Zachary Smith Reynolds Trust

The Zachary Smith Reynolds Trust holds a unique structural position in North Carolina philanthropy that every grant seeker must understand before pursuing this funding. Registered in Pittsburgh, PA and managed by PNC Bank (Hawthorn division) as sole trustee, this $205 million charitable trust is not a grantmaking organization in the conventional sense — it is a financial pass-through vehicle created to fund a single beneficiary: the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (EIN 58-6038145) based in Winston-Salem, NC. There is no application process to the Trust itself. The Trust's four IRS-reported officers are all PNC Bank NA, earning $350,000-$428,000 annually as institutional trustee.

Grant seekers must engage with the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which operates the programs, manages the application portal (zsr.fluxx.io), employs a full program staff under Executive Director Joy Vermillion Heinsohn, and makes all grantmaking decisions. The Foundation draws approximately $10-11 million per year from this Trust plus comparable amounts from the William Neal Reynolds Residuary Trust and other instruments, producing total annual grantmaking of $19-21 million.

The giving philosophy centers explicitly on state-level systemic change in North Carolina. This is not a general social services funder. ZSR favors organizations that work to change policies, power structures, and root causes of inequity rather than those delivering direct services alone. A food bank that only provides meals will struggle here; a food security organization that also advocates for SNAP policy or county nutrition access will find strong alignment.

First-time applicants should expect a modest initial grant — typically one year at $30,000-$75,000 — rather than a landmark multi-year award. The Foundation builds relationships deliberately: 72-78% of active grants are multi-year, suggesting the pathway runs from successful one-year grant to sustained multi-year partnership. Staff conduct site visits before decisions are made, so treat every communication as relationship-building. Organizations led by people of color who primarily serve BIPOC communities receive explicit encouragement across all grant programs. Establishing a connection with program staff before applying is strongly advisable — the Foundation is reachable by phone (336-724-7541) and receptive to pre-application conversations.

The Zachary Smith Reynolds Trust has distributed its assets with notable consistency over more than a decade. Annual grants paid to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation have ranged from $8.7 million (2013) to $11.6 million (2022), with a 2019-2023 average of approximately $10.2 million per year. Trust assets have grown from $161.7 million in 2012 to $205.1 million in 2024 — a 27% increase — reflecting steady investment returns (net investment income averaged $12.6 million annually, 2019-2023).

At the operational Foundation level where grant seekers compete:

State-Level Systemic Change grants range from $30,000 to $100,000 per year for one to three-year terms. The November 2024 cycle ($19.2M, 108 grants) implies an average package of approximately $177,778. The November 2025 invitation-only cycle ($9.4M, 102 grants) averaged $92,157 per grant.

Community Progress Fund grants are capped at $20,000-$30,000/year for one or two-year terms, maximum $60,000 total. These represent the most accessible entry point for smaller rural organizations with less advocacy history.

Program breakdown, November 2025 cycle (102 grants): - Social and Economic Justice: 38 grantees (~37%) - Democracy Strengthening: 20 grantees (~20%) - Public Education: 18 grantees (~18%) - Environmental Health: 16 grantees (~16%) - Cross-cutting work: 6 grantees (~6%)

General operating support dominated at 73-78% of all grants across recent cycles; project-specific grants are the exception. Multi-year commitments ran 56-72% depending on cycle. These proportions reflect a deliberate trust-based philosophy — the Foundation believes grantees know how to deploy unrestricted funds better than program-restricted grants allow.

Geography: All grants serve North Carolina. The Community Progress Fund restricts eligibility to 78 rural counties specifically. State-Level grants can originate anywhere in NC but must demonstrate statewide policy or systems-level impact, not local service delivery.

The Zachary Smith Reynolds Trust (as the financial backbone of ZSR Foundation) sits among North Carolina's most significant private funders, alongside several Reynolds family legacy vehicles and other major NC-focused foundations.

ZSR Foundation occupies a distinctive niche: it is the only major NC foundation with an explicitly stated systemic change mandate at the state level, making it the go-to funder for advocacy, organizing, and policy change organizations that other NC foundations overlook. The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation is its closest peer in mission and approach, but covers nine Southeastern states rather than NC exclusively, making ZSR the deeper and more accessible partner for NC-specific systemic work. Kate B. Reynolds focuses more on direct health and economic impacts, making it complementary rather than competitive for most applicants.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation — the sole beneficiary of the Trust — has maintained an active grantmaking pace through 2025 and into 2026 under Executive Director Joy Vermillion Heinsohn, who took the role in March 2023.

November 2024 board meeting (announced January 2025): 108 grants totaling $19.2 million, the largest single cycle in recent history. Grants commenced January 1, 2025. The announcement emphasized immigration, climate equity, cooperative development, and restorative justice as emerging priorities within the four core issue areas.

June 2025: $1.4 million in Community Progress Fund grants to rural NC organizations, continuing the Foundation's explicit rural equity commitment.

October 2025: $350,000 targeted grant to support Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools students and educators — a smaller, place-based education investment outside the main grant cycles.

November 2025 board meeting (announced January 2026): 102 grants totaling $9.4 million via the invitation-only State-Level pipeline. Social and economic justice led with 38 grantees; democracy strengthening had 20; public education 18; and environmental health 16.

January 5-February 2, 2026: Community Progress Fund application window for the next rural NC cycle, with decisions expected in spring 2026.

On the Trust side, the 2024 fiscal year reflects $205.1 million in assets — up from $187.8 million in 2023 — but final grant disbursements for 2024 are not yet filed with IRS. Based on the trend, expect approximately $10-12 million distributed to the Foundation from the Trust for fiscal year 2024.

Understand the two-track system before applying. ZSR runs two fundamentally different tracks: an open competitive cycle (State-Level Systemic Change opens each June) and an invitation-only cycle (decisions made each May, no open applications). New applicants can only enter through the open competitive window or the Community Progress Fund. Do not attempt to apply during invitation-only periods — there is no portal to enter.

Align your framing to root causes, not symptoms. ZSR staff are sophisticated about the difference between direct service and systemic change. Lead your narrative with the structural problem you are solving — policy gaps, power imbalances, exclusion from decision-making — not the number of people served. Applications that open with service statistics and then tack on a policy component at the end read as direct service organizations trying to fit the language. The inverse framing — lead with the system, then show how your interventions change it — lands much better.

Use the Current Grant Partners database. Before writing a single word, review who ZSR is already funding at zsr.org/current-grant-partners. This reveals active grantees in your issue area, helps you position your organization's unique contribution to the ecosystem, and prevents proposing work that duplicates a current partner's mandate.

General operating support is the norm — ask for it. 73-78% of recent grants are unrestricted operating support. If you submit a narrow project budget when your organization needs core capacity, you are swimming against the current. ZSR trusts grantees to allocate funds wisely. A well-written organizational narrative with a clear operating budget will outperform a project-specific proposal for most applicants.

Document organizational demographics explicitly. Applications from organizations led by and serving people of color receive explicit encouragement. Include board and staff demographic breakdowns — don't assume reviewers will infer this from your mission statement.

Timing matters. State-Level applications open in early June and close late July/early August — decisions in November. Community Progress Fund opens in early January and closes in early February — decisions in spring. Missing either window means a full calendar year wait.

Call before you apply. The Winston-Salem office (336-724-7541) and an online inquiry form are available. A brief pre-application call to introduce your organization and confirm fit can prevent wasted effort and begins the relationship-building that ZSR values.