Name

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Legal name

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Website

https://zsr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Private family foundation
• Grantmaking programs
• Nonprofit funding
• Community grants
• Philanthropic foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: As a private family foundation established in 1936, ZSR generates revenue through its endowment and investment portfolio. The foundation uses these returns to make grants to nonprofit organizations working in North Carolina. Since founding, ZSR has invested over $730 million into organizations building a more just, inclusive, and sustainable North Carolina.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1936 that makes grants to nonprofit organizations working to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable North Carolina. It operates four distinct grant programs: State-Level Systemic Change grants (multi-year, $30,000-$100,000/year for 1-3 years), Community Progress Fund (short-term grants of $20,000-$30,000/year for 1-2 years to rural NC organizations), Inclusive Public Art Initiative, and the Sabbatical Program for nonprofit leaders ($40,000 total award). Since founding, ZSR has invested over $730 million into NC organizations.

Product overview

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation operates as a private family foundation offering four distinct grant programs to improve quality of life for North Carolinians. The State-Level Systemic Change program provides multi-year funding for statewide systems change in democracy, environment, public education, and social/economic justice. The Community Progress Fund offers short-term grants for rural NC community organizations. The Inclusive Public Art Initiative funds permanent public art sharing under-told stories. The Sabbatical Program supports nonprofit leaders with paid leave for renewal. Together, these programs form a comprehensive approach to building a just, inclusive, and sustainable North Carolina.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• State-Level Systemic Change Grants Multi-year grants (1-3 years, $30,000-$100,000 per year) to nonprofit organizations working to change policies, power structures, and root causes of challenges in four issue areas: Democracy, Environment, Public Education, and Social and Economic Justice, serving all 100 North Carolina counties.
• Community Progress Fund Grants Short-term grants ($20,000-$30,000 per year for 1-2 years) for local organizations with primary offices in NC's 78 rural counties to meet direct community needs, test new ideas, or expand promising community efforts.
• Inclusive Public Art Initiative Investments in permanent public art projects that share under-told stories of North Carolinians, sparking conversations and highlighting common humanity. Funds organizations and coalitions partnering with artists to create public art celebrating NC's diverse people and cultures.
• Sabbatical Program Supports experienced executive-level nonprofit leaders in NC who have served their organization for at least 3 years (2 in executive role) with paid sabbaticals of 3-6 months for rest, recharge, and renewal. Awards $40,000 total per sabbatical: $30,000 to the awardee and $10,000 to their organization.

Quantifiable outcome

• $730 million+ invested in NC organizations since 1936
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust: Another large NC-based private family foundation (based in Winston-Salem) focused on health and well-being of North Carolinians. Highly comparable as a same-state, similar-legacy family foundation with overlapping issue focus in rural and underserved communities.
• Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation: Winston-Salem-based private foundation focused on breaking cycles of poverty in the South, with deep NC ties and mission overlap in social/economic justice—directly overlapping with ZSR's Social & Economic Justice issue area and statewide NC focus.
• The Duke Endowment: Largest private foundation in the Carolinas, supporting nonprofits in NC and SC across four program areas (higher education, health, rural life, children and families). Comparable as a major NC-rooted private foundation with similar issue-area breadth and long-term institutional commitment.
• NC Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation serving all 100 NC counties—closely comparable geographic coverage, rural focus, and grantmaking structure, though organized as a community foundation rather than a family foundation.
• The Winston-Salem Foundation: Local community foundation based in the same city as ZSR; comparable in serving North Carolina nonprofits with multi-program grantmaking, though a community (vs. family) foundation structure.

Regional players

• Foundation for a Healthy Carolina: NC-focused regional grantmaking entity addressing health and community well-being statewide, comparable in NC geographic focus and grantmaking scale, though narrower in thematic focus.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC Foundation: Corporate foundation of BCBSNC funding health-related initiatives across North Carolina. Comparable as a NC-focused grantmaker with multi-program structure and statewide reach.

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest private foundations globally, working across democracy, environment, education, and economic justice—direct thematic overlap with ZSR's four issue areas, though national/global in scope rather than NC-specific.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large national health-focused foundation with overlapping systems-change approaches and multi-year general operating support grants—comparable in grantmaking model, though larger and thematically narrower.

Others

• The Conservation Fund: National nonprofit working on land and water conservation; the A.K. Velis and Conservation NC-adjacent networks connect it to environmental grantmaking in NC. Adjacent/ecosystem peer in ZSR's Environment issue area rather than a direct grantmaking foundation peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xlinkedin.com/company/z-smith-reynolds-foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/ZSmithReynoldsFoundationNC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/z-smith-reynolds-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/zsrfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation