About James C & Norma I Smith Foundation
The James C & Norma I Smith Foundation concentrates its philanthropic dollars on large-scale support for health care, as evidenced by two substantial grants totaling $1.4M to the Mayo Clinic for general support. The foundation appears to make targeted, significant investments in established medical institutions rather than distributing smaller awards across many organizations. Its giving suggests a priority on sustaining clinical care, research capacity, or institutional operations at a major hospital system.
Focus Areas
General operating support for major medical centers (e.g., Mayo Clinic)Support for clinical care and biomedical research at hospital-based institutions
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated giving: few, large grants to a single repeat grantee; unrestricted/general support rather than restricted project funding.
Funding Style
general operating supportunrestricted supportcore/organizational support
Notable grantees: Mayo Clinic
About James C & Norma I Smith Foundation
A defining feature of the James C & Norma I Smith Foundation is its repeated seven-figure support for Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, including two $700,000 general-support grants in 2023 and 2024. That pattern points to a foundation that makes concentrated, institutional grants rather than spreading dollars thinly across many recipients. In the recent grant list, the same approach shows up across hospitals, food security organizations, animal welfare groups, and education providers, but the largest awards go to established medical institutions and major nonprofit operators. The foundation’s giving is broad in topic but structured around core operating support. Medical support is the clearest through line, with general support awarded to organizations working in clinical care, hospice, emergency services, and biomedical research. Animal welfare and food security also appear regularly, along with education and workforce development. The foundation’s recent grants include support for Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, World Central Kitchen in Washington, DC, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, and Pets in Need in Redwood City. Across those awards, the common feature is unrestricted funding for organizations with ongoing service delivery and institutional capacity.
What James C & Norma I Smith Foundation Funds
Medical support is the clearest theme in the grant record. The foundation gave $120,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières USA in New York for general support and also backed Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix with $100,000 in 2023 and another $100,000 in 2024. Food security is another recurring area. St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix received $75,000 in both 2023 and 2024, while World Central Kitchen in Washington, DC received $120,000 in 2024 and $100,000 in 2023. Animal welfare also receives steady support. The foundation awarded $120,000 to Arizona Animal Welfare League in Phoenix in 2024 and $100,000 in 2023, alongside $100,000 to Paws Chicago in 2024. Education and youth development appear through grants such as $60,000 to Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Chicago and $60,000 to Jumpstart in Boston, both in 2024.
How James C & Norma I Smith Foundation Gives
The foundation’s grant sizes cluster in the mid-five-figure range, with a p25 of $25,000, a median of $50,000, and a p75 of $60,000. The recent list also shows several much larger awards, including two $700,000 grants to a single recipient in consecutive years. That indicates a mix of standard support grants and a few outsized institutional commitments. The pattern is also recurring rather than one-off in several cases: the same organizations appear across multiple years, including Mayo Clinic, Hospice of the Valley, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, Pets in Need, and World Central Kitchen. The foundation is a private foundation, and the grants shown are general-support awards rather than program-specific restricted grants. All grants in the provided data go to U.S. recipients.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$4.3M
Total Assets
$76.4M
Total Revenue
$20.3M
Total Expenses
$4.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $25K and $60K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$60K
Geographic Reach
National14 states funded
About 12% of grants go to recipients in AZ.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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