Our Story

In honor of Marcella

Black-and-white portrait of Marcella Fannan, smiling, her hair in a bouffant, wearing a beaded necklace
Marcella Fannan

This story begins with kindness. From early childhood, I was deeply impacted by the kindness of my grandmother, Marcella.

Sean Fannan, Founder

Marcella

The kindest human I ever met

Marcella Fannan was my grandmother, and not just any grandma. As the daughter of immigrants from Eastern Europe, she faced discrimination not only because of her Jewish heritage, but because she was significantly hearing impaired. At school she was made to wear a headset that allowed her to hear, but also brought ridicule from classmates. Her challenges were many, including being a single mom and managing a rental property on her own.

Sean as a young boy laughing on a couch with his grandmother, Marcella
Marcella and kid Sean

A reader

Every two weeks, never missed

She was an avid reader her entire life, and introduced both of her sons to reading very early: reading to them at home before bed, and taking them to the Los Angeles Public Library at Fifth and Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. every two weeks. It was a ritual that was never missed and always loved.

Through it all, Marcella had a generous heart and kind disposition that made an indelible mark on my entire family.

She was very kind to all the people she met and always had the nicest things to say about everyone.

The name

Why the foundation is called Marcella

That’s why, when I had the opportunity to create a foundation, I had to name it after her. Marcella embodied the kindness that I want my foundation to convey.

Growing up in Tahoe

Like any other Tahoe kid

My parents moved to Tahoe enamored with its beauty. They worked at the casinos, started a family, and my dad went on to become a 5th grade teacher at Bijou Elementary School. My family moved to Tahoe for the great outdoors, and like every kid my age, I just wanted to play video games.

So when I got into UC Santa Barbara during some of the most transformative years in tech, I had no idea that I would go on to create one of the biggest mobile advertising businesses in the world. It started with working on everything from the #1 game on the iPhone at the time, Tap Tap Revenge, and culminated with co-founding Chartboost, which we sold to Zynga in 2021.

  1. South Lake TahoeA Tahoe kid who wanted to play video games
  2. UC Santa BarbaraDuring some of the most transformative years in tech
  3. Tap Tap RevengeThe #1 game on the iPhone at the time
  4. ChartboostCo-founded; sold to Zynga in 2021
  5. Marcella FoundationNamed after her

The mission

The mission of the Marcella Foundation is simple: Think Big and Make a Difference in South Lake Tahoe.

My hope is that the spirit of entrepreneurship, creativity, and impact comes through in every scholarship, grant, and new program that we support.

May Marcella’s kindness touch the lives of many in our community.

— Sean

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