About Us
Flourish is a family foundation established in 2022 through a trust created by Nancy Smith. Nancy’s father, Bud Smith was an entrepreneur who established companies in the St. Louis area relating to ceramics and packaging, most notably CLSmith Company. Bud Smith laid the foundation for his daughter Nancy’s journey. A dynamic force in her own right, Nancy complimented her father's business acumen, propelling the growth of their businesses.
Following the sale of CLSmith Company in 2021, our family felt inspired to start a foundation to share the prosperity - to enrich the soil from where we are rooted by giving back to our communities.
We are a family foundation built on integrity, humility, compassion, and gratitude. These values guide us in our altruism with each other, our community, and our environment.
We believe in Social Justice and it is an overarching theme in all of our philanthropic interests including equity in education, equity in health care, community development, and environmental sustainability. We believe that liberation for marginalized communities comes from within these groups. Our goals are to seek understanding through listening and provide funding opportunities to community leaders and organizations that are working to make positive changes.
Our board consists of Nancy Smith, her husband Ray Rikimaru, Nancy’s two adult children Abby Shareef, and Alec Newby. Ned Rollhaus, our fifth board member, brings a valuable perspective as a partner of Matter Family Office. At this time, Abby and Alec share responsibilities as directors of the foundation and are navigating the new territory of philanthropy with assistance from peers and mentors.
We invest around $1 million annually in people, projects, and programs. We strive to be intentional about our gift-giving and believe in trust-based gifting. The family is split between St. Louis, MO, and Denver, CO, and has an interest in supporting organizations in both places.
If you are seeking grant funding, please reach out to us.
“Ubunto—I am because We are.”
Nguni concept of being
Why the name “Flourish”?
The meaning of the word ‘flourish’ is to develop in a healthy way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment. We really believe that a person’s environment is an integral part of their well being. We seek to support organizations that focus on creating a just environment so that a person of any race or ability is able to flourish. We also support organizations that focus on sustainability so that our ecological environment can flourish as well.