Compassionate Capitalism - June 2002

The Reynolds Foundation

Investing in Nevada’s Future

by Kathleen Foley

Anywhere you look in Nevada, you’re likely to see buildings funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. It has distributed more than $80 million in grants to Nevada organizations since 1994, including $54.7 million in capital grants. Those with children might have taken them to a Boys and Girls Club building funded by the foundation or to a resource center recently completed for the Boy Scouts. Culture buffs may have enjoyed a production by the Nevada Ballet Theatre or listened to classical music broadcast by KNPR Public Radio from the Donald W. Reynolds Broadcast Center. College students in Elko, Las Vegas, Carson City and Reno have used facilities donated by the foundation.

As part of its Community Services Center Program, the Reynolds Foundation is funding the construction of a building for the Parasol Project in Incline Village, which brings together more than 100 nonprofit organizations in the Incline Village/Crystal Bay area. In 2001, it awarded funds to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum in Las Vegas and Step 2 in Reno for planning and technical assistance. The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for the Courts and Media, which includes the Model Courtroom and the Judicial Technology Resource Center, was funded by a $4 million capital grant, and the Reynolds Foundation also provided an additional $1.25 million to assist with operating costs. The center, located in Reno, addresses issues relating to the court system and media outlets.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur, founder and principal owner of the Donrey Media Group. During Reynolds’ lifetime, he made grants on a relatively small scale, including a donation to start a student services center at UNLV and to establish a school of journalism at UNR. At his death in 1993, his group of companies included 52 daily newspapers, 10 outdoor advertising companies, five cable television companies and a television station. The sale of the Donrey Media Group in 1993 provided a generous endowment to the foundation, which is now one of the 50 largest private foundations in the United States. The Reynolds Foundation supports a variety of giving programs, including capital grants, community services centers, programs for supporting quality of life in the elderly and cardiovascular clinical research. Its trustees approved nearly $116.5 million in new grants during 2001, including $36 million in capital grants.

Reynolds Foundation Impact in Nevada

Kathleen Foley
Kathleen Foley is a freelance writer based in Southern Nevada.