To invest in our community by making philanthropy and its benefits available to all.

The Foundation's efforts are inspired by four core values:

• Generosity - to support sharing in all its forms, linking resources with ideas that improve community life.
• Inclusion - To embrace the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives.
• Integrity - To operate with respect, honesty, accountability, and fairness to all.
• Excellence - To aspire to the highest standards in everything we do.

The Foundation was established by Col. Francis H. Fries, president of Wachovia Bank, following a model developed in Cleveland five years earlier.  It was the first foundation established in North Carolina and the sixteenth community Foundation in the country.

The Foundation's original Declaration of Trust called for a Foundation Committee of five to serve staggered terms as a result of appointments by the Mayor of Winston-Salem, the Clerk of Superior Court, the senior federal judge serving Winston-Salem and two by Wachovia Bank.  They were required to be residents of the city who possessed a sound knowledge of the community and concern for its well-being. None was to hold public office while serving on the Committee and no more than two of the five were to be of the same religious denomination, demonstrating an early commitment to diversity.

In the first 75 years, the Declaration of Trust was amended four times to increase the number of banks that could serve as trustees from one to eight and to increase the number of Committee members from 5, to 9, and finally to 13 (current number).

Widespread interest in the Foundation came in 1923 after the tragic death of high school football player Leo Caldwell. Four days after he broke his neck during a football game between R.J. Reynolds and Charlotte high schools, an anonymous letter writer in the Winston-Salem Sentinel called for public contributions to a "Leo Caldwell Memorial Student Loan Fund." More than $1,000 came in the following day and subsequent gifts ranged from $1.50 from a fifth grade class to $2,000 from the Civitan Club. Approximately $10,000 was received, and the event marked the beginning of what was to become a major program activity for the Foundation. In 2005, the Foundation assisted over 400 students with more than $600,000 in scholarships, grants, and low-interest loans.

In the early years (until 1969), the Foundation Committee spent most of its time on student aid and real estate management (the Foundation was given the land to the Winston-Salem airport, Vade Mecum Camp in Stokes County, Hanging Rock State Park, and the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds).

As late as 1950 total unrestricted assets amounted to only $25,000. This lack of funds to make competitive grants in the community motivated the Foundation's committee to actively seek resources for competitive grantmaking.  By 1962, the unrestricted assets had grown to about $1 million.

Under staff direction, the Foundation gave leadership and financial support to a number of important community causes, thus setting the stage for a more proactive community role.  For example, in 1970, the Foundation granted $28,000 to help establish Together House to address the growing problem of drug abuse.  That investment failed, but it set the stage for two years later when the Foundation invested $100,000 in the Council on Drug Abuse.  The Council still functions today as Step One.  It has been an investment in the community that has paid dividends.

This early experience in dealing with the drug scene set the stage for another leadership role in 1976 when the Foundation partnered with Sara Lee and the Crosby National Celebrity Golf Tournament. The Foundation began to administer the proceeds from the tournament to support collaborative community programs aimed at drug abuse prevention. Out of that partnership grew the Crosby Scholars Community Partnership.

In 1990, the Foundation started the Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods program for low-income communities on the premise that human resources can be reclaimed, healthy neighborhood leadership developed, and that both physical and human assets contribute to the vitality of the whole community. The program became an independent nonprofit and continues to support local neighborhoods.

In 1999, the Foundation took its learnings on the value of human assets to the next level and launched its social capital initiative called ECHO (Everyone Can Help Out). The $2.5 million investment in growing social capital through ECHO grants completed in 2005, but the Foundation has integrated what it has learned about social capital and community into its regular grantmaking practices.

The Foundation began its history as a leader, and that legacy of leadership continues today: enabling caring and generous community members to invest in what matters to them, bringing people and organizations together to address local issues, and creating opportunities for growing the community's understanding of the common good.

1977	$25 million		1999	$214 million		2004	$226 million
1994	$75 million		2000	$226 million		2005	$270 million
1996	$107 million		2001	$210 million		2006	$289 million
1997	$125 million		2002	$179 million		2007	$299 million
1998	$177 million		2003	$206 million

1919	WSF started with $1,000 gift
1923	First student aid fund - Leo Caldwell Fund
1935	Foundation received its first Donor Advised fund.  The Foundation is credited by the field with the creation of Donor Advised funds
1950	Foundation’s unrestricted funds totaled $25,000
1961	Foundation hires first staff - James A. Gray, Jr.
1962	Foundation's unrestricted funds totaled $1 million
1972	A leadership grant of $100,000 was made to start the Council on Drug Abuse. It still exists today as Step One.
1983	Winston-Salem Foundation, Inc. created
1986	Foundation began administering proceeds from the Crosby National Celebrity Golf Tournament and that resulted in the Crosby Scholars Community Program and the Coalition on Drug Abuse Prevention.
1990	Foundation starts Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.
1990	Foundation announces 75th Anniversary Grant Initiative: race relations, economic development with minority emphasis, and youth at risk
1993	Foundation began serving as trustee
1994	Foundation's 75th anniversary
1994	Foundation increases its Committee members to 13 and revised term limits from one 9-year to two 4-year terms
1995	Foundation began serving as trustee to CRTs and CLTs
1997	Foundation led the effort to bring LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) to Forsyth County
1999	Foundation launched the ECHO Fund
2003	Foundation launched the ECHO Council
2004	Foundation's unrestricted and field of interest funds totaled $45 million