Giving With Grace Foundation

Giving With Grace Foundation is a young, family-led private foundation with an unusually clear and accessible giving philosophy: "reflect, repay, and reinforce kindness and compassion in our community." Founded in 2021 by Robin and Jack Salzman in Cornelius, North Carolina, the foundation received its IRS determination in March 2022 and has grown with exceptional speed — assets expanded from $1 million at inception to $19.7 million by fiscal year 2024, following a major infusion of approximately $19.8 million in 2023.

The foundation operates on a highly structured annual cycle anchored by its community grants program: 10 grants of $25,000 each ($250,000 total), awarded to nonprofits serving children, women, or animals in need. The application process is deliberately simple — an online form on the homepage requiring contact information, proof of nonprofit status, and a concise narrative about fund use. There is no letter of inquiry, no grant portal registration, and no lengthy RFP narrative. This accessibility reflects the founders' ethos of broad community participation over institutional gatekeeping.

However, the $250,000 community program represents only a fraction of the foundation's actual grantmaking. Total giving in fiscal 2024 reached $2.05 million, implying that roughly $1.8 million flowed through larger discretionary or strategic relationships — including the Lake Norman Humane spay/neuter clinic (a lead gift toward a $1 million capital campaign) and $192,046 awarded to Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina across two grants. This two-tier structure is critical to understand: the community grants program offers an accessible entry point, and exceptional grantee performance can unlock far larger strategic investments.

For first-time applicants, the foundation rewards specificity and local grounding over polish. The 2025 cohort included operationally straightforward organizations deeply embedded in the Lake Norman community fabric — food pantries, wildlife rehab, and rescue operations — rather than large institutional players. Given its family-governance model (all four officers serve without compensation, consistent with a close-knit decision-making circle), community visibility and reputation in the Lake Norman region carry weight beyond what any written application can convey. Attending foundation events, engaging with local volunteer networks, and demonstrating presence in the service area can reinforce a written application.

Giving With Grace Foundation's financial trajectory reflects a foundation in active scale-up mode. Assets stood at $1 million in 2021, grew to $1.1 million in 2022, then leapt to $20.3 million in 2023 following an approximately $19.8 million contribution — almost certainly an irrevocable endowment contribution from the founding family. Assets stabilized at $19.7 million in fiscal year 2024.

Charitable disbursements have tracked this growth: $0 in 2021, $96,023 in 2022, $843,275 in 2023, and $2,052,295 in 2024. The payout rate in 2024 was approximately 10.4% of assets — well above the 5% minimum required of private foundations — indicating a foundation in active deployment mode rather than endowment preservation.

The community grants program ($250,000 across 10 grants) has been consistent and recurring for three consecutive cycles (2023, 2024, 2025), but it represents only 12% of 2024 total giving. The remaining $1.8 million in 2024 flowed through larger discretionary grants. IRS 990 filings document $192,046 to Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina across two separate grants, and the Lake Norman Humane clinic naming deal represents an undisclosed lead gift toward a $1 million project. This points to a grant size distribution spanning from $25,000 (community program floor) to $100,000–$500,000+ for strategic relationships.

By focus area, the 2025 community cohort of 10 organizations breaks down approximately as: 6 animal welfare (Chow Charmer Rescue, NC Wildlife Rehab Ltd, Stand for Animals, Foster Love Adopt Repeat Inc., Happy Tails Rescue Inc., Kora's Rescue Ranch), 2 family/children services (Bright Blessings, Foster Village Charlotte), 1 food security (Hearts and Hands Food Pantry), and 1 faith-based social services (Least of These Carolinas). Animal welfare thus occupies roughly 50–60% of community grant slots in the most recent cycle, though all three pillars remain formally equal.

Geographically, 100% of confirmed grantees in both IRS filings and web-published cohort lists are North Carolina-based organizations, all within the Charlotte/Lake Norman metropolitan corridor. No out-of-state or national organizations appear in any disclosed grantee list.

Note: Figures for Foundation For The Carolinas and Leon Levine Foundation are approximate based on publicly available 990 data; figures for Lake Norman Community Foundation and Thompson Child & Family Focus Foundation are estimated from available public filings.

Giving With Grace Foundation occupies a distinctive niche in the Charlotte philanthropic ecosystem: it is more accessible than virtually any comparable family foundation (open application, no LOI, no portal), geographically tighter than the region's major community foundations, and substantially more focused in its three-pillar mandate than general-purpose funders. Its $25,000 community grant is competitive for regional nonprofits without the multi-year reporting burden typical of larger funders. For organizations serving children, women, or animals in the Lake Norman corridor, Giving With Grace should be considered a primary application target before approaching Foundation For The Carolinas or Leon Levine Foundation, both of which require deeper relationship cultivation and operate on longer review timelines.

The most significant recent milestone was the December 2025 Gifting Luncheon, held at The Serve Pickleball + Kitchen in the Lake Norman area. The foundation distributed its third consecutive cohort of 10 grants totaling $250,000, with the 2025 class noticeably animal-welfare-heavy: Hearts and Hands Food Pantry, Chow Charmer Rescue, NC Wildlife Rehab Ltd, Stand for Animals, Bright Blessings, Foster Love Adopt Repeat Inc., Happy Tails Rescue Inc., Foster Village Charlotte, Least of These Carolinas, and Kora's Rescue Ranch. The event also marked the debut of the Community Appreciation Award, presented to George Searle for sustained volunteer service with Habitat for Humanity — a signal that the foundation is expanding its community identity beyond grantmaking.

Prior to the luncheon, the 2026 grant cycle application window opened with an October 31, 2025 deadline, continuing the foundation's consistent annual rhythm established since 2023.

In 2024, Lake Norman Humane announced that its new spay/neuter facility in Mooresville, NC would be named "The Giving with Grace Spay and Neuter Clinic," representing the foundation's most prominent strategic capital commitment to date. The clinic is part of a $1 million campaign (65% pledged), with the foundation serving as the lead gift donor — a meaningful escalation from the $25,000 community grant level.

Financially, fiscal year 2024 data filed with the IRS shows $2,052,295 in total charitable disbursements against $19.7 million in assets — a foundation actively deploying capital well above its legal minimum, with leadership (Robin Salzman, President; Jack Salzman, Vice President) accepting zero compensation across all reported years.

The most important tactical insight for this funder: apply through the online form on the foundation's homepage by October 31. The process is deliberately streamlined — no letters of inquiry, no grant portal login, no lengthy budget narratives. Giving With Grace has designed for accessibility, and a clear, concise application outperforms a formally polished one.

Your narrative must answer one question above all others: how will this specific $25,000 change the lives of children, women, or animals in your community in the coming year? The foundation's blog explicitly instructs applicants to describe "how a $25,000 grant would be put to work" in the upcoming year — forward-looking impact statements carry more weight than organizational history. Quantify wherever possible: number of animals served, meals provided, families supported, surgeries performed. Keep language accessible and community-grounded rather than clinical or programmatic.

Alignment language matters. The foundation's stated mission uses the verbs "reflect, repay, and reinforce." Applications that mirror this vocabulary — presenting the grant as an opportunity to reinforce community care or repay local generosity through service — will resonate more than boilerplate grant-seeking language. Frame your organization as a community partner, not a recipient.

Geographic specificity is a competitive differentiator. Organizations with roots in Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville, or other Lake Norman-area communities have a structural advantage. Charlotte-based organizations should explicitly demonstrate their Lake Norman connections if any exist.

The October 31 cutoff gives reviewers November for evaluation, with results announced at the December Gifting Luncheon. Plan to be responsive to any follow-up in November. If selected, attend the luncheon — the event functions as a cultivation opportunity as much as a celebration, and face time with the Salzman family can set the foundation for a longer-term funding relationship.

For organizations seeking grants above $25,000: the pathway runs through the community program first. Receiving a $25,000 grant, executing it with transparency, and reporting back proactively creates the credibility track for larger strategic conversations. The Lake Norman Humane naming deal — a lead gift toward a $1 million capital campaign — almost certainly followed an initial smaller-grant relationship. Do not skip this step.

Avoid vague operating support requests without connecting them to specific programmatic outcomes. The grantee list shows strong preference for organizations with defined, deliverable programs over broad capacity-building or general overhead asks.