A NOTE FROM JOY

Friends,

People move to North Carolina from other countries for all sorts of reasons. Immigrants are diverse in language and country of origin, and they strengthen this state through contributions to our communities, culture and economy.

Unfortunately, our immigrant neighbors are facing an onslaught of harmful policies and rhetoric that threaten their wellbeing and undermine our common humanity.  

It is reasonable to have policy debates about immigration. It is reasonable to have policy debates about how to handle crime and border security.

It is not reasonable – or humane – to create policies of fear that have everyone, whether they have legal status or not, living in a constant state of panic.

A North Carolina pastor reported that a third of her congregation skipped church last week because they worried they might be arrested.

Public school principals across the state are preparing their staffs on how to respond to law enforcement in case they come to schools to detain children.

A friend who is a recently naturalized citizen even shared with me that he is concerned to volunteer to help other immigrants because he’s scared he will become a target of anti-immigrant protestors himself.

This environment of chaos and fear is unacceptable.

Every person, regardless of their background or immigration status, deserves to feel safe and be treated with common decency here in North Carolina.

ZSR and our nonprofit partners will continue to do all we can to support immigrant communities across North Carolina, believing that all people should be treated with dignity. In a time when fear is pervasive, let us remember our common humanity.

All For NC,

Joy Vermillion Heinsohn

ZSR Executive Director

GET INSPIRED

Stories of hope and action

from our partners across NC

Immigrant rights organizations including Carolina Migrant Network and Siembra NC are mobilizing to keep communities safe. They are running workshops to educate immigrants about their constitutional protections, holding trainings for community members and operating hotlines for people to call or text with concerns.

Emancipate NC, Common Cause and the ACLU of North Carolina are mobilizing to ensure every vote counts in the NC Supreme Court race. They're raising awareness, educating voters and offering advice to people whose votes are being challenged.

On his final day in office, Governor Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 people on death row. Of those, 11 are clients of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, which has long advocated against capital punishment, citing “overwhelming evidence of racism in capital trials.”  

Energy News Network recently profiled the Center for Energy Education, a Roanoke Rapids-based nonprofit that educates communities about solar energy projects and works to create stronger partnerships between solar companies and rural communities.

Momentum is growing to make offshore wind a pillar of NC’s energy infrastructure and economy, writes Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition. Neighboring Virginia has begun capitalizing on this energy source through the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. North Carolina can learn from Virginia and use offshore wind to create jobs, reduce carbon emissions and strengthen the energy grid.

Collective advocacy is driving a movement for clean energy solutions in North Carolina amid growing concerns over Duke Energy's plan to replace two coal-fired units at the Marshall Steam Station with natural gas plants. At a public hearing, CleanAIRE NC advocacy manager Brittany Griffin warned of potential health risks from pollutants like volatile organic compounds. Advocacy groups like Clean Water for NC are challenging Duke Energy’s environmental practices, including its handling of toxic coal ash. These efforts are uniting people from all walks of life in the fight for a healthier, sustainable future.

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina Across 100 has announced the 22 counties selected for its “Our State, Our Homes” project, an 18-month initiative to expand affordable housing access across North Carolina. More than one million NC households – including one in five homeowners and nearly half of renters – are “housing cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. "Our State, Our Homes” will help communities align local stakeholders to develop creative, sustainable solutions to improve housing access and affordability.

WHAT’S NEW WITH ZSR?

Applications for the Nonprofit Internship Program (NPIP) are open through February 3! This summer, NPIP will provide dozens of paid nonprofit internships for Pell grant-eligible college students in NC. Learn more and apply. (Note: For interns based in or near Asheville, applications are open for affordable housing at UNC-Asheville!)

During our November 2024 board meeting, ZSR’s Board of Trustees awarded 108 grants totaling $19.2 million to organizations working toward state-level systemic change in North Carolina. The grants support nonprofit organizations working to change policies, power structures and other root causes of challenges so that all North Carolinians can lead fulfilling lives. Learn more and see the full list of grants awarded.

The Healthier Together Initiative, a cross-sector partnership including the North Carolina Office of Strategic Partnerships, NC Department of Health and Human Services, NC Counts Coalition, and ZSR, published a new resource outlining lessons learned from efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among communities of color in NC. This collaboration highlights the power of state government and philanthropy working together.

The 2024 Lambeth Lecture at UNC-Chapel Hill featured ZSR’s Executive Director, Joy Vermillion Heinsohn, alongside John Hood, president of the John William Pope Foundation. Speaking on the theme “North Carolina 2025: Reflections on People, Policy, and Philanthropy,” Vermillion Heinsohn and Hood shared insights on promoting the well-being of North Carolinians and shaping the state’s future.

The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Winston-Salem Foundation and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will provide a combined $700,000 to support United Way of Forsyth County and its partners working in the areas of economic mobility, safety nets and basic needs.