Focus Areas

Current Focus Areas

Community Economic Development   Environment
   Democracy and Civic Engagement   Pre-Collegiate Education
   Social Justice & Equity

Introduction

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is a private, general purpose foundation with the mission of improving the quality of life of the people of North Carolina. The Foundation is interested in supporting two particular kinds of organizations or projects through its grantmaking. First, the Foundation desires to support organizations, programs and projects that accomplish progressive policy change and/or systemic reform, especially those that have multi-county or statewide impact. By strategically focusing on efforts to affect policies, the Foundation believes the investments it makes can have a broader and deeper impact on the lives of the largest number of North Carolinians. Second, the Foundation desires to support innovative, community-based projects within the Foundation’s focus areas, with an emphasis on reaching low-resource and/or rural regions in the state.

The Foundation’s grantmaking policies reflect the belief that organizational performance is greatly enhanced when people with different backgrounds and perspectives are engaged in an organization’s activities and decision-making process. Thus, the Foundation actively seeks to promote access, equity and inclusiveness, and to discourage discrimination based on race, creed, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other factors that deny the essential humanity of all people. This principle is a lens through which all of the work of the Foundation is viewed. The Foundation reserves the right to decline proposals from organizations of which the board and staff do not reflect the diversity of the community in which they work.

To accomplish its purpose and goals, the Foundation currently gives special attention to certain areas of focus:

Community Economic Development
Democracy and Civic Engagement
Environment
Pre-Collegiate Education
 
Social Justice and Equity

While the listed areas of focus are of highest priority for its grantmaking, the Foundation also desires to serve as a catalyst for new practices and ideas and to respond to challenges or opportunities that are unique to North Carolina. In addition to funding projects that achieve the goals of each area of focus, the Foundation is interested in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations (and in promoting organizational development). Finally, the Foundation reserves the right to remain flexible in its grantsmaking policies.

Please examine our List of recipients, programs, and uses to which the Foundation does not make grants before applying.

To apply to the Foundation, please visit the How To Apply section of our website and read the Grant Application Guidelines and the Frequently Asked Questions before accessing the online application system.

To request a hard copy of the Foundation's Focus Areas brochure, follow this link to the Forms and Publications page.


To view a list of previous grantees, follow this link to the Annual Reports.