Announcing Nearly $2.7 Million in Community Grants in 2026

The Winston-Salem Foundation awarded community grants totaling nearly $2.7 million from January through September 2026, made possible by community members who support flexible grantmaking funds. Grants supported 88 nonprofits and community groups that are working to strengthen public education, increase economic opportunities, improve access to housing, and build social connectedness.  

The Foundation has four funding priorities: Expanding Access to Housing, Fostering Civic Engagement & Inclusion, Advancing Equity in Education, and Building an Inclusive Economy. These funding priorities serve as guideposts for how the Foundation funds community solutions, convenes partners, and advocates for long-term change.

“Community grants are one way we put our commitment to Forsyth County into action—by supporting organizations that know their communities deeply and are working every day to expand opportunity, strengthen connections, and help more residents thrive,” said LaTida Smith, president of The Winston-Salem Foundation. “We are grateful for the donors whose generosity makes these investments possible and for the nonprofit and community leaders whose vision and partnership turn resources into lasting impact.”

COMMUNITY GRANTS AT A GLANCE

• Civic Engagement & Inclusion Grants—$843,500 awarded to bring people together through arts and culture, shift power dynamics, build resident leadership, and strengthen networks for collective action.

• Access to Housing Grants—$688,000 awarded to preserve existing homes, expand housing choices, and help more residents find and keep a place to call home.

• Equity in Education Grants—$497,000 awarded to support academic rigor, promote a culture of compassionate discipline, and diversify the educator workforce in our public schools.

• Inclusive Economy Grants—$230,000 awarded to improve access to high-wage employment, address barriers to career mobility, and generate opportunities for wealth building through business ownership and credit building.

• Small Grants—$34,500 awarded to support projects led by smaller organizations.

• Other Grants—$435,239 awarded to support other community needs and opportunities.

View the list of publicly announced grants below.* To learn more about the Foundation’s funding priorities and partnership opportunities, visit wsfoundation.org/community-impact.

Some grant recipients requested not to be named in this announcement. Category totals include all grants awarded, including those not listed below.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT & INCLUSION GRANTS‍

Bridging and Building Social Capital—$184,000 awarded to foster community connections, shared understanding, and trust.

• Action4Equity — $25,000 for a Black women's cultural practice that builds and bridges social capital across Forsyth County.

• Authoring Action — $25,000 for the Voices Project, in partnership with The Dwelling, to share the stories of people facing homelessness.

• MUSE Winston-Salem — $25,000 to support the Safe Bus immersive exhibit.

• North Star — $3,000 for a summer Pride Cookout and Trans Art Exhibit.

• Piedmont Opera — $20,000 for the Holocaust Remembrance Opera Project.

• Reynolda House Museum of American Art — $20,000 to support the exhibition Flash Point: The Civil Rights Photography of Danny Lyon.

• Senior Services — $25,000 for Dismantling Ageism through the Arts, a community-led, intergenerational arts and community dialogue series.

• The Dream School — $25,000 to support an East Winston Youth Storytelling & Digital Leadership Project.

• Triad Cultural Arts — $16,000 for programming and staffing for the historic Shotgun House Legacy Site.

Community-Led Organizations—$223,000 to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of community-led work.

• Bamboo Roots — $30,000 for part-time positions that will increase organizational capacity and community wellness support for the Karenni community.

• Enlace Latino NC — $22,000 to support a local bilingual and bicultural reporter position.

• Hogar Del Inmigrante — $30,000 to sustain programming for the Latine community.

• Padres En Acción, an initiative of Love Out Loud — $24,000 to increase staff capacity for Padres En Acción and programming the families it serves.

• NC Congress of Latino Organizations — $30,000 for strategic planning and leadership development.

• Nueva Vida - New Life — $27,000 to build and strengthen organizational infrastructure.

• Una Bendición — $30,000 to support a part-time Community Support Coordinator and the expansion of after-school program staff.

Power Building—$436,500 to strengthen resident leadership and build networks for collective action.

• BRICKS (Building Resilience Inwardly Causing Kinship & Sustainability) — $35,000 to provide coordination and leadership of a network of nonprofits working to build community-based voice and power.

• Forsyth County IAF — $25,000 to support Forsyth Strong, a broad-based community organizing collaborative.

• GreenTree Peer Center — $15,500 to support peer leadership and operational capacity.

• Happy Hill Neighborhood Association — $25,000 for organizational infrastructure and leadership development.

• LEAD Girls of NC — $35,000 to provide coordination and leadership of a network of nonprofits working to build community-based voice and power.

• Legacy Bridge NC (aka) Challenges of the 21st Century — $25,000 for community power building.

• North Carolina Tenants Union — $35,000 to provide coordination and leadership of a network of nonprofits working to build community-based voice and power.

• North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation — $25,000 to support PowerUp Winston-Salem.

• Nos Cuidamos Forsyth — $35,000 to provide coordination and leadership of a network of nonprofits working to build community-based voice and power.

• People's Research Council — $25,000 to support community-governed research.

• Piedmont Environmental Alliance — $15,500 for building an environmental powerbase in Winston-Salem.

• Smart Start of Forsyth County — $25,000 to support the Forsyth County Early Childhood Network.

• The Centers for Exceptional Children — $15,500 to support the CFEC Caregiver Advisory Council.

• The Partnership for Prosperity — $25,000 to support resident leadership.

• The Uprise Network — $25,000 for network coordination.

• Winston-Salem Freedom Schools — $25,000 to support Freedom Families.

• World Relief Triad — $25,000 for a refugee and immigrant community engagement program.

ACCESS TO HOUSING GRANTS

• A Vision For You Foundation — $25,000 to support transitional housing for individuals with substance abuse and alcoholism disabilities.

• City with Dwellings: A Community First Initiative — $50,000 for pre-development planning for HEART Village, a supportive housing community for neighbors experiencing long-term homelessness.

• Credit Builders Alliance Inc — $30,000 to build economic opportunities by encouraging credit building through rent reporting.

• Family Services — $25,000 to support a housing stability fund to assist children and their families facing housing insecurity.

• Financial Pathways of the Piedmont — $40,000 to support the representative payee program to protect housing stability for people with disabilities.

• GW Holland Housing Corporation — $10,000 to explore preservation of affordable housing for older adults through acquisition and vouchers.

• Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County — $50,000 to support the Habitat Home Repair Program.

• Legacy Bridge NC (also known as Challenges of the 21st Century) — $75,000 to support the East Winston Tenant Navigator Collaborative to promote housing stability.

• National Institute of Minority Economic Development — $75,000 to support predevelopment and community visioning work for an affordable housing development.

• North Carolina Housing Foundation — $150,000 to support Community Land Trust development and affordable housing preservation.

• Rejuvenation Support Services, Inc. — $30,000 for transitional housing and housing stability for justice involved individuals, veterans, individuals with disabilities and those in recovery.

• Sympara Inc — $35,000 to support outreach, training and technical assistance to equip faith communities to develop affordable housing.

• Twin City Housing Capital — $50,000 to support the promotion of gentle density infill, $13,000 to support alignment with the Humane Housing Network Plan and develop governance structure and working groups.

• YWCA of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County — $30,000 to support Hawley House, which provides recovery and transitional housing for women.
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INCLUSIVE ECONOMY GRANTS

• Forsyth Technical Community College — $110,000 to support the work of the Small Business Center over two years.

• Goler Community Development Corporation — $120,000 for operating support over two years.
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EQUITY IN EDUCATION GRANTS

• Action4Equity — $27,000 for Full Circle Mentoring Respite Rooms and $10,000 to support Summer After Dark.

• CDC 4 Southern Winston-Salem — $10,000 for the CDC 4 Southern WS After-School program.

• Disciples of Grace Community Development Center — $10,000 for the STARS summer program.

• Education Foundation for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools — $25,000 for strategic planning, $20,000 to support staff morale, $50,000 to support the healing work at Main Street Academy, $10,000 to support the Family Literacy Program, and $2,500 for facilitation of Parent and Partner Support Organizations convening.

• Forsyth Futures — $20,000 to support the Data Sharing Project.

• Frazier Consulting and Strategic Engagement, LLC — $16,500 to support the Youth Power Network of Winston-Salem.

• Heart Math Tutoring — $150,000 to expand the math tutoring program.

• Memorial Industrial Community Development Corporation — $25,000 for a citywide Parent Academy.

• Triad Restorative Justice — $60,000 for community wide restorative practices training.

• Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools — $11,000 for a healing work coordinator at Main Street Academy, $40,000 for the Varsity Tutors program, and $10,000 for an accelerated learning consultant.
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SMALL GRANTS  

• A New Day Community Care Services Inc — $1,000 to support the M.O.M. (Mama's on a Mission) program initiative.

• Bamboo Roots — $2,000 to increase access to resources and services for Karenni refugees in Forsyth County.

• Camel City United Indivisible — $1,000 to support relationship-based community outreach and engagement.

• Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps — $1,000 to support access to percussion equipment for youth music education.

• Downtown Arts District Association — $2,000 to support a community mural project.

• For The Win Mentoring — $2,000 to provide educational trips designed to broaden students’ awareness of academic and career pathways.

• Grace Presbyterian Church — $2,000 to expand community food access and nutrition education in the Carver School Road neighborhood.

• Holy City Wellbeing — $1,000 to provide Mental Wellness Training to teens, parents, and community members in Forsyth County.

• Ivey-League Outreach and Consulting — $2,000 to support a community resource fair in service of immigrant & refugee families from West Africa.

• J’s Journey 2 Joy — $1,000 to provide a grief and educational event on fentanyl poisoning for families in Forsyth County.

• LOCD Empire CDC — $2,000 to support a community resource hub with drop-in support and workshops.

• Masters League Foundation for Boys Inc — $1,000 to support the creation of a Golf Equipment Library.

• Out at the Movies — $2,000 to support monthly screenings that amplify and celebrate LGBTQ+ stories and filmmakers.

• Piedmont Shakespeare Company — $1,000 to support free community performances.

• Salem Band — $2,000 to support composition commission for the celebration of America's 250th Anniversary.

• SCORE Association - NC Piedmont Triad — $1,000 to support entrepreneur mentorship.

• Sethos Temple #170 — $2,000 to support a Backpack Food Program for Students at Ashley Elementary and Cook Literacy Model School.

• The Feeling Friends Community Center for Culturally Responsive Emotional Intelligence, Inc. — $2,000 to support community activation and listening sessions for Skyland Quarters.

• The Mercy Grace Group — $2,000 to implement a Summer Academic Recovery and Enrichment Program for at-risk students.

• The Twenty, Inc. — $2,000 to support a career day initiative for middle and high school students.

• Triad Pride Performing Arts — $2,000 to support programming in Forsyth County.

• Winston-Salem TarHeels — $500 to provide scholarship assistance for spring youth football.
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OTHER GRANTS  

• Bookmarks — $2,500 for the 2026 Book with Purpose community programming.

• HandsOn Northwest NC — $190,000 for operational support over two years.

• Iglesia Cristiana Sin Fronteras — $15,000 to seed strategic planning that seeks to build Immigrant and Latine infrastructure in Forsyth County.

• NC Cooperative Extension, Forsyth County Center — $4,000 for community gardening.

• Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods — $180,000 for operational support over two years and $20,000 for the small grants program.

• Una Bendicion — $21,639 to support legal clinics in Forsyth County.

• WinstonNet — $2,100 for community partner support.