Power Building

Power building activities include:

• Meeting people where they are – literally and figuratively – and sharing knowledge about policies and programs that may affect their lives
• Shifting traditional power structures and building skills for people to create solutions for themselves
• Deepening the natural leadership existing in neighborhoods
• Connecting community members with each other, within specific neighborhoods and across different backgrounds
• Encouraging residents to share their voice within existing systems and structures that impact access to resources and opportunities
• Mobilizing residents to act on community-identified priorities

In September 2025, the Foundation surveyed nonprofits focused on power building to better understand how to be an effective partner. In a follow-up meeting to share survey results, participants expressed the desire to continue gathering to build relationships with one another, address shared challenges and opportunities, and explore what it could mean to amplify community voice together.  The Foundation has hosted two additional meetings of the group (referred to as Power Building Network), with agendas determined by the group itself.

There are two distinct Power Building funding opportunities: Community Power Building or Network Leadership. Nonprofits may apply for only one opportunity.

Participation in the Power Building Network is not required to apply for the Community Power Building opportunity.

We approach our grantmaking with a focus on racial equity, ensuring that our efforts support the aspirations of local residents, families, and communities.

We prioritize funding for organizations that:  

• center people who are most impacted.  
• address root causes and advancing systems-level change.
• serve historically marginalized communities.
• use asset-based approaches to build on community strengths.
• collaborate to achieve shared outcomes.
• commit to learning and improvement.

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 >

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, participant feedback, and key insights gathered during the grant period.

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.