The Ryan and Ashley Smith Foundation concentrates its giving into a very small number of large, unrestricted grants, primarily backing national philanthropic vehicles and a select local sports-related charity. The foundation shows a clear preference for making transformational gifts rather than many small awards, with repeat multi-million dollar support to the 'Five for the Fight' effort alongside a major contribution to the Utah Jazz Foundation. Their grants suggest interest in national fundraising campaigns (likely health/cancer fundraising) and community impact through local sports philanthropy.
Highly concentrated: four large grants totaling $16.25M with multi‑million gifts to the same national grantee (repeat donor) and a single major local sports foundation; favors unrestricted, sizable awards over many small grants.
The Ryan and Ashley Smith Foundation stands out for a pattern of very large, unrestricted gifts to a small set of named organizations. Its most visible commitment is the Five for the Fight effort, which received $5,000,000 in 2023 and again in 2024 and 2025, signaling sustained support for a national fundraising campaign tied to medical and cancer research. The foundation also made a $1,250,000 unrestricted grant to the Utah Jazz Foundation in 2023, showing that local sports philanthropy is another major lane in its giving. Beyond those headline gifts, the foundation’s recent awards extend to a few additional organizations across Utah and beyond, but the overall profile remains centered on flexible support rather than restricted project funding. The grant list points to a donor advised, highly selective style: a handful of substantial awards, mostly to U.S. organizations, with repeated support for the same recipients over multiple years. That combination of repetition, size, and unrestricted structure defines how the foundation gives.
In medical and cancer-related fundraising, the foundation gave $5,000,000 to Five for the Fight Foundation in 2025 for general unrestricted support, following similarly sized gifts in prior years to the same campaign. In sports-based community investment, it awarded $1,250,000 to the Utah Jazz Foundation in 2023, also as general unrestricted support. The foundation’s recent grants also include smaller unrestricted gifts to education and advocacy-related groups, such as $10,000 to Academy for Child Advocacy in 2024 and $50,000 to Utahs First Lady Foundation in 2024. Cultural support appears as well: Ballet West received $10,000 in 2024 and $5,000 in 2025, both unrestricted. Across these causes, the common thread is flexible funding rather than tightly defined project grants.
Grant sizes range from $20,000 at the 25th percentile to $75,000 at the median and $975,000 at the 75th percentile, with several grants far above that upper quartile. The pattern is concentrated rather than broad: the same recipient appears across multiple years, including Five for the Fight Foundation in 2024 and 2025 after a 2023 grant listed under the same campaign name, and Ballet West in 2024 and 2025. The foundation appears to function as a private family foundation, and its recent awards are overwhelmingly unrestricted or general support. No application process is described in the data.
$5.2M
$67.9M
$2.2M
$5.4M
Most grants fall between $20K and $975K, with a median of $75K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$75K
75th Percentile
$975K
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Notable grantees: Five for the Fight Foundation, Five for the Fight, Utah Jazz Foundation
Giving is heavily concentrated in Utah: 70% of grants went to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, and Utah is also the top state by grant count. Salt Lake City appears repeatedly, including grants to the Utah Jazz Foundation, Ballet West, and Fpc Preservation Foundation Inc. Provo also shows up multiple times through Five for the Fight Foundation and Academy for Child Advocacy. Outside Utah, the foundation has made smaller grants to recipients in California, Georgia, Virginia, and the United Kingdom is not represented in the recent grant list; all recorded grants went to U.S. recipients.
The recent grants show a preference for unrestricted support to a small set of organizations. The largest recurring gifts go to Five for the Fight Foundation for medical and cancer-related fundraising, and a major award went to the Utah Jazz Foundation. Smaller grants also reached cultural, advocacy, and education-related groups such as Ballet West and Academy for Child Advocacy.
Yes. Five for the Fight Foundation received $5,000,000 in 2024 and again in 2025, following a 2023 grant under the same campaign name. Ballet West also appears more than once, with grants in 2024 and 2025. That repeated pattern suggests ongoing support rather than one-time awards.
The grant-size distribution is large: the 25th percentile is $20,000, the median is $75,000, and the 75th percentile is $975,000. The recent list also includes multiple multimillion-dollar awards, showing that the foundation’s giving is concentrated in a few substantial grants.
Utah is the main location for recipient organizations, accounting for 70% of grants and ranking first by grant count. Salt Lake City and Provo appear repeatedly among recipient locations, including grants to the Utah Jazz Foundation, Ballet West, Fpc Preservation Foundation Inc, Five for the Fight Foundation, and Academy for Child Advocacy.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIVE FOR THE FIGHT FOUNDATION | PROVO, UT | $5,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| THE WILL HARDY FOUNDATION | HENRICO, VA | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| THE DISCOVERY LAND COMPANY FOUNDATION | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $80,000 | 2025 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| ACADEMY FOR CHILD ADVOCACY | PROVO, UT | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| BALLET WEST | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| FIVE FOR THE FIGHT FOUNDATION | PROVO, UT | $5,000,000 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| PEBBLE BEACH COMPANY FOUNDATION | PEBBLE BEACH, CA | $150,000 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS AMERICAN FOUNDATION INC | ATLANTA, GA | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| UTAHS FIRST LADY FOUNDATION | MIDVALE, UT | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| BALLET WEST | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| FPC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INC | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $7,500 | 2024 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| FIVE FOR THE FIGHT | PROVO, UT | $5,000,000 | 2023 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| UTAH JAZZ FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $1,250,000 | 2023 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| RALLY FOUNDATION | ATLANTA, GA | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
| ACADEMY FOR CHILD ADVOCACY | PROVO, UT | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL UNRESTRICTED |
THE WILL HARDY FOUNDATION
$100,000GENERAL UNRESTRICTED
ACADEMY FOR CHILD ADVOCACY
$10,000GENERAL UNRESTRICTED
GENERAL UNRESTRICTED
FPC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION INC
$7,500GENERAL UNRESTRICTED
UTAH JAZZ FOUNDATION
$1,250,000GENERAL UNRESTRICTED
ACADEMY FOR CHILD ADVOCACY
$5,000GENERAL UNRESTRICTED