Philanthropy Awards 2025 - Dr Smith Award

Dr. Gerald K. Smith Award for Philanthropy (2025)

The Dr. Gerald K. Smith Award for Philanthropy was established in 2013 to honor the work and philosophy of Dr. Smith, who was a strong advocate and mentor, a bold and charismatic leader, and a pioneer in the field. Dr. Smith was also one of the original co-chairs of CMF's Michigan Forum for African Americans in Philanthropy (MFAAP) affinity group. He dedicated his entire career to making the Detroit community better for children and their families. The award honors the legacy and leadership of Dr. Smith, recognizing significant efforts and contributions of individuals in the field whose work and grantmaking activities promote effective and responsive social change in African American communities and have demonstrated leadership, impact, creativity and collaboration.

Nomination Guidelines and Process
To qualify, the nominee must be a staff member, trustee or committee member of a CMF member organization and have at least four years of experience in the field. The current co-chairs of MFAAP are not eligible for this award.

To nominate an individual, submit this online form, which includes a request for the contact information of the nominator and nominee, along with a brief narrative describing how the nominee's work and grantmaking activities have promoted effective and responsive social change in African American communities, and their overall leadership, impact, creativity and collaboration.

You do not need to complete this nomination form in one sitting; you can save your progress and re-access the form by choosing the "Save and Continue" option shown at the top of the survey window once the first page is complete. You will then receive an email from "noreply@alchemer.com" inviting you to re-access the form via a custom link.

Nominations are due June 30, 2025, by 5 p.m.

The team of peer reviewers who are reading the nominations may request additional information to support the selection of final candidates, including contact information for two individuals who can serve as references for the nominee.

Selection and Recognition

A volunteer peer panel that includes the current co-chairs of MFAAP and past winners of the Dr. Smith Award will review all nominations and select the award winner.

We will contact all nominators with the results of the selection process by mid-August.

Honorees will be notified of their nomination and selection as the award recipient via special call (or video call) hosted in collaboration with the nominator.

This year’s recipient will be honored during CMF's 53rd Annual Conference taking place October 14-16, 2025, in Kalamazoo.

For More Information and Accessibility Support

Questions about this award or requests for accessibility support may be directed to Sue Cuddington, executive assistant to the CMF president and CEO, at scuddington@michiganfoundations.org.

1. Nominator Information *This question is required.

First Name

Last Name

Title/Role

Organization

Phone

Email
Including an email address allows you to submit a partial form and revisit it at another time prior to the deadline. This question requires a valid email address.

2. Nominee Information *This question is required.

First Name

Last Name

Title/Role

Organization

Phone

Email This question requires a valid email address.

3. To the best of your knowledge, is the nominee a staff member, trustee or committee member of a CMF member organization?

If you are unsure, please contact a member of the CMF team to verify their eligibility.
*This question is required.

4. To the best of your knowledge, does the nominee have at least four years of experience in the field? *This question is required.

Please note that as part of this award criteria, nominees must have at least four years of experience in the field. If your nominee does not meet that piece of the criteria, please consider another nominee for this award.