Largest private foundations in North Carolina
| # | Foundation | City | Focus area | Total assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke Endowment | Charlotte | Not listed | $3.6 billion |
| 2 | Dogwood Health Trust | Asheville | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $2.0 billion |
| 3 | The Leon Levine Foundation | Charlotte | Not listed | $1.9 billion |
| 4 | Burroughs Wellcome Fund | Rtp | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $885.7 million |
| 5 | C D Spangler Foundation Inc | Charlotte | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $739.7 million |
| 6 | William R Kenan Jr Charitable Trust | Chapel Hill | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $665.1 million |
| 7 | Kate B Reynolds Charitable Trust | Winston Salem | Not listed | $563.8 million |
| 8 | Smith Richardson Foundation Inc | Greensboro | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $557.9 million |
| 9 | The Ezrah Charitable Trust | Charlotte | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $498.3 million |
| 10 | Charles A Cannon Charitable Trust N0 One | Concord | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $415.5 million |
| 11 | John M Belk Endowment | Charlotte | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $379.0 million |
| 12 | Cannon Foundation Inc | Concord | Not listed | $351.7 million |
| 13 | The Eddie And Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation Inc | Greenville | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $302.1 million |
| 14 | Morehead Cain Foundation | Chapel Hill | Education | $225.0 million |
| 15 | Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of North Carolina Foundation | Durham | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $217.0 million |
| 16 | R B Terry Charitable Foundation Inc | High Point | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $202.5 million |
| 17 | Goodnight Educational Foundation | Cary | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $186.4 million |
| 18 | Bissell Ballantyne Legacy Fdn | Charlotte | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $183.0 million |
| 19 | Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Incorporated | Winston Salem | Not listed | $181.7 million |
| 20 | The Merancas Foundation Inc | Charlotte | Not listed | $174.4 million |
| 21 | The Gambrell Foundation | Charlotte | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $172.6 million |
| 22 | The Asha And Sajjan Agarwal Foundation | Raleigh | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $134.4 million |
| 23 | The David Belk Cannon Foundation | Gastonia | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $132.5 million |
| 24 | John William Pope Foundation | Raleigh | Not listed | $120.7 million |
| 25 | Anonymous Trust | Raleigh | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations | $110.5 million |
The full list includes all 2,415 North Carolina foundations with street address, ZIP, EIN, focus area, income and tax period, plus every other state.
North Carolina cities with the most private foundations
- Charlotte: 320
- Raleigh: 280
- Greensboro: 135
- Chapel Hill: 91
- Winston Salem: 82
- Durham: 78
- Wilmington: 65
- Fayetteville: 57
- Asheville: 54
- Cary: 45
Most common focus areas in North Carolina
- Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations: 1,086
- Education: 227
- Human Services: 133
- Arts, Culture & Humanities: 82
- Religion-Related: 81
- Recreation & Sports: 72
- Youth Development: 45
- Community Improvement & Capacity Building: 44
Where does this data come from?
The IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, downloaded in October 2026 and filtered to private foundations. Assets are as reported on each foundation's latest return on file. Foundations with no focus area code are shown as Not listed.