OVERVIEW: The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust funds employment, training, housing, and supportive initiatives for people in vulnerable and underserved demographics. It also awards mental health grants to support kids who are currently or formerly in the foster care system, and military veterans and their families. It supports the dignity, agency, and self-sufficiency of foster youth, the elderly, veterans and people with disabilities.
IP TAKE: This funder primarily accepts applications by invitation only, but it is occasionally willing to entertain unsolicited proposals though the trust notes that few grantseekers are successful this way. The Smith Charitable Trust prioritizes relatively established organizations. That does not mean grant seekers need to have a decades-long history of operations to obtain funding here, just that organizations have to be past the start-up phase and can demonstrate proven results in their work. This funder looks for rigor—programs that are well-established and already financially supported by others.
It also looks for geography; supported work is very focused on the Western United States - from the Southwest up the West Coast. The trust makes grants in all of it’s funding areas to these regions of priority.
PROFILE: The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust was established by May Smith (née Wong) in 1977 in honor of her late husband Stanley Smith, an Australian businessman and World War II intelligence operative who made his fortune from investing in mining operations in British Malaya (now Singapore and parts of Malaysia). The foundation is dedicated to “supporting organizations that promote the dignity, agency, and self-sufficiency of individuals within its focus populations.” These populations include Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities, Elders, Foster Youth, and Veterans & Military Families.
Grants for Economic Development and Opportunity
The Smith Trust funds programs related to work and opportunity grants through several of its focus areas:
Grants for Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities help “adults and youth transitioning to adulthood (ages 15 and up) who have either an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) or a physical disability.” In terms of employment, it works to “address the needs of both adults with disabilities and prospective employers” and “support employers to improve their capacity to hire, retain, and promote employees with disabilities.”
Grants for Foster Youth support “children and youth who are currently, or have been, in the foster care system,” “children and youth who…live with relatives or other caregivers,” “homeless youth,” and “unaccompanied immigrant youth.” Grants related to independence and self-sufficiency support “foster youth in transitioning from high school or college to employment” and help them “gain financial management and independent living skills.”
Grants for Veterans & Military Families provide “access to education, training, information, guidance, and other assistance to facilitate the employment of veterans and military/veteran spouses in fulfilling living wage jobs.”
Recent grantees include Becoming Independent, New Door Ventures, and NextOp, Inc.
Grants for Housing and Community Development
The Smith Trust funds programs related to housing through each of the below focus areas:
Grants for Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities help “adults and youth transitioning to adulthood (ages 15 and up) who have either an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) or a physical disability” by supporting “independent living, employment, community inclusion, and support for caregivers.”
Grants for Elders support programs that “allow elders to age in place whenever possible, provide support for caregivers, and offer long-term care that promotes a good quality of life.”
Grants for Foster Youth support programs related to “stable homes, physical and mental health, education, and preparation for independence” for “children and youth who are currently, or have been, in the foster care system,” “children and youth who…live with relatives or other caregivers,” “homeless youth,” and “unaccompanied immigrant youth.”
Grants for Veterans & Military Families address issues of “mental and behavioral health and wellness; education, training, and employment; housing stability; and community integration.”
Grants for Mental Health
The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust supports mental health grantmaking through its Foster Youth and Veterans programs. The Smith Charitable Trust’s Foster Youth program awards grants to organizations that provide direct services to children and young people who are currently or formerly in the foster care system, as well as those working with kids whose parents can no longer care for them. The trust’s grantmaking interests are relatively broad here. One of this program’s major grantmaking goals is to support groups that address the mental health needs of children and young people involved with the foster care system. The trust’s Veterans program awards grants to organizations that promote overall well-being of military service members, veterans, and their families. The trust takes a holistic approach to its grantmaking here, but it states that its first goal is to improve the mental health status of military veterans. This includes supporting groups working to reduce prejudice around mental health, remove obstacles to treatment, increase the number of mental health care providers, and increase access to programs to improve overall well-being. Grantees include A Home Within, Beyond Emancipation, California Youth Connection, Center for Youth Wellness, and Foster Youth in Action.
Grants for Public Health
The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust’s support of health and wellness flows through two focus areas: Elders and People with Disabilities. The trust’s grantmaking for the elderly (defined as age 60 and up) supports programs that “allow elders to age in place whenever possible, provide support for caregivers, and offer long-term care that promotes a good quality of life.” It focuses on community engagement, safe independent living, and community connectivity for those in institutional, long-term care. It promotes the ability to “age in place,” as opposed to in nursing homes, by ensuring that the elderly in America have access to high quality health care and facilities. The trust’s People with Disabilities works to help “adults and youth transitioning to adulthood (ages 15 and up) who have either an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) or a physical disability” by supporting “independent living, employment, community inclusion, and support for caregivers.” It is particularly focused on independent living, employment, and social integration. The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust provides a rigorous assessment of the needs of both of these populations, and therefore the trust’s goals in each area—as well as discussions of what a successful program would therefore look like. Grantees include Affordable Living for the Aging, Diverse Elders Coalition, ElderHelp, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Amplify Life, Freedom Service Dogs, and National Ability Center.
Grants for Military and Veterans
The May and Stanley Smith Trust’s grants for Veterans and Military Families work to “strengthen programs and services that support veterans, service members, and their families in the transition to successful new lives and careers.” It primarily focuses on mental health, education and job training, employment, housing stability and community integration. Priority populations include veterans of minority groups and those who suffer mental illnesses. It supports groups working to reduce prejudice around mental health, remove obstacles to treatment, increase the number of mental health care providers, and increase access to programs to improve overall well-being. It supports education and job training initiatives that help military personnel transition to civilian careers, starting both before and after leaving the force. It also supports programs that help struggling veterans reintegrate with their communities and families and avoid homelessness or housing instability. Past grantees in this area include Operation Homefront, Blue Star Families, Code of Support Foundation, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Homeward Bound, and the National Military Families Association.
Important Grant Details
Grants generally range from $40,000 to $400,000. The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust explicitly directs its giving to the Western U.S., though its definition of the West is broad, defining it as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (For the record, the trust also gives to British Columbia, Canada.) While the executed work must be done in these states, the trust’s giving history shows that the organization itself can potentially be based elsewhere (with work that is then targeted in the trust’s focused states). Recent grantees
The Smith Trust accepts applications by invitation only. Interested grantseekers may submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), but the foundation warns that unsolicited LOIs are rarely successful.
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