Awards Information

The Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards

A Special Kind of Leadership

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation believes there are many leaders among us, but that one often has to look in unlikely places to find those examples of leadership that are truly inspiring.

The Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards recognize the uncommon leadership of North Carolinians whose vision, determination, resourcefulness and strength of character have caused them to succeed when other individuals might have failed. What is remarkable is how each recipient - usually with limited resources and in spite of the odds - has accomplished extraordinary good in his or her community.

Since 1986, the Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards have sought out, honored and, in a small way, rewarded "unsung heroes" who have worked to make a positive difference in the state of North Carolina. In doing so, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation focuses the public spotlight on these individuals' activities and urges North Carolinians to draw vision from their vision, strength from their demonstrated strength, and renewed moral purpose from their purposefulness.

When Nancy Susan Reynolds, daughter of R. J. Reynolds and Katharine Smith Reynolds, died in 1985, the Foundation's Trustees established the Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards for exemplary and often unrecognized leadership in communities throughout North Carolina. A founding Member, president, and lifetime Trustee of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Nancy Susan Reynolds believed people should take risks and that all of us should have the patience to allow others to make mistakes, start over, and thus strengthen their skills and resolve.

The Award

Each award is accompanied by a grant of $25,000. The recipient receives $5,000, and $20,000 is distributed to tax-exempt, charitable, North Carolina organizations selected by the award recipient. The organizations designated by the recipients must comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The awards are presented at a ceremony held each November.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

Up to three awards will be presented annually, in the following categories:

ADVOCACY - on behalf of people, issues, or concerns that otherwise may be without effective voices.

This category is for persons whose persistence, patience, and intelligence have earned them the ear of those who make and shape policies in the state and its communities. 

This category seeks to recognize people who have:

• served as advocates for persons, positions or groups at some personal risk

• earned the respect of those to whom they speak

• earned the trust of those for whom they speak

PERSONAL SERVICE - for people helping other people.

This category recognizes inspired service, continuing devotion to service under difficult circumstances and often at substantial personal sacrifice, and willingness to assist persons or groups who have few alternatives and little ability to repay except through thanks and profound devotion.

This category seeks to recognize people who have:

• helped alleviate the condition of some less-favored group in the community

• performed work which serves as a catalyst for self-respect and self-sufficiency

• provided special examples of service which cause others to take more seriously
their responsibilities to people in their communities and state

RACE RELATIONS – for persons who have acted in ways to bring about improvements in multi-culturalism in a community and served as role models of racial understanding and cooperation.

This category seeks to recognize individuals who have:

• made significant efforts to encourage communications and motivate improved relationships between persons of different racial and ethnic backgrounds

• increased understanding or resolved conflicts between persons of different
racial and ethnic backgrounds, or helped heal wounds created by racial and ethnic discord

• stimulated action to eliminate racism in his or her community

 ELIGIBILITY

Nominees for the award must be living residents of North Carolina. They should be persons not typically in the limelight who perform valuable public service, predominately at the community level. They may be volunteers or paid, full-time employees of the organizations through which their service is rendered.

In seeking nominations, the Foundation is looking beyond traditional business or civic leaders or those people who already have received significant recognition and public visibility. Although the awards are intended for individuals, in the case of joint or collaborative efforts, an award may be shared by more than one recipient. Committees or organizations are not eligible.

 HOW TO NOMINATE SOMEONE

Nominations may be made by anyone except the nominee. Nominations may be submitted in any one of the following ways:

• Submit a nomination online below or go to the Forms & Publications section.
• Download a nomination form below or go to the Forms & Publications.
• Write or call the Foundation to request a nomination form.

 Anonymous nominations will not be accepted.

Each nomination must include three references who may be contacted for further information about the nominee. The nominations have to be postmarked or submitted online by 11:59 pm on June 1. Selection of the award recipients will be made by the Foundation's State Advisory Panel. The maximum number of awards in any year will be three, but the selection panel is not obligated to make an award in each category each year.

In making the awards, the selection panel will consider several criteria. Among those are the impact of the nominee's efforts and accomplishments, the difficulty of circumstances surrounding the nominee's work (for instance, personal adversity, community attitudes and geography), and the degree of recognition already received (such as awards and media attention).

You may submit a nomination form electronically by using the IGAM module on this page.

To access a nomination form that you have saved but not yet submitted, click here.

Download a Nancy Susan Reynolds Award Nomination Form:

Microsoft Word Format    Adobe Acrobat Format

To obtain a hard copy of the nomination form, please fill out the Document Request Form on the Forms and Publications page.