-school education. They were completely thrilled that Oscar and all of his siblings graduated from high school (perhaps a seemingly uncomplicated hurdle, it was, in fact, quite a feat to achieve within their peer group). Oscar went on to attend/graduate from college and law school, ultimately becoming a partner at Gibson Dunn. It was an achievement beyond anything his parents could have imagined (in fact, it is unlikely that they ever could have imagined or truly grasped it), and it was only possible through education.

Sharyl’s parents also emphasized the importance of education to all of their children, consistently reinforcing their wish that their children pursue college and graduate school degrees. Their insistence/support regarding higher education led Sharyl to attend/graduate from college and law school and flourish in a profession she loves.

Through The Garza Foundation, Oscar and Sharyl wish to fund educational opportunities for minorities and other under-resourced students to allow them access to education, allow them to flourish at the higher levels of education and to tap into their full potential. Minorities, women and other underprivileged or under-resourced individuals face difficulties others do not, and The Garza Foundation is intent to make a difference in these young peoples’ lives which should not only assist the students, but also positively impact our communities generally.

Neuro-Oncology Research

The other focus of the Garza Foundation is on brain tumor research. In late April 2014, Sharyl was diagnosed with a very large (7 cm) life-threatening brain tumor. When the tumor was finally diagnosed at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, Hoag’s head of neurosurgery declined to operate because of the size and complexity of the tumor. Nonetheless, he informed Sharyl that he had found the right surgeon to operate on her and referred her to Dr. Thomas Chen at Keck USC. Sharyl was immediately prepared for surgery and Dr. Chen and his surgical team performed a bifrontal craniotomy on May 7, 2014 (resecting the entire tumor). Dr. Chen not only saved Sharyl’s life but was able to do so without affecting her cognitive abilities. He is an excellent and very caring surgeon, and his commitment to try to prolong his patients’ lives – and better their quality of life – is awe-inspiring. For many years, Sharyl and Oscar, as extremely “grateful patients” of Dr. Chen, have supported his research through the Sharyl and Oscar Garza Research Fund (between 2014 and 2021). Through the Foundation, Sharyl and Oscar intend to continue supporting Dr. Chen’s brain tumor research as well as other research in the neuro-oncology space.

Leadership

Oscar Garza: Chair and Director of The Garza Foundation; Partner Garza & Garza LLP

Sharyl B. Garza: Vice Chair, Treasurer and Director of The Garza Foundation; Partner Garza & Garza LLP

M. Tamara Box: Director of The Garza Foundation; Managing Partner – Europe & Middle East – Reed Smith

Jane Juun: Director of The Garza Foundation; Professor of Political Science at the University of California of Southern California

Wendy Mills: Secretary of The Garza Foundation; Head of Administration, Executive Legal Assistant Garza & Garza LLP

Foundation Facts

The Garza Foundation was launched with a modest, but hopefully meaningful and consequential, $500,000.00 initial donation by Oscar and Sharyl Garza. The Garza Foundation is based in Newport Beach, California, but its reach and desire to assist covers the entire United States.

Apply for a Grant

Read Grant Guidelines
Meet Application Deadlines
Gather Materials Needed To Apply (for uploading)
Prepare Your Application
Submit Your Application
Know That We Will Be Staying In Touch
1. We will send you an email letting you know we received your application
2. After our board meeting, you will be notified of our board’s decision on your grant. (Board Meetings usually occur in May/June). If awarded, you will receive details of your grant payments
If Your Grant Request Is Approved, Be Prepared To Report Your Progress
1. We will send you a grant agreement to be signed and returned. It will include information on submitting progress reports.

Educational Grant Application for The Garza Foundation

Section One: Personal Details:

Name: Address: Telephone: Email Address: Educational Background (to date): Academic/Community Achievements (to date): Level of Study (where will you be attending school in the Fall? If applicable, course of study): Verification of Acceptance to Educational Program/Institution: Grant Amount Being Requested:

Section Two: Personal Information:

Please describe what you believe to be relevant to why you should be chosen to receive grant funds. We recommend that you include all information that you believe will assist the Board members in making the grant decisions in accordance with the stated purpose of The Garza Foundation. This information could include, but is not limited to, (1) your academic, athletic, artistic or cultural achievements, (2) your academic and employment goals, and (3) your view as to how you hope to positively impact your more general community in five, ten or perhaps years beyond.

Section Three: Proposed Use of Grant Funds:

Please describe how you intend to use the grant funds (e.g., tuition, books, living expenses etc.).

Section Four: Evaluation Information:

Please describe what you would consider to be reasonable measurable outcomes for your education and how you intend to report those outcomes to the Foundation (e.g., future GPA, timely submission of transcripts, etc.).

Section Five: Supplementary Information:

Please provide a third-party reference(s).

Please provide any supplementary documents that you feel The Garza Foundation Board Members should review before making their grant decisions.

Attach Your Files:

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Neuro-Oncology Grant Application for The Garza Foundation

Section One: Personal Details (Grant Applicant):

Name: Address: Telephone: Email Address: Grant Amount Being Requested:

Section Two: Background:

Please provide details of your current work in the neuro-oncology area (include what you consider to be your top accomplishments within the last several years).

If applicable, please list any key individual, partners (and their roles) that might be involved (directly or tangentially) with your proposal.

Section Three: Overview:

Please provide an overview of your grant proposal, including:

Brief description of the proposal (problem you seek to address/solve)
Purpose and key objectives and anticipated outcomes
Individuals or communities that would benefit
Overview of how grant funds would be spent
Timeline

Section Four: Proposed Use of Grant Funds:

Please describe how you intend to use the grant funds (including a budget and the sustainability of the project, including whether you are submitting what you anticipate will be a multi-year request.

Section Five: Evaluation Information:

Please describe what you would consider to be reasonable measurable outcomes for your proposal and how you intend to report the outcomes to the Foundation.

Section Six: Supplementary Information:

Please provide any third-party reference(s).

Please provide any supplementary documents that you feel the Board Members should review before making their grant decisions.

Attach Your Files:

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¹ See, Abstracts funded in part by the Sharyl and Oscar Garza Research Fund (i) “NEO100 enables brain delivery of blood-brain barrier impermeable therapeutics,” Weijun Wang, Nagore I. Marín-Ramos, Haiping He, Shan Zeng, Hee-Yeon Cho, Stephen D. Swenson, Long Zheng, Alan L. Epstein, Axel H. Schönthal, Florence M. Hofman, Ligang Chen, and Thomas C. Chen , National Library of Medicine, January 2021; and (ii) “Enhanced brain delivery and therapeutic activity of trastuzumab after blood-brain barrier opening by NEO100 in mouse models of brain-metastatic breast cancer,” Weijun Wang, Haiping He, Nagore I. Marín-Ramos, Shan Zeng, Steven D. Swenson, Hee-Yeon Cho, Jie Fu, Paul M. Beringer, Josh Neman, Ligang Chen, Axel H. Schönthal, and Thomas C. Chen, National Library of Medicine, October 2021.

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