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Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$94k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$401kPhilanthropy$135kHuman Services$101kRecreation & Sports$97kYouth Development$94kEducation$85kEnvironment$55kHealth$55kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $75k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HIDDEN HARVEST$25,000
ANTIQUE TOY AND FIREHOUSE MUSEUM$25,000
TONI & TRISH HOUSE FOR THE CARE OF THE TERMINALLY ILL$15,000
BAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$10,000
BAY CITY IN BLOOM$8,000
BAY AREA WOMEN'S CENTER$7,500
FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER$3,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY21–25, $103k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%SELF LOVE BEAUTY: $10k → 9%HIDDEN HARVEST: $25k → 18%HIDDEN HARVEST: $25k → 18%TONI & TRISH HOUSE FOR THE CARE OF THE TERMINALLY ILL: $15k → 14%FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER: $13k → 14%FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER: $13k → 14%FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER: $3k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$797k · 20 repeat orgs$262k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
15

Total granted

$797k
$206k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
0%

Still filing today

70%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 34% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $56k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementAnimalsEnvironmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • S2
    STUDIO 23
    3× · 2019–2021 · $60k · revenue +11%
  • HH
    HIDDEN HARVEST
    2× · 2024–2025 · $50k · revenue +93%
  • BC
    BAY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    3× · 2019–2021 · $45k · revenue +20%

Funded once

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF PINCONNING COMMUNITY CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $30k
  • DB
    DOW BAY AREA FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +29%
  • LC
    LINWOOD CIVIC IMPROVEMENT CLUB
    one grant, 2024 · $20k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Bay Future Inc

Dedicated to facilitating economic development strategies that promote and secure opportunities for business retention, growth, and the attraction of new industries that create quality jobs for community residents.

Community Improvement
2
Bay Arts Alliance Inc

To support, promote, and develop the arts as essential to the revitalization and growth of bay county's communities.

—
3
Boys and Girls Club of Bay County Foundation Inc

To receive and administer funds for charitable purposes in support of the programs at the boys and girls club of the great lakes bay region.

Youth Development
4
Greater Baytown Chamber of Commerce

The baytown chamber of commerce is a business organization created to provide the leadership to enhance economic growth and a better quality of life for the baytown area.

—
5
Bay Area Chamber of Commerce

To faciliatate and collaborate on programs that support a thriving community and economic growth in bay county and the great lakes bay region.

—
6
South Bay Artist Collective

The south bay artist collective's mission as a 501(c)3 non-profit is to support and grow the local visual arts community through creating a destination for art and creativity, while teaching and inspiring youth. our purpose is to support…

Arts & Culture
7
Great Lakes Bay Region Quality of Life Council

Identifying, promoting, and creating awareness for projects to improve the quality of life for citizens of the great lakes bay area.

Environment
8
Broadway By the Bay

To inspire, educate, and engage the community and local talent through the power of musical theater.

—
9
Great Lakes Center for the Arts

The Center's mission is to inspire, entertain, educate, and serve all in Northern Michigan year-round by presenting exceptional experiences across the full spectrum of the performing arts and offering impactful educational opportunities.

Arts & Culture
10
Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce

To be a catalyst for economic and community progress within the great lakes bay region.

—
11
Bay Area Heritage Society

Operation of historical museum

—
12
Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce

To promote business and economic development for eight towns in southwest michigan.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Bay Area Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

28 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 28 of the 40 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
14/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STATE THEATRE: $125,000 · OtherSTATE THEATRESVSU FOUNDATION: $85,000 · OtherSVSU FOUNDATIONBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $50,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB GREAT LAKES BAY REGIONANTIQUE TOY AND FIRETRUCK MUSEUM: $50,000 · OtherANTIQUE TOY AND FIRETRUCK MUSEUMBAY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $45,000 · OtherBAY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYCITY OF BAY CITY: $30,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF PINCONNING COMMUNITY CENTER: $30,000 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $28,000 · OtherDOW BAY AREA FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $25,000 · Other+15 more: $185,213 · Other+15 moreSTUDIO 23: $60,000 · Arts & CultureSTUDIO 23BAY CITY PLAYERS INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBAY CITY PLAYE…ANTIQUE TOY AND FIREHOUSE MUSEUM: $25,000 · Arts & CultureANTIQUE TOY AN…Midland Center for the Arts Inc: $7,500 · Arts & CultureSAGINAW VALLEY NAVAL SHIP MUSEUM: $7,000 · Arts & CultureUNITED WE GO: $6,000 · Arts & CultureBAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $135,000 · PhilanthropyBAY AREA COM…HIDDEN HARVEST: $50,000 · Human ServicesHIDDEN HA…FOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER INC: $28,000 · Human ServicesFOSTER FA…TONI & TRISH HOUSE FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL: $15,000 · Human ServicesTONI & TR…SELF LOVE BEAUTY: $10,000 · Human ServicesSELF LOVE…BAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION: $60,000 · Recreation & SportsGREAT LAKES BAY REGIONAL TRAIL: $25,000 · Recreation & SportsRescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan: $45,000 · Housing & ShelterBAY AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $12,000 · Community ImprovementGREAT LAKES BAY REGIONAL ALLIANCE: $4,750 · Community Improvement
Other$653,213Arts & Culture$155,500Philanthropy$135,000Human Services$103,000Recreation & Sports$85,000Housing & Shelter$45,000Community Improvement$16,750

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBAY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetBAY AREA SOCCER ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetSTUDIO 23: $60,000 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetBAY CITY PLAYERS INC: $50,000 over 4y, 5.7% of budgetHIDDEN HARVEST: $50,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBAY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $45,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetRescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan: $45,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFOSTER FAMILIES NAVIGATION & RESOURCE CENTER INC: $28,000 over 3y, 7.5% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREAT LAKES BAY REGION: $28,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetDOW BAY AREA FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGREAT LAKES BAY REGIONAL TRAIL: $25,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetTONI & TRISH HOUSE FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL: $15,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF BAY COUNTY INC: $15,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetBAY SAIL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetGreat Lakes Bay Health Centers: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBAY AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetFISH TALES: $12,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetDISABILITY SERVICES RESOURCE CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetSELF LOVE BEAUTY: $10,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetSAGINAW BASIN LAND CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetBAY CITY IN BLOOM: $8,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetBAY AREA WOMEN'S CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMidland Center for the Arts Inc: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAGINAW VALLEY NAVAL SHIP MUSEUM: $7,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetUNITED WE GO: $6,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetGREAT LAKES BAY REGIONAL ALLIANCE: $4,750 over 2y, 1.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Bay Area Community Fo…The Kantzler Foundati…Gougeon Employees Fou…Consumers Energy Foun…Bierlein Companies Fo…Nickless Family Chari…Midland Area Communit…Weinlander Fitzhugh F…Frances Goll Mills Fu…Tri-Star Charitable F…Allison K Short Found…United Way of Bay Cou…
Bay Area Community FoundationMI53.5× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Bay Area Community Foundation · The Kantzler Foundation · Gougeon Employees Foundation · Consumers Energy Foundation · Bierlein Companies Foundation · Nickless Family Charitable Foundation · Midland Area Community Foundation · Weinlander Fitzhugh Foundation Inc · Frances Goll Mills Fund · Tri-Star Charitable Foundation · Allison K Short Foundation · United Way of Bay County

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 40 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Russell H & Maxine E Smith’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home