Housing Grants

To maximize impact, this opportunity focuses on projects that align with the Humane Housing Network (HHN) and where funding can make a meaningful difference.

We are particularly interested in collaborative efforts that advance HHN strategies and strengthen its ongoing work. This includes ecosystem-building, cross-sector coordination, and partnerships that align resources and move shared priorities forward.

We prioritize projects where funding plays a clear, catalytic role. This may include:

• Unlocking additional public resources or private investment  
• Enabling a project to move forward or expand  
• Filling a critical gap in a larger capital stack  

Projects that increase access to and sustainability of homeownership, especially for first-time buyers and those facing systemic barriers, including:

• Pathways to ownership such as down payment assistance, financial coaching, accessible mortgage products, credit building, and matched savings
• Shared ownership models (e.g., community land trusts, housing cooperatives)
• Home repairs and weatherization services that preserve and extend the life of owner-occupied housing for low-to-moderate income households
• Preserving and Expanding Affordable Supportive Housing Opportunities.  

Projects that maintain and strengthen existing housing, particularly for residents with disabilities, including:

• Preservation of existing transitional and permanent supportive housing programs
• Production of permanent supportive housing
• Supportive services that enable residents to remain stably housed  
• Accessibility improvements for homeowners that supports aging in place  

Collaborative efforts, particularly through the Humane Housing Network, that align public and private resources to remove barriers to housing stability and prevent displacement, including:

• Expanding access to property tax relief and related supports to help low-income homeowners avoid foreclosure and preserve intergenerational wealth
• Coordinating access to existing programs and resources (e.g., repair, weatherization, legal supports, eviction diversion) to ensure they are more accessible and effective for residents

Given the scale of many housing projects, this opportunity is focused on where resources can have the greatest impact. We anticipate an overall funding pool of approximately $500,000 and expect to make 10–15 grants, with a mix of larger and smaller grant amounts. Approximately $300,000 of this funding will be dedicated specifically to housing for people with disabilities.

Grants will be awarded for a one-year period.

Reporting will be integrated into check-ins with Foundation staff and will focus on shared learning and key insights gathered during the grant period.

The Foundation seeks to understand your organization’s financial position. Depending on where your organization is in its life cycle, funding it has received to-date, and many other factors will determine what supporting documents you will have available. While we aim to be flexible and offer alternative options, in general you will be asked for the most current year and the most previous full year of financial documentation.

Specifically, we ask for:

• a Statement of Financial Position for the current and prior year (equivalent of a Balance Sheet)
• Statement of Activities (equivalent of Profit and Loss)

See examples of these documents >

Yes, if you have a proposal idea you’d like to discuss, we’d like to hear from you! You're not required to meet with our staff before applying, but many nonprofits find it helpful to discuss their idea with our team. To schedule a conversation, contact us (below) at least one week before the application deadline. Note: we cannot guarantee a meeting close to the deadline due to increased call volume.

Organizations should apply for only one grant this cycle. Please choose one application among all four of the Civic Engagement & Inclusion (Power Building, Social Capital, and Community-Led Organizations) or Housing Grant opportunities. If you are having difficulty deciding which opportunity to pursue, consider the intended impact of your project and where that best aligns. We also welcome inquiries.

We encourage collaboration when it helps to advance shared work and goals. If your organization applies for a grant, you can still be collaborative partner with another organization on their application.

If you already have an open grant with the Foundation, you may still apply for this opportunity.

Organizations are also still eligible to apply for grants from the Women's Fund of Winston-Salem and the Black Philanthropy Initiative.

We fund faith-based organizations (churches, synagogues, mosques) when the organization is providing a social service, as long as it doesn’t serve only the members of a single congregation or promote a particular religious doctrine. Read more in the document below.

If your organization is based outside of Forsyth County but serves a wide geographic area that includes Forsyth County, the Foundation will consider a grant for the portion of the project that impacts Forsyth County. If you are based outside of Forsyth County and you also don't serve Forsyth County, you are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity.

While final grant decisions rest with our volunteer governing boards, our staff serve as dedicated liaisons for each funding opportunity.