The Winston-Salem Foundation was established on October 14, 1919 with a gift of $1,000 from Colonel Francis H. Fries, president of Wachovia Bank, following a model developed in Cleveland, Ohio five years earlier. We were the first foundation of any type to be established in North Carolina, and we’re the 16th oldest community foundation in the United States. Today, the Foundation manages $606.5 million in assets and has over 1,550 charitable funds that positively impact communities in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, and beyond.
The Foundation is devoting significant resources toward investments in two critical focus areas for our work in Forsyth County:
Learn more about how and why the Foundation is applying a racial equity lens to its work in the community—as well as inside its own walls.
Read about our Commitment to Racial Equity
Based on 2019 Columbus Survey of 238 U.S. community foundations