Russell H & Maxine E Smith Charitable
Official website for the Russell H. & Maxine E. Smith Charitable Foundation (Bay City, MI). The site provides the foundation's history, purpose, board of trustees, and instructions to begin the application process via the Bay Area Community Foundation. Public filings and grant records show the foundation made grants through 2023–2024.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
A charitable organization serving Bay County, Michigan with a defined project or program in community development, youth services, food security, health access, parks/space improvements, education, or historic preservation and capacity to submit the requested application packet through the Bay Area Community Foundation.
Good Fit
- • Project or program primarily benefiting Bay County residents.
- • Request size and scope similar to past awards (roughly $6K–$30K).
- • Clear project budget, outcomes, governance documents, and recent IRS/Form 990 materials available.
- • Willingness to begin the application via the Bay Area Community Foundation contact and meet paper-copy submission requirements.
- • Local nonprofit with demonstrated community impact (parks, youth services, food/hunger programs, health clinics, historic preservation, arts).
Geography
Observed giving is entirely to Michigan organizations and concentrated in Bay County; every recorded grant in the three-year record was in-state.
Recipient Variety
The foundation funded nine distinct recipients in the latest year (and between nine and twelve in prior years) across a range of local missions, indicating a moderate spread of independent grantees even though the top five recipients capture a majority of dollars.
New Applicants
There is a clear public application route (website instructions and a named Bay Area Community Foundation contact), and six new recipients appeared in the latest year, which together suggest unfamiliar applicants can realistically enter the portfolio.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
