What Smith Richardson Foundation Inc does

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc is a private, family-controlled grant-making foundation founded in 1935 and headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. Its mission is to contribute to important public debates and address serious public policy challenges facing the United States, with the dual objectives of strengthening America's social, economic, and governmental institutions and assisting the development of policies that advance U.S. interests abroad. The Foundation pursues this mission through two program areas: an International Security & Foreign Policy Program (including the Security Studies Initiative, Strategy & Policy Fellows Program, and World Politics & Statecraft Fellowship) and a Domestic Public Policy Program.

The Foundation does not build or sell technology products. Its core 'offerings' are grant funding, fellowships, and supporting infrastructure (a searchable Past Grants Database and Annual Reports). It awards grants to elite think tanks and universities — including the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment, CSIS, CNAS, Harvard, Columbia, the Institute for the Study of War, the Hudson Institute, and the Foreign Policy Research Institute — covering topics ranging from AI and warfare, nuclear posture, and China strategy to fiscal policy and economic security. Grant sizes disclosed in the source data range from six figures to over $300K per award.

Revenue is generated from an investment endowment managed under a Co-CIO governance model (Peter L. Richardson and W. Winburne King III serve as Co-Chief Investment Officers). The Foundation does not disclose revenue, endowment value, or financials publicly beyond the annual report. Its GTM is grant-application-driven: organizations apply via published guidelines, and awards are determined by alignment with program priorities. Family control is significant, with Richardson family members occupying the Chairman seat and multiple Trustee and Governor positions alongside external policy, academic, and military figures.

Name

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc

Legal name

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc

Website

https://srf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc is a private, family-controlled grant-making foundation (founded 1935, Westport, CT) that funds U.S. policy research through two programs — International Security & Foreign Policy and Domestic Public Policy — awarding grants to premier think tanks and universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking / Policy Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Policy research funding
• Nonprofit foundation
• Strategic studies programs
• Public policy grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Westport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment: As a private foundation, SRF operates from an investment endowment. The foundation provides grant funding to research organizations and think tanks working on international security, foreign policy, and domestic public policy issues. The foundation publishes detailed annual reports describing its grants and finances.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc is a private grant-making foundation that funds policy research through two main programs: International Security & Foreign Policy and Domestic Public Policy. It awards grants to think tanks, universities, and research institutions, and operates fellowship sub-programs (Security Studies Initiative, Strategy & Policy Fellows Program, World Politics & Statecraft Fellowship). It also publishes a Past Grants Database and detailed Annual Reports describing its grants and finances.

Product overview

Smith Richardson Foundation Inc is a private grant-making foundation with two primary program areas: the International Security & Foreign Policy Program and the Domestic Public Policy Program. The Foundation does not offer a technology product; rather, it funds policy research through grants to think tanks, academic institutions, and research organizations. Its product offerings consist of grant funding programs, fellowship opportunities (including the Security Studies Initiative, Strategy & Policy Fellows Program, and World Politics & Statecraft Fellowship), and publicly accessible resources including a Past Grants Database and Annual Reports. The Foundation's work focuses on supporting U.S. policy research rather than developing commercial products or technology services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Security & Foreign Policy Program
• Domestic Public Policy Program
• Security Studies Initiative A sub-program supporting training for national security professionals in methods of net assessment analysis and long-term competitive strategic thinking and planning.
• Strategy & Policy Fellows Program A fellowship program designed to develop future leaders in national security strategy and foreign policy.
• World Politics & Statecraft Fellowship A fellowship program supporting emerging scholars and practitioners in world politics and statecraft.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American Enterprise InstitutecoreOthersGrant recipient conducting policy research. SRF funded projects including 'Understanding the Current Crisis in the Middle East' ($270,000), examining U.S. China policy and geopolitics.
• Brookings InstitutioncoreOthersMajor grant recipient receiving multiple grants for research on subsea warfare, democracy transitions, economic security in East Asia, and fiscal policy.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)coreOthersGrant recipient receiving multiple grants for research on AI and war, China's weaponization of interdependence, U.S. defense industrial base, and China strategy.
• Carnegie Endowment for International PeacecoreOthersGrant recipient conducting research on shadow logistics networks connecting China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
• Center for a New American SecuritycoreOthersGrant recipient receiving funding for economic domain doctrine, military recruiting crisis research, and Russian military force structure analysis.
• Harvard UniversitycoreOthersGrant recipient through the Cold War Studies Publications Program editing the Journal of Cold War Studies and Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series.
• Columbia UniversitycoreOthersGrant recipient hosting the Summer Workshop on Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy and the Fiscal Responsibility Policy Lab.
• Institute for the Study of WarcoreOthersGrant recipient receiving major funding ($321,750) for daily war in Ukraine assessments and operational history of Russia's full-scale invasion.
• Foreign Policy Research InstitutecoreOthersGrant recipient receiving funding for research on U.S. military assistance abroad and axis of aggressors analysis.
• Hudson InstitutecoreOthersGrant recipient for U.S. nuclear posture research in the third nuclear age and supply chain mapping for economic growth and security.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: Large U.S. private foundation distributing grants to research institutions and scholars across policy and international topics; comparable as a private grantmaking foundation with an endowment-driven model funding long-horizon research.
• Earhart Foundation: Private U.S. foundation funding scholarly research and policy-oriented academic work through grants; comparable as a smaller private grantmaking foundation supporting research institutions and individual scholars.
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Major U.S. private foundation funding policy research, think tanks, and academic institutions; comparable as a large private grantmaking foundation funding research organizations rather than operating programs directly.
• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation: Private U.S. foundation that funds policy research, think tanks, and academic work on domestic and international policy with a conservative orientation; directly comparable as a private grantmaking foundation funding the same ecosystem of policy research organizations (AEI, Heritage, Hudson, Brookings-adjacent) as Smith Richardson.
• Sarah Scaife Foundation: Private U.S. foundation funding policy research and think tanks in international affairs and domestic policy; comparable as a private grantmaking foundation funding the same ecosystem of policy research organizations.
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Private U.S. family-founded foundation funding policy, sustainability, and international affairs research; comparable as a private family-controlled grantmaking foundation funding research institutions.
• John Templeton Foundation: Large private foundation that funds research and scholarly work through grants to universities and research institutions; comparable as a private grantmaking foundation with a long operating history, family origins, and a research-grant model rather than direct program delivery.
• Charles Koch Foundation: Private foundation funding policy research, scholars, and think tanks in economics, foreign policy, and domestic policy; directly comparable as a private grantmaking foundation funding the same categories of policy research institutions.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Major U.S. private foundation funding policy and scholarly research on international affairs, education, and democracy; directly comparable in scale, mission framing (U.S. public policy and international order), and grantee profile (think tanks, universities).
• Pew Charitable Trusts: U.S. nonprofit that funds policy research and analysis across domestic and international topics through grants and in-house research; comparable in mission framing around U.S. public policy challenges and grantee model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smith-richardson-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Smith Richardson Foundation Inc