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The Will Smith Charitable Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Will Smith Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$80k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
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 2024.

Human Services$311kInternational$282kArts & Culture$196kAnimals$150kYouth Development$63kEducation$60kRecreation & Sports$56kHealth$51kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $30k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Therapy Animals of San Antonio$50,000
Love Kendall County Kids$20,000
Project Bloom$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 (FY22–24, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 33% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Charlie's Guys: $10k → 12%Love Kendall County Kids: $20k → 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.
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 16% of The Will Smith Charitable Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 71% of the giving stays in TX; by stated purpose, 79%.

The Will Smith Charitable Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 11% directed abroad (not shown)
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.

19%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$228k · 4 repeat orgs$971k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against -1% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
22

Total granted

$228k
$891k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
-1%

Still filing today

25%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $80k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Recreation & SportsArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesPublic BenefitAnimalsOther
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

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    4× · 2018–2023 · $133k
  • C4
    Christmas 4 Kids
    3× · 2020–2022 · $45k
  • IY
    Indianapolis Youth Orchestra
    2× · 2019–2020 · $43k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • PH
    PATRIOTS' HALL OF DRIPPING SPRINGS
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue -53%
  • ML
    Mentor Leaders Inc
    one grant, 2019 · $120k · revenue -4%
  • HS
    HUMANE SOCIETY OF SAN ANTONIO
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue -1%
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
Ruff Ryderz Baseball Kauai

We are a youth baseball team on the Island of Kaua'i. Covid pretty much killed our program and we are slowly rebuilding at young ages.

—
2
Swish Honolulu

Swish Honolulu is a youth basketball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Comprised of exceptionally talented young athletes, Swish Honolulu is dedicated to developing their skills, fostering teamwork, and promoting a passion for basketball.

Recreation & Sports
3
Atascocita Warriors

To provide instructional baseball to youth children in community.

Recreation & Sports
4
Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Philanthropy
5
Honani Ranch Ministries

To encourage families to develop a solid relationship with Jesus. To meet on a regular basis to develop relationships of trust and to bring healing to broken relationships. Using animals and our ranch setting for a calming atmosphere to…

Recreation & Sports
6
Makanalani Kids

Makanalanis mission is is to provide a humanitarian and religiously inspired outdoor education for youth who are disadvantaged in order to promote their well being and life outlookOffering children a chance to spend some time on a working…

Recreation & Sports
7
Arts Kauai
Arts & Culture
8
Na Mamo o Kawa

to rehabilitate, curate, and steward the natural and cultural resources of Kawa to honor the past, benefit the present, and preserve for the future generations of Ka'u, the Island of Hawaii and all humankind.

Environment
9
Mini Horse Helpers

Mini Horse Helpers' mission is to enhance the lives of at-risk children through equine assisted learning using our miniature horses. We partner with other non-profit organizations, in Fayette County Texas, to work with children with…

—
10
Ohana Swim Team

Enrich and enhance swimmers

Recreation & Sports
11
Surfing Moms

Committed to maternal and family health, Surfing Moms cultivates connection and local community systems of support in diverse communities.

Human Services
12
Tx Performing Chinese Arts
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Therapy Animals of San Antonio Inc; the most unlike its peers is Lahaina Heat Baseball. 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

18 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. 18 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/18
Grantees still filing
7/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $133,180 · OtherIndividual grant recipientGus Owens Stephens Foundation: $50,000 · OtherGus Owens Stephens FoundationMentors Meals Inc: $50,000 · OtherMentors Meals IncTherapy Animals of San Antonio Inc: $50,000 · OtherTherapy Animals of San Antonio IncChristmas 4 Kids: $45,000 · OtherChristmas 4 KidsIndianapolis Youth Orchestra: $43,000 · OtherIndianapolis Youth OrchestraHearts2Honduras Inc: $21,000 · Other+9 more: $44,500 · Other+9 morePATRIOTS' HALL OF DRIPPING SPRINGS: $250,000 · Public BenefitPATRIOTS' HALL OF DRIPP…Mentor Leaders Inc: $120,000 · Youth DevelopmentMentor Leaders In…HIDDEN SPRINGS YOUTH RANCH INC: $60,000 · Youth DevelopmentHIDDEN SPRINGS YO…HIDALGO FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Arts & CultureHIDALGO FOUNDA…Witte Museum: $50,000 · Arts & CultureWitte Museum+1 more: $1,089 · Arts & CultureHUMANE SOCIETY OF SAN ANTONIO (AUDIT): $100,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SO…Napili Canoe Club: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsKinetic Kids Inc: $15,000 · Recreation & SportsMAUI POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $1,500 · Recreation & SportsLove Kendall County Kids: $20,000 · Human ServicesCHARLIES GUYS: $9,987 · Human Services
Other$436,680Public Benefit$250,000Youth Development$180,000Arts & Culture$151,089Animals$100,000Recreation & Sports$51,500Human Services$29,987

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPATRIOTS' HALL OF DRIPPING SPRINGS: $250,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF SAN ANTONIO (AUDIT): $100,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetWitte Museum: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTherapy Animals of San Antonio Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetIndianapolis Youth Orchestra: $43,000 over 2y, 8.8% of budgetNapili Canoe Club: $30,000 over 1y, 77% of budgetHearts2Honduras Inc: $21,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetLove Kendall County Kids: $20,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetKinetic Kids Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetPROJECT BLOOM: $10,000 over 1y, 8.0% of budgetCHARLIES GUYS: $9,987 over 1y, 13% of budgetIMUA FAMILY SERVICES: $6,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMAUI POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE: $5,000 over 1y, 54% of budgetLAHAINA HEAT BASEBALL: $1,500 over 1y, 96% of budgetZenshin Daiko: $1,089 over 1y, 2.2% 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.

San Antonio Area Foun…Network for GoodFidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
San Antonio Area FoundationTX13.2× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: San Antonio Area Foundation · Network for Good · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 The Will Smith Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Will Smith Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 The Will Smith Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Will 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 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Will 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