Over the past 18 months, we have seen a historic disinvestment by federal and local governments in public resources that communities rely on to survive. The magnitude of what has been lost is hard to quantify, but the impacts of these decisions are being felt across Forsyth County and North Carolina.
If your organization—like ours—is focused on furthering equitable access to quality health care, education, and economic opportunity, this has likely been another challenging year. What we’re experiencing is more than just politics and policies shifting, it’s an attack on our collective well-being.
For the second year in a row, we’re adjusting our annual grantmaking.
We’re continuing this increased investment to respond to the crisis facing North Carolina communities and our partners who work alongside them. While the Trust generally gives out more than $20 million annually, this year we will make approximately $30 million in grants. While we cannot adjust our grantmaking every year, the current crisis facing communities requires us to do as much as we can right now.
Mrs. Reynolds established the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to improve the health and quality of life of people experiencing poverty in Forsyth County and across North Carolina. To achieve this mission today, we need to work on multiple fronts. We must continue the long-term work of furthering racial equity and changing systems while responding to the crisis in front of us. Adjusted grant dollars for a second year will allow us to do both.
Increased efforts began in 2025 and will continue.
Last year, we gave out approximately $30 million in grants in Forsyth County and North Carolina. We directed our additional investments statewide to respond to state cuts to legal services and federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. We also invested in grassroots organizations, particularly those serving immigrant communities, and local news providers to explain policy changes impacting North Carolinians.
In Forsyth County, we responded to federal cuts to food banks and other safety net organizations and committed $1 million to local funding shortfalls at the school system.
We invested in the capacity and wellness of nonprofit and community organizations as they tried to navigate threats to immigrant families and increased demand for services at a time when federal and state funding was being slashed.
While foundations can’t fill the void, we must still step up.
No amount of additional grantmaking can cover the gap created by federal cuts to critical programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. However, adjusting our grantmaking for a second year to $30 million provides us with more responsive dollars to address urgent needs and maintain critical infrastructure.
We can exist in perpetuity, while we do more.
Mrs. Reynolds established the Trust to exist in perpetuity, and we’re committed to fulfilling her vision. While we applaud the foundations that have decided to spend down their resources, we believe that some foundations—like ours—serve best by existing indefinitely. The problems the Trust works to address—persistent poverty, disparate health outcomes, inequitable educational opportunities—cannot be solved in a year, or even ten.
It’s time to take action together.
No one organization or entity can tackle the magnitude of these policy shifts alone. We all must commit to doing more—and that may look different depending on where you sit and what is possible. We call on local, state, and federal leaders; funders; businesses and nonprofits to determine how you can do more right now.
We invite you to join us. Together, let’s take action to address the crisis of today and to create the future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
We see you, we thank you, and we remain committed to being in partnership with you for as long as it takes. We’re here for a time such as this.
Laura Gerald, MD, MPH
President
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust