The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation was formed by Mary Reynolds Babcock and her siblings to honor their brother,

Zachary Smith Reynolds Zachary Smith Reynolds (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1932) was an American amateur aviator and youngest son of millionaire businessman R. J. Reynolds. The son of one of the richest men in the United States at the time, Reynolds was to inherit Uni ...

, who died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 20 at the Reynolds family home,

Reynolda House The Reynolda House Museum of American Art is an art museum located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband R. J. Reynolds, founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, it displays a collecti ...

. The Foundation donates millions of dollars annually in the state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 2008, the fund donated $18 million in grants, including $2 million to

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. During the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, the value of the Foundation's trust declined 30% from its high of $470 million in November 2007. The Foundation subsequently announced plans to revise the way it processes grants. The Foundation, which has focused on affordable housing, immigration, education and the environment, will focus its environmental grants on water, energy and growth. The Foundation's grants were slightly less (at $16 million) than the $18 million given in 2008, but cuts were steeper in 2010 and 2011. In the past, the foundation has paid for a study about North Carolina's Work First

welfare reform Welfare reforms are changes in the operation of a given welfare system aimed at improving the efficiency, equity, and administration of government assistance programs. Reform programs may have a various aims; sometimes the focus is on reducing th ...

program, conducted by

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

researchers.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in North Carolina Foundations based in the United States Organizations based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Reynolds family