Rachel Smith Alternative

Identifying and inspiring creative ways to help under-resourced communities through education, sustainability, economic development and food access is the driving force behind Rachel Alternative’s philanthropy. She is an open-minded collaborative professional who strives to find innovative solutions to community challenges.

In April 2019, Rachel formed the Detroit-based Alternative Foundation and serves as its executive director. The foundation invests in direct-impact organizations that produce measurable and scalable solutions to challenges primarily in urban agriculture and food systems, education and youth entrepreneurship and community redevelopment.  

Through the Alternative Foundation, Rachel’s most impactful accomplishment was driving the strategic formation and critical funding for the McDougall-Hunt Neighborhood Sustainable Redevelopment Plan. The McDougall-Hunt Neighborhood Sustainable Redevelopment Plan’s goal is to create and implement a sustainable redevelopment program encompassing affordable housing and enhanced public amenities for the neighborhood. With a core focus on environmental, social, racial and economic justice, the plan aims to develop and support a higher quality of life for its community.

Rachel actively contributes her knowledge and time by serving on the boards of several purpose-driven organizations. Since 2002, she has helped lead the Cedar Tree Foundation and in addition to her work evaluating grant programs and strategic direction, she spearheaded the writing and implementation of a policy for the foundation’s assets to be invested in accordance with its mission.

She continues to serve as a board member of the Cedar Tree Foundation and on the Board of Visitors for the Fenn School in Concord, MA.

Rachel is a long-term supporter of Revision Urban Farm, an urban farm and shelter for homeless women and children in Boston. Over the 15 years of her support, it has grown from a single garden plot into a vibrant food justice organization providing job training, workshops, internships, farmers’ markets and restaurant partnerships.

From 2010-15, Rachel was an active board member of the Polly Hill Arboretum, a 23-hectare botanical garden and science center on Martha’s Vineyard. In her work with the arboretum, she helped run a successful capital campaign resulting in an endowment sufficient to provide operational support to the organization.

Rachel has many diverse interests and talents. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University. After working in advertising in New York City for more than a decade, she moved to Boston and became an accomplished glass blower and amateur chef. She splits her time living in Concord, Mass., with her husband and two sons, while her family renovates a historic home in Trapani, Sicily

Contact Information

Rachel Smith Alternative
Rachel@alternativefoundation.org