ZSR Announces $19.9 Million in Funding for State-Level Systemic Change
During the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s (ZSR’s) November board meeting, ZSR’s Board of Trustees awarded 146 grants totaling $19.9 million to organizations working toward state-level systemic change in North Carolina.
Of the 146 grants awarded, 107 (73%) are for general operating support, and 118 (81%) are for multiple years.
ZSR’s State-Level Systemic Change Strategy supports state, regional and local organizations, coalitions, or collaboratives that are working to achieve systemic change at the state level within and across four priority areas: Advancing Public Education, Fostering a Healthy and Sustainable Environment, Promoting Social and Economic Justice, and Strengthening Democracy. ZSR also supports work at the intersection of these priority areas.
Below is a list of organizations who received funding during the 2023 State-Level Systemic Change grant cycle.
Action for the Climate Emergency
For general operating support
Action Institute NC
For general operating support
Action4Equity
For general operating support
Alliance for Heritage Conservation
Museum of the Southeast American Indian Heritage Preservation project
American Civil Liberties Union of NC Legal Foundation
For general operating support
American Rivers
For general operating support
Asheville City Schools Foundation
For general operating support
Asociación de Mexicanos en Carolina del Norte
For general operating support
Blue Ribbon Commission Prevention of Youth Violence
Leandro Plan project
Book Harvest
For general operating support
BVM Capacity Building Institute
For general operating support
Campaign for Southern Equality
Rapid Response for Southern Trans Youth Emergency project
Cape Fear River Watch
For general operating support
Carolina Federation Fund
For general operating support
Carolina Jews for Justice
For general operating support
Carolina Public Press
For general operating support
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation
For general operating support
Center for Community Self-Help
For general operating support for the Avila Center
Center for Death Penalty Litigation
For general operating support
Center for Racial Equity in Education
For general operating support
Center for Responsible Lending
Responsible Lending in North Carolina: Protecting Economic Opportunity for Families by Eliminating Abusive Lending Practices project
Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance
Leveraging North Carolina’s Principals of the Year to Advance Public Education project
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy
For general operating support
CleanAIRE NC
For general operating support
Coastal Carolina Riverwatch
For general operating support
Code the Dream
For general operating support
Colaborativa La Milpa
For general operating support
Community Building Initiative
For general operating support
Community Success Initiative
For general operating support
Croatan Institute
Rural Beacon Initiative Free Union Farm Sustainability Hubs project
Dare Education Foundation
For general operating support
Democracy Green
For general operating support
Democracy NC
Carolina Youth Partnership: Youth Engagement project
Disability Rights NC
Access the Vote North Carolina project
Duke University
For general operating support for the North Carolina Leadership Forum
Durham Public Schools Foundation
For general operating support
Eagle Market Streets Development
For general operating support
Education Justice Alliance
For general operating support
Empowered Parents in Community
For general operating support
Environmental Justice Community Action Network
For general operating support
Equity Before Birth
For general operating support
Forward Justice
For general operating support
Freedom Center for Social Justice
For general operating support
Fresh Energy
Energy News Network Reporting in North Carolina project
Friends of the Earth
Climate and Energy Justice Program to Stop Dirty Energy in North Carolina project
Haw River Assembly
For general operating support
Hispanic Federation
For general operating support
Public Ed Works
For general operating support
Immersion for Spanish Language Acquisition
For general operating support
James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy Foundation
Expanding Equitable Access in K-12 Education project
Journalism Funding Partners
North Carolina Climate Coverage project
Latinx Education Center
For general operating support
Legal Aid of NC
For general operating support
Legal Aid of NC
Home Defense project
Lillian’s List Foundation
For general operating support
MDC, Inc.
ARPA Partnership capacity-building project
Men and Women United for Youth and Families
For general operating support
Mi Familia Vota Education Fund
For general operating support
MountainTrue
For general operating support
Mt. Calvary Leadership Development Corporation
For general operating support
myFutureNC
For general operating support
NALEO Educational Fund
North Carolina Latino Civic Engagement Strategy project
National Conference of Black Lawyers
For general operating support of its North Carolina chapter
National Domestic Workers Alliance
For general operating support
NC A. Philip Randolph Institute
For general operating support
NC Association of Black Lawyers’ Land Loss Prevention Project
For general operating support
NC Black Alliance
For general operating support
NC Business Council
For general operating support
NC Center on Actual Innocence
For general operating support
NC Child
For general operating support
NC Clean Energy Fund
For general operating support
NC Climate Justice Collective
For general operating support
NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault
For general operating support
NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
For general operating support
NC Coalition on Aging
Essential Jobs, Essential Care North Carolina project
NC Community Foundation
Invest Early Fund project
NC Congress of Latino Organizations
For general operating support
NC Council of Churches
Farmworker Advocacy Network project
NC Counts Coalition
For general operating support
NC Early Education Coalition
For general operating support
NC Employee Ownership Center
For general operating support
NC FIELD
For general operating support
NC For the People
For general operating support
NC Immigration Law & Justice Center
For general operating support
NC Institute of Minority Economic Development
For general operating support
NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation
For general operating support
NC Partnership for Children
For general operating support
NC Prisoner Legal Services
Long-Term Incarceration project
NC State University
Institute for Emerging Issues’ BAND-NC Digital Inclusion Plan project
NC State University
For general operating support for the CEFS’ North Carolina Local Food Council
NC WARN
For general operating support
Neighborhood Funders Group
LIFT Fund project
NEO Philanthropy
North Carolina Local News Lab Fund project
NEO Philanthropy
Cypress Fund project
New NC Project
For general operating support
One Dozen Who Care
For general operating support
Opportunities Industrialization Center
For general operating support
Orange County Translatinas
Asheboro Latinx Services project
Parents for Public Schools
Expansion of Parents for Public Schools in North Carolina project
Parents for Public Schools of Pitt County
For general operating support
Pastors for NC Children
For general operating support
Piedmont Business Capital
For general operating support
Profound Ladies
For general operating support
Prospera NC LLC
Latino Entrepreneurship Support in Eastern North Carolina project
Public School Forum of NC
Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity project
Public Schools First NC
For general operating support
Ready for School, Ready for Life
For general operating support
Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services, Inc
For general operating support
Red Wine & Blue Education Fund
For general operating support
Refugee Community Partnership
For general operating support
Resound Future Bilingual Educators Network
For general operating support
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Climate Nexus Communicating Climate Justice project
Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help
For general operating support
Sandhills Cooperation Association
For general operating support
SBG Digital
Digital Mis- and Dis-information Impacting Black North Carolinians project
Scalawag
For general operating support
SD Foundation
North Carolina Clerk Work Program project
SisterSong
For general operating support
Somos Siembra
For general operating support
Sound Rivers
For general operating support
Sound Rivers
Waterkeepers Carolina project
Southeast Asian Coalition
For general operating support
Southern Vision Alliance
Durham Beyond Policing project
Southern Vision Alliance
Refund Raleigh project
Southern Vision Alliance
North Carolina Collaborative for Strong Latinx Communities project
States Newsroom
For general operating support
Strategic Energy Innovations
For general operating support
Student U
For general operating support
Sustainable Sandhills
For general operating support
Triangle Native American Society
For general operating support
Tyrrell County Community Development Corporation
For general operating support
United for a Fair Economy
Inclusive Economies Project North Carolina – Raising Wages North Carolina project
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
For general operating support for the School of Government’s Lead for North Carolina project
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
North Carolina Native Leadership Institute’s Building Capacity Among North Carolina’s Tribal Communities project
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
For general operating support for the School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
For general operating support for Kenan Institute’s NCGrowth
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Institute for the Study of the Americas’ Building Integrated Communities project
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
For general operating support for the Carolina College Advising Corps’ Summer Training and Professional Development project
Urban Sustainability Directors Network
Southeast Sustainability Directors Network project
VoteRiders
North Carolina Voter ID Education and Assistance project
WakeUP Wake County
For general operating support
We Are Down Home
For general operating support
WEBB Squared
For general operating support
Winyah Rivers Foundation
For general operating support
Working Films
For general operating support
Yadkin Riverkeeper
For general operating support
English 
Español