Weaver Foundation Inc.

The Weaver Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1968 and anchored entirely in the Greater Greensboro, North Carolina community. With $30.2M in assets (FY2024) and a payout rate near 6.3% in FY2023, the foundation has remained a consistent mid-seven-figure grantmaker — total giving ranged from $1.4M to $1.9M annually across the FY2019–FY2023 period. Its giving philosophy prioritizes community improvement, food security, children and youth services, arts, and social services, exclusively for organizations serving Guilford County residents.

The foundation is invitation-only and does not accept unsolicited applications. The standard pathway begins with a brief letter of inquiry (LOI) submitted through the online grants management portal or mailed to the president at P.O. Box 26040, Greensboro, NC 27420. The LOI should describe the organization and the specific funding request; invited organizations then proceed to a full proposal. Board meetings occur quarterly, so grant decisions are available four times per year.

Critical update for 2025-2026: The foundation is undergoing a major structural transition. Longtime paid president Kevin H. Gray (compensated $104,135 in FY2023) is now listed as "former president." The foundation is moving to a volunteer-led family model without professional staff — the most significant operational change in its history. The website explicitly states it is not accepting grant applications and will post updates as the new structure is defined. Katherine Weaver serves as Chair, with James Smith as Vice Chair and Hunter Hodges as Secretary.

For first-time applicants, several principles define Weaver's relationship model: - Geographic eligibility is a hard screen: organizations must serve Greater Greensboro / Guilford County primarily. - General operating support is explicitly welcome alongside capital projects and special programs. - Multi-year commitments are made when warranted; most top grantees show 2 or more consecutive grant cycles. - Capital campaigns are fundable: Carolina Theater received $90,000 for a façade project; Habitat Greensboro received a transformative $500,000 for land acquisition. - Credibility within the local nonprofit ecosystem — shared grantees with Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro — strengthens positioning for an invitation.

Annual grants paid across available filings range from $671,475 (FY2013) to $1,391,800 (FY2023), with total giving typically running 30–45% above grants paid due to administrative and other disbursements. In FY2023, total giving reached $1,859,973 against $29.4M in assets — an effective payout rate of approximately 6.3%, meaningfully above the 5% private foundation minimum. The asset base has grown steadily from $20.1M in FY2013 to $30.2M in FY2024, with FY2024 total revenue of $2.2M suggesting continued growth despite incomplete grants-paid data for that year.

Across 126 tracked grant transactions totaling $2,057,352, the average per-grant is $16,328. Individual grant sizes in the tracked dataset range from $2,000 (Room at the Inn of the Triad) to $224,200 (Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC), with a documented outlier of $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro. Most grants cluster in the $5,000–$50,000 range for general operating or program support; major capital or infrastructure grants reach $90,000–$224,200.

Programmatic breakdown by category (derived from grantee purposes across available 990 filings): - Food security and hunger relief (~28%): Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC ($224,200), Greensboro Urban Ministry ($105,000), plus 10+ faith-community food pantry micro-grants of $3,400–$10,000 each. - Children, youth, and education (~22%): Backpack Beginnings ($100,000), Ready for School Ready for Life ($100,000), Children's Home Society ($80,000), UNC Greensboro ($80,000), Guilford Education Alliance ($65,000). - Social services and community development (~18%): Servant Center ($90,000), New Arrivals Institute ($50,000), Compass Greensboro ($50,000), Senior Resources of Guilford County ($50,000). - Arts and culture (~11%): Carolina Theater ($90,000), Community Theater of Greensboro ($40,000), Dance Project ($30,000). - Health and wellness (~8%): Cone Health Brito Food Program ($60,000), YWCA of Greensboro ($60,000). - Other — housing, civic, immigrant services (~13%).

Geographically, 98.4% of tracked grants (124 of 126) went to North Carolina organizations, nearly all within Guilford County. Two grants reached Massachusetts-based recipients. No grants outside this corridor appear in the available record.

The Weaver Foundation's $30.2M in assets places it in a peer cohort of community and family foundations at the $30M–$31M range. Below is a comparison with four asset-matched peer foundations identified by similar size and NTEE category:

Among this peer group, Weaver stands out on three dimensions. First, it is among the more publicly transparent foundations at this asset level, publishing grant guidelines, a news archive, and an online LOI portal — a level of accessibility that peer foundations at similar size often do not provide. Second, its hyperlocal geographic focus makes it the dominant family foundation funder for Greensboro nonprofits at this scale; peer foundations with similar assets typically operate across broader state or national portfolios. Third, Weaver's FY2023 payout rate of approximately 6.3% ($1.86M against $29.4M in assets) is favorable relative to foundations giving at the 5% statutory minimum, reflecting an active community investment posture. Its 55+ year operating history and consistent annual giving above $1M since at least FY2013 provide an established track record that asset-equivalent but newer peer foundations lack.

The most significant development in Weaver Foundation's recent history is its transition away from professionally staffed operations. Longtime president Kevin H. Gray, compensated between $95,000 and $104,135 per year across FY2019–FY2023, is now listed as "former president" in board records. The foundation has publicly announced its move to a volunteer-led family model without full-time staff — the most consequential organizational change in its 55+ year history. Katherine Weaver serves as Chair; James Smith is Vice Chair; Hunter Hodges serves as Secretary; Michelle Wilburn as Treasurer. No new paid staff have been announced.

The foundation's last publicly posted grants appeared in December 2022, though FY2023 IRS data confirms grants paid of $1,391,800, indicating the board continued making grants through internal processes even as the public-facing pipeline wound down.

Notable grants from the 2021–2022 active grant cycle: - $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro for land acquisition supporting 200 affordable housing units (the largest documented single grant on record) - $224,200 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC across two grants - $105,000 to Greensboro Urban Ministry across two grants - $100,000 each to Backpack Beginnings and Ready for School Ready for Life - $50,000 to Backpack Beginnings for capital campaign support (February 2022) - $45,000 to Carolina Theatre for Façade Campaign support (September 2022)

No new program announcements, revised funding priorities, or additional leadership changes have been identified for 2025 or 2026 beyond the volunteer transition. Organizations should monitor weaverfoundation.com for announcements about the resumed grantmaking timeline.

Monitor the website before doing anything else. The Weaver Foundation is not currently accepting applications as of 2025-2026. The website states explicitly that the foundation is transitioning to a volunteer-led model and will post process updates when ready. Submitting an inquiry before the process reopens is unlikely to result in funding consideration.

Lead with your Greensboro connection. Geographic eligibility is the hardest screen. Your LOI must state clearly — and early — that your organization serves Greater Greensboro or Guilford County residents primarily. Of 126 tracked grants, 124 (98.4%) went to Guilford County organizations. This is non-negotiable.

Keep the LOI to 1-2 pages maximum. The foundation explicitly requests a brief inquiry, not a full proposal. Required elements per IRS filing records: organization name and mailing address, IRS ruling statement, brief organizational structure description, and a concise description of the specific program or operating support requested.

General operating support is fundable. Unlike many foundations that require program-restricted grants, Weaver explicitly includes general operating expenses among eligible uses. Long-term grantees — Greensboro Urban Ministry, YWCA of Greensboro, Dance Project, Senior Resources of Guilford County — have received sustained operating support across multiple grant cycles.

Food security and children's programs have the strongest track record. Second Harvest Food Bank received $224,200 (the top cumulative grantee). Children and youth organizations account for 5 of the top 10 grantees by cumulative amount. Proposals in these areas have demonstrated consistent alignment across all available grant years.

Capital campaigns are in scope. Carolina Theater ($90,000), Backpack Beginnings ($100,000 capital campaign), and Habitat Greensboro ($500,000 land acquisition) all received capital-purpose support. Capital asks are not disqualifying.

Avoid prohibited categories: individual recipients, partisan political activity, voter registration, conference or group travel, video productions, fraternal organizations, and requests that are primarily religious in nature (food pantry grants to faith institutions appear permitted when focused on community service delivery).

Plan around quarterly board cycles. No deadlines are published, but all decisions occur at quarterly board meetings. Once applications reopen, asking when the next review cycle closes helps you time your LOI for the next available decision window.