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Smith Family Legacy Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Smith Family Legacy Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$309k
Granted FY2025still arriving
20
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$30k
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.

International$441kHealth$287kEnvironment$273kFood & Nutrition$133kSocial Science$90kCivil Rights$85kHuman Services$74kHousing & Shelter$73kOther$0
02FY2025 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $294k
$15,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$2.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE$30,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$30,000
FOS FEMINISTA$25,000
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE$21,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY$20,000
FEEDING AMERICA$20,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$17,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$15,000
POPULATION CONNECTION$15,000
DIRECT RELIEF$15,000
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE$15,000
JED FOUNDATION$15,000
WATERORG$14,000
LAND CONSERVANCY OF W MI$12,000
FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION$10,000
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 (FY18–18, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHARITY NAVIGATOR: $1k → 7%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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
NJ
CA
UT
MO
VA
MD
DC
AL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of Smith Family Legacy Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Smith Family Legacy Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.6M · 21 repeat orgs$29k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +81% since the first grant, against +69% for those funded once.

21 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
7

Total granted

$1.6M
$29k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+81%
+69%

Still filing today

90%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
InternationalHealthEnvironmentFood & NutritionSocial ScienceHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc
    9× · 2017–2025 · $153k · revenue +162%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $152k · revenue +98%
  • Feeding America
    9× · 2017–2025 · $130k · revenue +84%

Funded once

  • FE
    FRIENDS ELISHA SMITH LIBRARY
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • MM
    MICHIGAN MARITIME MUSEUM INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue +69%
  • AH
    ALLINA HEALTH FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue +782%
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
Friends of the Earth

Friends of the earth strives for a more healthy and just world by defendng the environment and human health while advancing social and economic justice by conducting research and education, transforming the economy so it protects the…

Environment
2
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
3
The Global FoodBanking Network

To nourish the world's hungry through uniting and advancing food banks.

International
4
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
5
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
6
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
7
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
8
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
9
World Resources Institute

Wri is committed to creating change that improves people's lives and ensures the natural world can thrive. (see schedule o)wri's bold vision requires a formula for success we call "count it. change it. scale it.":- count it: our work is…

International
10
Actionaid Usa

Actionaid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. actionaid usa is the u.s. branch of actionaid international, which works in…

Social Science
11
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
12
Wildaid Inc

Wildaid's mission is to inspire change and empower the world to protect wildlife and vital habitats from critical threats.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Waterorg; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

26 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. 26 of the 29 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $152,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INCINTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION: $126,500 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDER…International Rescue Committee INC: $118,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INCWATERORG: $103,000 · InternationalWATERORGWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $54,500 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INCDIRECT RELIEF: $25,000 · International+1 more: $1,000 · InternationalDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $153,000 · HealthDana-Farber Cance…JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER INC: $58,000 · HealthJOSLIN DIABETES C…THE JED FOUNDATION: $51,000 · HealthTHE JED FOUNDATIO…+1 more: $5,000 · HealthTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $99,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $74,000 · OtherFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION I…INTL PLANNED PARENTHOOD: $20,000 · OtherEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $57,000 · OtherEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVEBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $49,000 · OtherBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIE…PRETTY LAKE VACATION CAMP INC: $48,500 · OtherPRETTY LAKE VACATION CAMP…+5 more: $32,000 · Other+5 moreLand Conservancy of West Michigan: $90,000 · EnvironmentLand Conser…ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $81,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENT…+1 more: $2,500 · EnvironmentFeeding America: $129,500 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $3,000 · Food & NutritionPOPULATION CONNECTION: $90,000 · Social ScienceHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $73,000 · Housing & Shelter
International$580,000Health$267,000Other$379,500Environment$173,500Food & Nutrition$132,500Social Science$90,000Housing & Shelter$73,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $153,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $152,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetFeeding America: $129,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION: $126,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $118,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetWATERORG: $103,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $99,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLand Conservancy of West Michigan: $90,000 over 9y, 1.3% of budgetPOPULATION CONNECTION: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $81,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $74,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC: $73,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetJOSLIN DIABETES CENTER INC: $58,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $57,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $54,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JED FOUNDATION: $51,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $49,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPRETTY LAKE VACATION CAMP INC: $48,500 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCharity Navigator: $8,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMICHIGAN MARITIME MUSEUM INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetALLINA HEALTH FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGROWING HOPE GLOBALLY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKalamazoo Nature Center: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFINCA INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

  • Who funds Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds Feeding America ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION ↗
  • Who funds International Rescue Committee INC ↗
  • Who funds WATERORG ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Land Conservancy of West Michigan ↗
  • Who funds POPULATION CONNECTION ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC ↗
  • Who funds JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds THE JED FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds PRETTY LAKE VACATION CAMP INC ↗
  • Who funds DIRECT RELIEF ↗
  • Who funds Charity Navigator ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN MARITIME MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds ALLINA HEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GROWING HOPE GLOBALLY ↗
  • Who funds Kalamazoo Nature Center ↗
  • Who funds Teach for America Inc ↗
  • Who funds FINCA INTERNATIONAL INC ↗

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.

The Pfizer Foundation…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Pfizer Foundation IncNY12.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Smith Family Legacy Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Smith Family Legacy Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 35%
  • Joslin Diabetes Center Inc: 35% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 Smith Family Legacy Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Smith Family Legacy 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 29 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 Smith Family Legacy’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