April 2018
Community Luncheon Registrations Closing Soon!
FEW SEATS REMAIN for our May 2 Community Luncheon. Register now - we'll sell out within the next few days!

Join us as we learn from Dr. Gregory Ellison II of Fearless Dialogues and honor community builders with the 2018 Winston-Salem Foundation Award and the 2018 ECHO Awards! We're thankful for the community's interest in this annual event, and we look forward to another sold-out crowd.

Following the luncheon, we will have $150 grant drawings for three lucky individuals to support their favorite local nonprofits. To be entered into each drawing, just like us on Facebook , follow us on Twitter , and/or attend the Community Luncheon!


Giving Matters:
Donor's Generosity Shines with a $725,000 Flexible Gift
IN DECEMBER 2017 , the Foundation received surprising news of a bequest from an anonymous donor - totaling $725,000! While most donors designate specific charitable organizations, religious institutions, or schools to support through the Foundation, flexible gifts are also very valuable since they allow us to respond to changing challenges and opportunities in our community.

This generous gift will be endowed to support our Community Grants program, supporting nonprofit services such as:

  • helping community members living with trauma access a promising psychotherapy treatment
  • training multilingual individuals to become interpreters
  • improving families' access to reliable transportation

Donors who provide flexible funds to the Foundation, either during their lifetimes or through a bequest, can be sure their gifts will be used to respond to our community's changing needs, both now and in the future.

Questions about charitable giving? Contact us at (336) 725-2382.

New Socially Responsible Investment Pool Offered
DID YOU KNOW that you have a wide range of investment options when setting up an endowed charitable fund at The Winston-Salem Foundation?

The Foundation has recently added a Socially Responsible Investment Pool to its current list of 19 approved investment management firms. The pool is managed by Fund Evaluation Group Investment Advisors, and it integrates environmental, social, and governance criteria into its stock selection.

Contact us at (336) 725-2382 for more information about endowed funds and various investment options.

Announcing March Community Grants and Forsyth County Teacher Grants
NINE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS received $147,300 in Community Grants in March. This vital support is made possible by donors to unrestricted and field of interest funds and to our flexible grantmaking and Community Leadership funds. We are indebted to them for their visionary support of our community.

Congratulations to all of our March Community Grants recipients!
FORSYTH COUNTY TEACHER GRANTS were recently awarded to 38 educators in support of innovative and results-oriented educational experiences - congratulations to this group of inspiring teachers!
Learning from Our Community
LAST FALL WE ANNOUNCED that we would be deepening our Community Grants work in two focus areas: Advancing Equity in Education and Building an Inclusive Economy. Since January, our staff has conducted 75 listening conversations with individuals in the nonprofit, corporate, and public sectors, as well as with people with lived experience related to the two areas, to gain insights that will guide our initial priorities in these focus areas. We will continue to engage in these insightful conversations throughout the summer, and this fall we will report back on what was learned.

Would you like to be part of these listening conversations? Contact us!

Staff News: a Farewell and a Welcome!
CONGRATULATIONS to David Gore on his retirement this month after 16 years as head of the Foundation's IT department. David's work has moved the Foundation forward on many fronts, especially through improved website capabilities for donors, nonprofits, and students. Patrick Meehan will take over as our lead information systems and technology director upon David's departure.

We are also excited to welcome Shamika Starke to the staff as our new strategic initiatives program manager. Shamika will work with Sabrina Slade to manage the work of the Women's Fund and the Black Philanthropy Initiative.

FOX8 Spotlight: Middle School Students Learn About Energy Conservation
OUR LATEST SEGMENT in FOX8's Spotlight on Community Foundations series highlights Piedmont Environmental Alliance's Energy Explorers, a hands-on educational program that teaches students how energy is created, its effects on the environment, and the importance of conservation.

Watch the video here to see the learning in action at Walkertown Middle School!
Broadening Philanthropy in Our Community
Black Philanthropy Initiative
LAST YEAR BPI hired Gramercy Research Group to gather and synthesize data on the status of Black families in Forsyth County to guide its work going forward. The full report will be available soon, and BPI will resume its grantmaking this year, with its next grants cycle opening this summer. Stay tuned!
The Women's Fund
of Winston-Salem
CONGRATULATIONS to Women's Fund Advisory Board members Allison Brashear and Lynn Eisenberg on being recognized as 2018 Outstanding Women Leaders by the City of Winston-Salem!

Congratulations are also in order for the ACEY Group, which won Organization of the Year at The Chronicle's Annual Community Service Awards! (photo by Alphonso Abbott, Jr. for The Chronicle)
Youth Grantmakers
in Action
APPLICATIONS to participate in YGA for the 2018-2019 school year are now being accepted - apply by May 11.

You're invited! YGA will host its annual grant awards celebration on April 18. View invitation
More Foundation News