The Lester and Roberta Smith Foundation is a Tucson-centered funder that prioritizes direct support for local youth services, education, and community health and wellbeing. Their grants frequently back youth development (after-school programs, music, sports), educational access and literacy, STEM learning, food security and community agriculture, and local health services. They favor general program support to small- and mid-sized nonprofits serving the Tucson area and repeatedly fund a handful of core organizations.
The Lester and Roberta Smith Foundation consistently backs Tucson and Southern Arizona programs for youth development, education, and community health. Its recent grants show a pattern of direct support for local nonprofits working with children, teens, and families, often through general operating or program support. One of the clearest examples is two grants to Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, including $30,000 in 2024 and another $30,000 in 2025, which places community health alongside youth services in the foundation’s portfolio. The foundation also returned to Youth on Their Own with grants of $20,000 in both 2024 and 2025, signaling repeat support for a core local partner. Other grants reached organizations serving youth through music, literacy, STEM learning, food security, sports, and after-school activities. Recent recipients include Tucson Youth Music Center, Literacy Connects, Sarsef, Tucson Village Farm, and Gap Ministries. The foundation’s giving is place-based and centered on small-to-mid-sized nonprofits that serve the Tucson area.
Youth development is the foundation’s main operating theme. It gave $20,000 in 2025 to Youth on Their Own for support, and $15,000 the same year to Tucson Children’s Museum for support tied to youth programming. In music and arts education, Tucson Youth Music Center received $25,095 in 2025 for support after a $22,000 grant in 2024, showing repeated backing for the same youth arts provider. STEM education also appears in the recent grants list: Sarsef received $20,000 in 2025, and AZ Cyber Initiative received $25,000 in 2025, both from Tucson-area and Southern Arizona learning networks. Food security is another supported area, with Gap Ministries receiving $22,208 in 2025 for a food packaging system and Tucson Village Farm receiving $30,200 in 2024 for support.
Typical grants cluster in the mid five figures, with a p25 of $15,000, a median of $20,000, and a p75 of $25,000. The recent record also shows repeat awards to the same organizations across multiple years, including Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Youth on Their Own, and Tucson Youth Music Center. The foundation appears to favor direct support rather than one-off capital gifts, and its active grant programs describe project and direct grant funding for youth and education work. Matching grants are noted as being of special interest. The listed grant-request channels are open to unsolicited submissions.
$106K
$2.6M
$218K
$151K
Most grants fall between $15K and $25K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$15K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$25K
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Concentrated, local giving with multiple repeat grants to core Tucson nonprofits; primarily mid‑sized grants ($15k–$60k) designated as program support rather than capital projects, spread across education, youth services, health, and basic needs.
Notable grantees: Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Tucson Youth Music Center, Youth On Their Own, Tucson Village Farm, Literacy Connects
All recent grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients, and every grant went to organizations in Arizona. Tucson is the dominant recipient city, with multiple awards to local groups such as Tucson Village Farm, Literacy Connects, and KXCI Tucson Community Radio. The data also includes grants to Nogales and Green Valley, both in Arizona, showing that the foundation’s local reach extends beyond Tucson while staying within Southern Arizona.
The foundation focuses on youth development and education, especially programs tied to sports, music, after-school activities, literacy, and STEM learning. Its active grant programs also mention direct support for youth programs in Southern Arizona and Tucson, with matching grants of special interest.
Typical grants fall in the middle five figures. The dataset gives a p25 of $15,000, a median of $20,000, and a p75 of $25,000.
Yes. The active grant programs listed for youth and education all say they accept unsolicited requests, and several describe a grant-request process for nonprofit organizations serving youth in Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Its grants are local and concentrated in Arizona. The recipient distribution shows 100% of grants going to recipients in AZ, with Tucson appearing most often and additional grants in Nogales and Green Valley.
Yes. The recent grants list shows repeat support for several organizations across 2024 and 2025, including Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Youth on Their Own, and Tucson Youth Music Center.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Financiamiento actual y próximo de Lester and Roberta Smith Foundation al que tu organización sin fines de lucro podría postularse.
¿Quién puede postularse? The foundation states that it focuses on vulnerable and marginalized youth in Southern Arizona. Specific eligibility requirements were not provided in the scraped content.
Fecha límite: April 1 and October 1 annually; reviewed in May and November/December
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHERN ARIZONA AIDS FOUNDATION | TUCSON, AZ | $30,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375 | TUCSON, AZ | $25,095 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| AZ CYBER INITIATIVE | NOGALES, AZ | $25,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| GAP MINISTRIES FOR FOOD PACKAGING SYSTEM | TUCSON, AZ | $22,208 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| SARSEF | TUCSON, AZ | $20,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| YOUTH ON THEIR OWN | TUCSON, AZ | $20,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM | TUCSON, AZ | $15,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB | TUCSON, AZ | $15,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB | TUCSON, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| KXCI TUCSON COMMUNITY RADIO | TUCSON, AZ | $10,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| BOOKS FOR CLASSROOMS | GREEN VALLEY, AZ | $6,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| ANGEL HEART PAJAMA PROJECT | TUCSON, AZ | $5,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON VILLAGE FARM | TUCSON, AZ | $30,200 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| SOUTHERN ARIZONA AIDS FOUNDATION | TUCSON, AZ | $30,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375 | TUCSON, AZ | $25,095 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| LITERACY CONNECTS | TUCSON, AZ | $25,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| GAP MINISTRIES FOR FOOD PACKAGING SYSTEM | TUCSON, AZ | $22,208 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375 | TUCSON, AZ | $22,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| YOUTH ON THEIR OWN | TUCSON, AZ | $20,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| SARSEF | TUCSON, AZ | $20,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB | TUCSON, AZ | $15,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| TUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM | TUCSON, AZ | $15,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| SAN MIGUEL HIGH SCHOOL | TUCSON, AZ | $10,700 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| GIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA | TUCSON, AZ | $5,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| ANGEL HEART PAJAMA PROJECT 46-3882856 | TUCSON, AZ | $5,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
SOUTHERN ARIZONA AIDS FOUNDATION
$30,000SUPPORT
TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375
$25,095SUPPORT
AZ CYBER INITIATIVE
$25,000SUPPORT
GAP MINISTRIES FOR FOOD PACKAGING SYSTEM
$22,208SUPPORT
SARSEF
$20,000SUPPORT
YOUTH ON THEIR OWN
$20,000SUPPORT
TUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
SUPPORT
TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB
$15,000SUPPORT
TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB
$10,000SUPPORT
KXCI TUCSON COMMUNITY RADIO
$10,000SUPPORT
BOOKS FOR CLASSROOMS
$6,000SUPPORT
ANGEL HEART PAJAMA PROJECT
$5,000SUPPORT
TUCSON VILLAGE FARM
$30,200SUPPORT
SOUTHERN ARIZONA AIDS FOUNDATION
$30,000SUPPORT
TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375
$25,095SUPPORT
LITERACY CONNECTS
$25,000SUPPORT
GAP MINISTRIES FOR FOOD PACKAGING SYSTEM
$22,208SUPPORT
TUCSON YOUTH MUSIC CENTER 86-6051375
$22,000SUPPORT
YOUTH ON THEIR OWN
$20,000SUPPORT
SARSEF
$20,000SUPPORT
TUCSON BADGER YOUTH WRESTLING CLUB
$15,000SUPPORT
TUCSON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
$15,000SUPPORT
SAN MIGUEL HIGH SCHOOL
$10,700SUPPORT
GIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA
$5,000SUPPORT
ANGEL HEART PAJAMA PROJECT 46-3882856
$5,000SUPPORT
