2013
To help address rolling cuts to skilled trades education in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Harbor Freight Tools donates eight trailers filled with tools. They name the in-kind contribution project “Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.”
Our Story
The mission of the Smidt Foundation is to support courageous people who build, repair and make communities safe.
We partner with community-serving nonprofit organizations expanding opportunity, wellbeing and justice, uplifting veterans and first responders, and combatting hatred in all its forms.
To help dedicated nonprofit leaders do what they do best, we generally make unrestricted grants to organizations led by trusted, visionary teams. We seek to fund work they leverage in service to their vital missions. We do not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
Photo by KaitLynn Markley, LA Fire Department Foundation
Our Team
The foundation team includes our directors and a small full-time staff who also support the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools programs.
Our small team shares a commitment to the foundation’s core values and support for outstanding community organizations, leaders, educators and do’ers. We draw upon our collective experience working in philanthropy, schools, business, nonprofits and government and as community volunteers.
Team Photos: JEFF LIPSKY FOR foureleven.agency
Leadership
Meet our colleagues at Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, the flagship program of the Smidt Foundation dedicated to advancing skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools.
2016
The Smidt Foundation is established in December to support programs and organizations dedicated to creating economic opportunity and advancing justice, equality, and safety for all. Harbor Freight Tools for Schools becomes a philanthropic program of the new foundation.
Susan and Eric Smidt make a major gift to support the expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art – the largest museum in the western United States. The Smidt Welcome Plaza becomes the arrival point for visitors and the connection between the museum’s current and future exhibition spaces and its celebrated outdoor sculpture installations including Urban Light and Levitated Mass.
2017
The inaugural Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence is awarded to 12 U.S. public high school skilled trades teachers and their programs, to support their outstanding educational leadership and work.
2018
On Valentine’s Day, Cedars-Sinai announces that the Smidts are donating the then largest gift in the medical center’s history. The gift creates the Smidt Heart Institute, enabling the medical center to expand its research and treatment of heart conditions with the most innovative clinical trials, research on emerging treatments and training programs for the next generation of heart specialists.
2019
The foundation launches a multi-year grant to Big Picture Learning to pilot new ways to increase understanding, support and greater investment in high school skilled trades education. The Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative® connects students with industry mentors and paid apprenticeships in the skilled trades with strong links to their high schools.
2019
The foundation’s first capital grant to LA Family Housing, a regional leader in providing housing and services for the homeless, supports this vital organization’s new facility and technology.
2020
In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, Harbor Freight Tools quickly assembles and donates personal protective gear to more than 1,000 hospital emergency rooms across the United States. The foundation steps up new funding to help meet vital needs in Los Angeles and around the country to support local first responders.
2021
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools begins charitable seed funding to launch summer skilled trades programs for Los Angeles area high school students. Through grants to six local nonprofit organizations, students receive stipends, guidance, career exposure and hands-on learning in carpentry, welding and solar design and installation.
2021
The Smidt Foundation’s initiative, Comfort & Joy, is launched in response to ongoing COVID 19 challenges. These grants support the resilience and wellness of dedicated frontline grantee teams facing especially daunting realities.
2022
Holocaust Museum LA announces that the Smidt Foundation’s major gift supporting the expansion of their campus and education programs. The gift supports the museum’s expansion to deepen its community education programs and ultimately welcome 500,000 visitors per year – including 150,000 K-12 students.
2023
The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence continues to grow. The foundation commits to recognizing 25 outstanding public high school skilled trades teachers and their programs annually with $2 million in cash awards.
2025
Expanding upon annual support to the American Red Cross for disaster response nationally, the foundation provides grants for immediate response and recovery to the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles region. The foundation catalyzes the launch of Who Will Build?, a research-to-action initiative, to connect Angelenos beginning in high school to good jobs in the recovery and beyond.
Photo: Ismael Miranda, LA Fire Department Foundation
2025
The Skilled Trades Funder Kitchen Table, a quarterly digital meeting of skilled trades funders from around the country, gathers for the first time in person, building from its launch by the foundation in 2021. The growth of this funder network reflects increased understanding of the essential role of the skilled trades in our country and its future vitality.