After the death of the Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith in January 1996, his widow, Denny Smith, and his sons Doug and Curt Smith formed the Jack Smith Memorial Fund to honor his memory and support causes that were dear to his heart and life's work.  Since 1996, the bulk of the fund's assets have been donated by his loyal readers.  All the causes supported by the fund since its inception have been geared toward increasing literacy among the children of the greater Los Angeles area.

Upon the death of Denny Smith in April 2004, Curt and Doug renamed the fund the Jack and Denny Smith Memorial Fund for Literacy.