# Teach A Man To Fish Foundation

Teach A Man To Fish Foundation is a Foundation based in Irvine, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Irvine, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Irvine, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2013
- **Assets under management:** $144M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** teachamantofishfoundation.org

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Teach A Man To Fish Foundation was established in 2013 in Irvine, California by Vincent "Vinny" Smith, an enterprise software entrepreneur who founded Toba Capital. The foundation's wealth originates from Smith's career building and exiting technology companies. Victoria Smith, Vinny's wife, serves as Secretary and Treasurer, while Matt Gless, a business partner, holds the Vice President and CFO role across both the foundation and Toba Capital, creating a lean operational structure around the Smith family's investment and philanthropic activities. The foundation's strategy links a clear philanthropic mission with active venture investing. The grantmaking arm concentrates on funding novel treatments for prostate cancer, evidenced by its multi-grant relationship with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and reported 68 grants made in its most recent fiscal year. In parallel, the foundation deploys capital through Toba Capital, the venture firm Vinny Smith founded, maintaining a portfolio of direct venture investments. The philanthropic entity, Walking Softer, operates alongside the foundation. The geographic footprint anchors in Southern California but extends to development projects in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the foundation holds land for a surf park. The Smith family's investment architecture extends beyond the foundation into a significant real asset portfolio. Holdings include a Crystal Cove mansion in Newport Beach, the Palm Springs Surf Club, and development sites for surf parks in El Segundo, Oceanside, and Las Vegas. A separately maintained marketable securities portfolio sits alongside these assets in Irvine. Vinny Smith's professional network, including memberships at the Newport Beach Country Club and as part of the investor group that owned the Balboa Bay Club, provides adjacency to the Southern California business community that informs the foundation's posture. The structural differentiator is the foundation's hybrid identity — it operates simultaneously as a disease-focused private grantmaker and an economic interest that is interwoven with the for-profit venture and real estate activities of its founder's family office, Toba Capital. The foundation is a distinct legal entity but shares key personnel with the investment vehicle, making it a charitable extension of an active single-family office rather than a professionally distant endowment.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services
- Venture Capital
- Real Estate

## People

- Vincent Smith — Founder
- Victoria Smith — Secretary and Treasurer
- Matt Gless — Vice President and CFO

## Questions

### What is the relationship between the foundation and Toba Capital?

Toba Capital is Vinny Smith's venture firm. The foundation and Toba Capital share at least two key executives — Vinny Smith and Matt Gless — creating a shared leadership structure. The foundation functions as the philanthropic vehicle alongside the for-profit investment activities of the family office, rather than operating as an independent institutional foundation.

### Where does the foundation's wealth come from?

The foundation's endowment originates from Vinny Smith's career as an enterprise software founder and executive. His exits provided the capital base that seeded both the foundation's grantmaking and Toba Capital's venture portfolio. Smith remains an active investor and maintains a substantial personal real asset portfolio alongside the foundation's activities.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/teach-a-man-to-fish-foundation

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