Christopher D. Smithers Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Smithers Foundation awards grants to a wide range of projects associated with alcoholism and substance abuse.
IP TAKE: The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation supports organizations involved in awareness, prevention, treatment and research on substance abuse and addiction. Several recent grants have gone to youth organizations that run prevention and education programs. New York, California and Maryland appear to be areas of geographic priority, although grantmaking is not strictly limited to these states.
This is an accessible funder for organizations of all sizes working in the area of substance abuse treatment and prevention. The foundation accepts letters of inquiry at any time via mail. Most grants range from $1,500 to $50,000.
PROFILE: R. Brinkley Smithers founded the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation in 1952, in honor of his late father, to carry on the elder Smithers' legacy of giving. However, that all changed in the mid-1950s when R. Brinkley Smithers decided to refocus the foundation’s giving on alcoholism after studying at the Yale School of Alcohol Studies and his own recovery from alcoholism. Today, the foundation seeks to educate “the public that alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder are respectable, treatable medical illness from which people can and do recover.” Grants support prevention, education and treatment programs, as well as research on addiction and recovery. New York, California and Maryland appear to be areas of geographic priority.
The Smithers Foundation’s recent grantmaking has supported a broad range of organizations involved in awareness, prevention, treatment and research on substance abuse. One grantee, the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu, received funding for its prevention and awareness programs for young teens. Another recent grant went to the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, which works to increase awareness, shape policy and provide crisis intervention services to residents of New York’s Long Island. Other recent grants have gone to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the Boys and Girls Club of Oyster Bay and D.A.R.E. America.
The Smithers Foundation made about $90,000 in grants in a recent year, with most grants ranging from $1,500 to $50,000. A few large addiction prevention organizations have received larger amounts over the years. More than half of all grants are directed toward organizations in New York, but California and Maryland also appear to be areas of geographic interest to the foundation. For additional information about pas grants, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
This funder accepts letters of inquiry at any time through the mail. Letters should include information about the applicant’s organization and/or program, proof of non-profit status and a copy of the organization’s most recent annual report. General inquiries may be submitted via the foundation’s contact page.
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