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Robert F. Smith
A Commitment to Music
Music has been at the crux of Robert F. Smith’s life since his childhood, having grown up with a musician father. From a young age, Smith recognized the power music held to transport audiences to different eras, immerse them in cultures parallel to their own and open doors to the unique stories of a vast range of musicians.
Robert F. Smith’s Continued Support of the Sphinx Organization
The Sphinx Organization aims to promote excellence within the classical music industry while recognizing the systemic obstacles in Black and Latino communities. In 2016, Smith provided the Sphinx Organization with a major contribution to fund scholarships through the Robert Frederick Smith Prize. Each year, the winner of the Senior Division of the Sphinx Competition receives $50,000 from the scholarship fund. The funds are intended to help progress the winner’s career in classical music and evolve the music industry.
In 2019, Fund II Foundation, of which Smith is the founding director and President, contributed the Sphinx Organization’s second-largest gift to date. The $3 million dollar contribution empowers musicians, entrepreneurs, and leaders of color. Of the donation, Smith said, “As a longtime supporter and advocate of Sphinx, it was both crucial and personally meaningful for me to ensure long-term sustainability for these programs.”
The donation not only opens up the program to a significantly greater number of talented musicians, but it also funds vital programs such as SphinxConnect, a networking conference. Over the past decade of his support, Smith’s donations have also supported programs such as Sphinx Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra showcasing 18 of the country’s leading Black and Latino classical musicians, as well as the Robert Frederick Smith Prize. Programs like these and other opportunities his gift will fund will unite musicians, industry leaders, educators and advocates along with fostering potential mentor relationships.
Smith has provided critical support not only to Sphinx but also to many of Sphinx’s artistic partners committed to advancing representation in classical music, including long-time partner Carnegie Hall. Smith currently serves as Chairman of Carnegie Hall, and as fellow grantees and recipients of Smith’s philanthropic support, Sphinx and Carnegie Hall have collaborated together to annually commission, present and perform new classical works by Black and Latino composers. Additionally, Carnegie Hall annually presents Sphinx artists and ensembles as part of their season and programming.
Robert F. Smith’s Passion for the Arts and Continued Philanthropic Efforts
In addition to his commitment to Sphinx as well as other past and present professional undertakings, Smith and Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm Smith founded in 2000, have partnered with Apollo Theater. At the theater’s annual gala in 2019, Smith and Vista were awarded the Corporate Award for Outstanding Leadership in Innovation, Diversity and Global Community, which is presented for remarkable support of performing arts and the greater Black community.
Smith is also particularly devoted to establishing greater support for marginalized communities within the educational sector. In 2019, Smith presented a life-changing gift to the Morehouse graduating class that eliminated their student loan debt, as well as that held by their guardians. To help change the lives of more students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Student Freedom Initiative was created. As Chairman of Student Freedom Initiative, Smith helps facilitate the Initiative's efforts to support underserved students with resources and funding alternatives that are designed to help them overcome racial barriers to success. To further support marginalized Black communities in the Southern U.S., Smith works with Southern Communities Initiative, an organization dedicated to creating positive and lasting change in six regions that are home to more than half the country’s Black population.
2020: Robert F. Smith provides lead support for Sphinx’s first virtual concert & gala: “Lift Ev’ry Voice”
2019: Robert F. Smith and Fund II Foundation granted $3M to support Sphinx’s pipeline of programs. From music education to arts leadership, Fund II Foundation support has:
Underwritten the commission of 12 new works and arrangements by Black and Latino classical composers
Provided over $1 million in support for Sphinx grant-making to artists and institutions that are transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts
Supported the leadership and career advancement of 20 Black and Latino arts leaders/administrators
Underwritten the SphinxConnect network and conference that brings together over 900+ artists, institutions and industry leaders/stakeholders each year
2019: Robert F. Smith creates opportunities and provides a platform for diverse artists and voices. In 2019, Smith sponsored and brought worldwide attention to Sphinx artists who performed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
2017: Approximately $1 million was granted to the Sphinx Virtuosi national tour for 10 years. The Sphinx Virtuosi ensemble and tour reaches over 15,000 each year in concert and community engagement audiences across the country.
2016: The Robert Frederick Smith Prize was established, one of the many prizes that are part of the Sphinx Competition, to support the careers of emerging Black and Latino classical musicians.