Smith Richardson Foundation

The Smith Richardson Foundation is a private foundation headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, whose grant making focuses on public-policy research and the development of policy ideas relevant to the United States. Its stated mission is to contribute to significant public debates, address serious policy challenges, strengthen social, economic, and governmental institutions, and support policies intended to help the United States compete internationally and advance its interests and values abroad. The foundation was established in 1935 by H. Smith Richardson and his wife, Grace Jones Richardson. Richardson was associated with Richardson-Vicks, the consumer and pharmaceutical company developed from Vicks Chemical Company, which had been founded by his father, Lunsford Richardson. Richardson-Vicks became a major over-the-counter drug business and later expanded into prescription medicines and other consumer products. The Richardson family sold the company to Procter & Gamble in 1985, but the foundation continued as an independent philanthropic institution. Smith Richardson Foundation grant making is organized around three principal programs: International Security and Foreign Policy, Domestic Public Policy, and the Strategy & Policy Fellows Program. The programs support scholars, universities, research centers, think tanks, and other organizations working on questions of national security, international affairs, defense, economic policy, governance, education, regulation, and related domestic-policy subjects. The foundation has also supported organizations concerned with democratic development and political change in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central and South America. During R. Randolph Richardson's leadership, which began in 1973, the foundation became especially associated with support for free-market and pro-democratic causes. Its grants helped policy researchers and institutions participate in debates over defense policy, taxation, education reform, regulation, and the role of government. Peter L. Richardson became president in 1992. The foundation's activities have included annual competitions associated with its three principal programs; the referenced description states that each program awards three research grants of $60,000 annually, although program terms may change over time. The foundation has provided grants to prominent policy organizations and university-based research centers, including the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Council on Foreign Relations, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Freedom House, Hudson Institute, Urban Institute, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Its support has covered both domestic and international policy research rather than consumer products or commercial services. Publicly cited tax and annual-report figures illustrate the scale of its operations at particular points in time. Its federal tax return reported assets of $521,570,780 and 411 grants totaling $20,695,903 for 2013. The foundation's 2020 annual report reported total assets of $839,148,711 as of December 31, 2020. These historical figures should not be treated as current financial information. The foundation remains an active private philanthropic organization rather than a publicly traded company.

The Smith Richardson Foundation was created in 1935 by H. Smith Richardson Sr. and Grace Jones Richardson. Its origins are connected to the Richardson family's business interests in Vicks Chemical Company, founded by Lunsford Richardson. Under H. Smith Richardson, the business developed into Richardson-Vicks, a major producer of over-the-counter medicines and later a participant in prescription pharmaceuticals and other consumer categories. The family sold Richardson-Vicks to Procter & Gamble in 1985, while the foundation continued its philanthropic work as a separate private institution. The foundation's later identity was shaped strongly by R. Randolph Richardson, who became its president in 1973. He directed substantial attention toward free-market ideas, democratic institutions, national defense, and public-policy research. During this period, the foundation supported think tanks, scholars, and research organizations engaged in arguments about defense policy, taxation, education, regulation, and the proper design of government institutions. It also backed organizations promoting democratic development in Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and parts of Central and South America. Peter L. Richardson, a nephew of R. Randolph Richardson, became president in 1992. In the same period, Heather Higgins, the daughter of R. Randolph Richardson, became president of the separate Randolph Foundation. R. Randolph Richardson died in June 2015. Smith Richardson Foundation grant making is now described through three programs: International Security and Foreign Policy, Domestic Public Policy, and Strategy & Policy Fellows. These programs support policy scholarship and institutional research rather than commercial operations. Areas represented among its grantees include international security, defense planning, terrorism and irregular warfare, nonproliferation, European and transatlantic affairs, domestic policy, governance, education, and democratic development. The foundation has supported a broad set of organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Caucasus Institute, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Center for European Policy Analysis, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, Freedom House, Hudson Institute, National Institute for Public Policy, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Pepperdine University, RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. A description of the foundation's annual competitions states that each of its three programs awards three research grants of $60,000. Historical financial disclosures indicate that the foundation reported $521,570,780 in assets and 411 grants totaling $20,695,903 in 2013. Its 2020 annual report reported assets of $839,148,711 at year-end. Because these figures relate to specific reporting periods, they do not establish the foundation's present financial position.

• 2020

  Reported year-end assets

  [2]Smith Richardson Foundation official websitesrf.org

  The foundation's 2020 annual report stated that total assets were $839,148,711 as of December 31, 2020.

• 2015

  Death of R. Randolph Richardson

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  R. Randolph Richardson died in June 2015.

• 2013

  Reported grant-making and assets

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation reported assets of $521,570,780 and 411 grants totaling $20,695,903 for the year.

• 1992

  Peter L. Richardson becomes president

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Peter L. Richardson succeeded to the foundation's presidency.

• 1985

  Richardson-Vicks sold to Procter & Gamble

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The Richardson family sold Richardson-Vicks to Procter & Gamble; the foundation remained an independent philanthropic organization.

• 1973

  R. Randolph Richardson becomes president

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  R. Randolph Richardson assumed the presidency and expanded the foundation's role in supporting free-market, defense, public-policy, and pro-democracy initiatives.

• 1935

  Foundation established

  [1]Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  H. Smith Richardson Sr. and Grace Jones Richardson established the Smith Richardson Foundation as a private philanthropic foundation.

A private, policy-oriented philanthropic foundation with a particular emphasis on national security, international affairs, domestic governance, free-market ideas, and democratic institutions.

• Grant-making program

  International Security and Foreign Policy Program

  This program supports research and analysis concerning international security, foreign affairs, defense, strategic competition, terrorism, nonproliferation, and related questions affecting U.S. interests. Grants may go to policy institutions, universities, and individual researchers through the foundation's stated competition and fellowship mechanisms.

• Grant-making program

  Domestic Public Policy Program

  The Domestic Public Policy Program funds research addressing major questions in American governance and domestic policy. Referenced subject areas include taxation, education, regulation, economic policy, and the vitality of social and governmental institutions.

• Research fellowship and grant program

  Strategy & Policy Fellows Program

  This program provides support for researchers developing policy-relevant work. It is one of the foundation's three principal grant-making programs and is described as participating in annual competitions for research awards.

• 1985

  Richardson family sells Richardson-VicksM&A

  Background

  The Richardson family owned the business from which much of the family's philanthropic capacity originated. Richardson-Vicks had become a major over-the-counter drug company with additional pharmaceutical and consumer-product activities.

  Action taken

  The family sold Richardson-Vicks to Procter & Gamble.

  Aftermath

  The foundation continued as a private grant-making institution after the corporate sale.

  Source

1. 1Smith Richardson Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Smith Richardson Foundation official websitesrf.org