About Robert F. Smith and Fund II Foundation  

As a major philanthropic organization, Fund II Foundation focuses on defending human rights and advocating for social change. And, as Robert F. Smith, founding director and President of Fund II Foundation noted, human rights are often linked to health and wellness, especially in the Black community. Working to protect healthcare access and equity as a human right, Fund II Foundation made a $27 million grant to Susan G. Komen for the ambitious African American Health Equity Initiative (AAHEI) in 2016, which is now referred to as Stand for H.E.R. – Health Equity Revolution. 

Smith spoke at the launch event for the AAHEI, and said, “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.” 

Fund II Foundation and Susan G. Komen  

With the help of Fund II Foundation, Susan G. Komen has set the ambitious but very necessary goal of reducing Black breast cancer disparities by 25%, starting in 10 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with the highest disparities. The urgency and noble aspirations speak to the extreme danger posed by cancer within the Black community. 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. They routinely experience a negative financial impact from their diagnoses, and these gaps remain large after controlling for social and economic variables. Through education and increasing access to better healthcare, Stand for H.E.R. helps Black women nationwide who otherwise would not receive equitable cancer care. 

The Stand for H.E.R. work supported by Fund II is focused on Black communities in: 

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

It is the hope of Fund II Foundation that its partnership with Susan G. Komen will help educate and empower the Black community, improve early detection and diagnosis and successfully treat breast cancer. Through a shared goal to eliminate systemic barriers to high-quality healthcare, Fund II Foundation and Komen hope to dramatically decrease late-stage diagnosis and deaths and achieve breast cancer health equity in the U.S. 

About Robert F. Smith