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About Robert F. Smith and Fund II Foundation  

Investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith is founding director and President of Fund II Foundation, a nonprofit that makes grants to support organizations focused on uplifting communities that lack access to resources. Working to protect healthcare access as a human right, Fund II Foundation made a $27 million grant to Susan G. Komen in 2016 to support the African American Health Equity Initiative (AAHEI). The initiative is now known as Stand for H.E.R. – Health Equity Revolution.

Fund II Foundation and Susan G. Komen  

With the help of Fund II Foundation, Susan G. Komen set the goal of reducing Black breast cancer disparities by 25%, starting in 10 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with the greatest needs. Data shows that Black women in the U.S. are about 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. Nearly half of Black women diagnosed with breast cancer die within five years, compared to less than one-third of white women. Black women are also often diagnosed later and with more aggressive forms of breast cancer. Through education and improved access to quality healthcare, Stand for H.E.R. helps reduce gaps in care and supports better health outcomes.

The Stand for H.E.R. work supported by Fund II focuses on the following cities:

  • Memphis, TN 
  • St. Louis, MO 
  • Dallas, TX 
  • Los Angeles, CA 
  • Tidewater, VA 
  • Atlanta, GA 
  • Chicago, IL 
  • Houston, TX 
  • Washington, DC  
  • Philadelphia, PA 

Fund II Foundation’s partnership with Susan G. Komen aims to strengthen early detection, improve diagnosis and advance effective breast cancer treatment. Through their shared goal of expanding access to healthcare, this partnership seeks to decrease late-stage diagnoses and deaths in the U.S.

Building on this work, Komen’s broader Closing the Gap initiative continues to advance efforts to reduce disparities in breast cancer outcomes. Recent analysis from Susan G. Komen shows encouraging progress, including declines in breast cancer mortality among Black women in nine of the ten major U.S. metropolitan areas studied where targeted interventions have been implemented. These findings reflect the impact of data-driven strategies, strong community partnerships, and expanded access to timely, high-quality care, while reinforcing the need for continued focus on achieving health equity.

About Robert F. Smith

Philanthropist Robert F. Smith, Founding Director and President of the Fund II Foundation

Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm that invests in enterprise software through private equity and credit. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Cornell University. After working as an engineer for several years, he pivoted to investing, earning his MBA from Columbia Business School and working for Goldman Sachs before founding Vista in 2000.

Through his philanthropic work, Smith has long championed causes that create opportunities for others. In his role as president of Fund II Foundation, Smith supports organizations like Southern Communities Initiative (SCI), an impact initiative harnessing the power of partnerships, technology and community to accelerate wealth creation and economic opportunity in underinvested communities and businesses across the South.

Smith has also helped address many education reform issues. He donated $34 million to eliminate the student loan debt of the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College, including the debt incurred by their parents and guardians on their behalf. As chairman of Student Freedom Initiative (SFI), he continues to create opportunities for students. SFI serves as a catalyst to help students attain the skills and confidence they will need after graduation to successfully choose their personal and professional pathways.

In addition to Smith’s work with Susan G. Komen and Stand for H.E.R. to fight breast cancer, he has also dedicated efforts to combating prostate cancer. In 2017, Smith donated $2.5 million to establish the Robert Frederick Smith Precision Oncology Center of Excellence in Chicago at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Five years later, he made a donation to support community outreach and raise awareness about prostate cancer with the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit. This state-of-the-art unit brings prostate cancer screenings directly to the communities that need them most.

Smith also serves as the Chairman of Carnegie Hall and is a Member of the Cornell Engineering College Council and the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School. Smith has been honored with several recognitions. He was named one of TIME100’s “Most Influential People in Philanthropy” of 2025. He received theGrio’s Philanthropy Icon Award and the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Visionary Award in 2022. Smith was also honored with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award in 2023

Stay up to date with Smith’s latest philanthropic initiatives by visiting his website.

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Robert F. Smith, Founding Director and President of the Fund II Foundation

“The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King said that the biggest injustice one can find is really in healthcare. Fund II Foundation is focused on — among a number of pillars – helping to decrease that disparity and level the playing field in health care and treatment for African American women.“ 

–Robert F. Smith, founding director and President of Fund II Foundation