Southern Smoke Foundation
Southern Smoke Foundation is a Houston, Texas-based public charity that supports people in the food and beverage industry facing crises, including through emergency financial assistance and access to mental health care. The organization’s 2025 filing states that it was formed in 2016; its website says it launched in 2015.
Southern Smoke Foundation at a glance
In short: Southern Smoke Foundation gave $304K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $30K), top state California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $303,566
- +0.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +25.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $30,357
- -19.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $20,590
- Total assets
- $5,791,818
- +13.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- California (35% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Southern Smoke Foundation
- Review Cycle
- Emergency-relief applications must be submitted within six months of the qualifying crisis.
- Deadline
- Emergency-relief applications must be submitted within six months of the qualifying crisis.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1302 Waugh Drive 970, Houston, TX 77019
Phone: (713) 502-2508
Website: https://southernsmoke.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Southern Smoke Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Cal Lutheran ($105K). Together the top 10 received $304K.
Grant Size Distribution
24 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 19 grants of 24 (79%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation says it provides emergency relief to food and beverage workers across the country. Behind You offers no-cost counseling in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Workers outside those areas may apply for mental-health-crisis financial assistance through the Emergency Relief Fund.
The 2025 institutional grant dollars went primarily to recipients in California (35%), New York (25%), and South Carolina (16%), followed by Maine (9%) and Florida (5%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Southern Smoke Foundation gives
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2018 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $56K (2022) to $347K (2018). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $304K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Lutheran Thousand Oaks, CA | Mental Health Program | $105,386 |
| University of South Carolina Columbia, SC | Mental Health Program | $47,379 |
| New York University New York, NY | Mental Health Program | $35,030 |
| University of Maine Orono, ME | Mental Health Program | $26,681 |
| Yeshiva New York, NY | Mental Health Program | $24,800 |
| Roberts Wesleyan University Rochester, NY | Mental Health Program | $16,380 |
| Florida Institute of Technology Inc Melbourne, FL | Mental Health Program | $16,202 |
| Michigan School of Psychology Farmington Hills, MI | Mental Health Program | $15,260 |
| Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL | Mental Health Program | $10,448 |
| Austin Community College Austin, TX | Mental Health Program | $6,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Amounts are reported by filing year. Grant totals refer to grants reported in the filing.
Filing type: Form 990 (a public charity).
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5,791,818 | $4,593,896 | $4,019,071 | $303,566 | 10 | $179,376 | — |
| 2024 | $5,103,343 | $4,321,072 | $4,889,010 | $303,191 | 8 | $96,906 | — |
| 2023 | $5,582,623 | $2,537,848 | $2,671,210 | $100,093 | 3 | — | — |
| 2022 | $5,755,998 | $2,332,005 | $2,425,858 | $56,266 | 2 | — | — |
| 2021 | $5,761,542 | $2,810,220 | $4,918,499 | $80,000 | 1 | $1,442 | — |
| 2020 | $7,915,767 | $12,844,747 | $5,555,707 | — | — | — | — |
| 2019 | $615,905 | $1,109,223 | $754,596 | $324,552 | 39 | — | $20,777 |
| 2018 | $253,089 | $686,284 | $658,629 | $346,815 | 5 | — | $11,370 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The mission stated in the organization’s 2025 filing is to support and assist people in the food and beverage community and their suppliers who are in crisis. The filing describes assistance for needs including health crises, winter-storm damage, natural disasters, and mental health needs.
The foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund provides financial support for crisis-related expenses such as housing and living costs, medical bills and treatment, disaster-related expenses, and other essentials. Its Behind You program provides access to no-cost counseling through university partners. The website describes up to 20 supervised counseling sessions through the program; the filing separately reports 10,217 no-cost counseling sessions provided since 2020.
The 2025 institutional grants listed in the filing supported universities and other higher-education institutions for mental health programs. For example, the University of South Carolina describes its mission as building and managing an endowment and supporting research and educational conferences. New York University describes its primary missions as education, research and scholarship, and patient care. Michigan School of Psychology describes its mission as training clinical psychologists.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Southern Smoke reported 10 grants totaling $303,566. Grants ranged from $6,000 to $105,386, with a median of $20,590. These itemized institutional grants were for mental health programs. The largest were $105,386 to Cal Lutheran, $47,379 to the University of South Carolina, $35,030 to New York University, $26,681 to the University of Maine, and $24,800 to Yeshiva.
The foundation also provides emergency relief directly to individuals. Its 2025 year-end report says it provided $1,551,487 through 918 emergency-relief grants that year. These payments to individuals are distinct from the institutional grants listed in its filing.
For emergency relief, the website says applicants must currently work in the food and beverage industry, have taxable income, and have worked at least 30 hours per week for at least six months. The crisis must have occurred within six months before applying, and applicants may apply once every 12 months; the emergency-relief page says funding may be received twice within a four-year period. Applicants are asked for a statement of need, employment information and pay stubs, and supporting documents relevant to their expenses. The filing says recipients sign an affidavit limiting grant use to emergency needs in their case and provide documentation for funded expenses.
For Behind You, the website gives the same minimum employment duration and hours requirement. Applicants outside the counseling program’s service states may apply for mental-health-crisis assistance through the Emergency Relief Fund.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Kevin Gee as president; June Rodil as vice president; Petter Pettersen as immediate past president; Benjamin Fink as chairman of the Finance Committee; Chris Shepherd as founding director and honorary chair; Leighann Bakunas as secretary; and Vanessa Ames, Chree Boydstun, Ikimi Dubose, and Aaron Franklin as board members.
Southern Smoke Foundation is led by Lindsey Brown, Executive Director since 2023 (on filings since 2018); 4 of 19 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Lindsey Brown
Executive Director
President → Board Member, 2021
Board Member → Executive Director, 2023
On filings since 2018
40 hrs/week
$83K (2023) → $159K (2025)
Kevin Gee
President
Vice President → President, 2024
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Chris Shepherd
Founding Director & Honorary Chair
Board Member → Founding Director & Honorary Chairman, 2023
Founding Director & Honorary Chairman → Founding Director & Honorary Chair, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Benjamin Fink
Chairman & Finance Committee
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Caroline Nabors Rosen
Director of Development
Director of Advancement → Director of Development, 2024
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$130K (2023) → $132K (2025)
Catarina Bill
Chief Mission Officer
Director of Philanthropy & Programs → Chief Mission Officer, 2024
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$104K (2023) → $116K (2025)
Cris Tang
CFO
Controller → CFO, 2024
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$133K (2023) → $146K (2025)
Chree Boydstun
Board Member
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Petter Pettersen
Immediate Past President
Interim President → President, 2021
President → Immediate Past President, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Aaron Franklin
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ikimi Dubose
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
June Rodil
Vice President
Board Member → Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Leighann Bakunas
Secretary
Board Member → Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Cherif Mbodji
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Erin Smith
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kaitlyn Goalen
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Toni Tipton-Martin
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Grueneberg
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Vanessa Ames
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (8)
- Former: Kathryn Lott (2018–2023) — Executive Director
- Former: Martha Paterson (2018–2023) — Secretary
- Former: Kristy Bradshaw (2020–2023) — Treasurer
- Former: John deBarry (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Loubel Galik (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Caroline Nabors (2022) — Director of Development
- Former: Cris Agustin (2022) — Controller
- Former: Julie Soefer (2018) — Vice President
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2018–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $159K, to Lindsey Brown (Executive Director). 4 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Southern Smoke Foundation
How much does Southern Smoke Foundation give each year?
Southern Smoke Foundation gave $304K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $303K across 8 grants.
What is Southern Smoke Foundation's typical grant size?
Southern Smoke Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $20,590, and its average grant was $30,357, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Southern Smoke Foundation give grants?
Southern Smoke Foundation's top state is California, with 35% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were New York (25%) and South Carolina (16%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (2 grants).
Does Southern Smoke Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Southern Smoke Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Mental Health Program" (10 grants).
Who are Southern Smoke Foundation's largest grantees?
Southern Smoke Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Cal Lutheran ($105,386), University of South Carolina ($47,379) and New York University ($35,030), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 62% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Southern Smoke Foundation?
Southern Smoke Foundation reported $5.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $4.6M.
What does Southern Smoke Foundation fund?
The mission stated in the organization’s 2025 filing is to support and assist people in the food and beverage community and their suppliers who are in crisis. The filing describes assistance for needs including health crises, winter-storm damage, natural disasters, and mental health needs. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Southern Smoke Foundation?
Southern Smoke Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check southernsmoke.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Southern Smoke Foundation's EIN?
Southern Smoke Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-2423050. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2018–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 6, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 26, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 5, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2018 (received by the IRS January 31, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 14, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 22, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 29, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Southern Smoke Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/southern-smoke-foundation-morg_1292786604a54e488e8e0be0989a07c8
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_812423050_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Southern Smoke Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/southern-smoke-foundation-morg_1292786604a54e488e8e0be0989a07c8},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Southern Smoke Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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