Why We Give
Someone Once Opened a Door for Us.
Long before Strickland Legacy Group existed, Justin Strickland had an idea for a business and needed someone willing to believe in it. Several banks said no. His grandfather, C.W. Strickland, said yes.
C.W. took out an equity line on his home and invested $35,000 — essentially his life savings — to give his grandson an opportunity. What followed changed the trajectory of our family.
That experience continues to shape how we think about giving today. We understand what it means for someone to believe in you before the outcome is certain, and what access to the right opportunity can make possible. When you have been fortunate enough to receive an opportunity, there comes a responsibility to create opportunities for others.
One generation opened a door for us.
We intend to keep opening doors for others.
Where We Focus
Giving With Purpose.
We seek to support people, organizations, and communities where thoughtful resources can create meaningful and lasting opportunity. Our interests include five areas of focus that hold our attention.
Young People &
Foster Communities
Education
Economic Mobility
First-Generation
Immigrants
Winston-Salem &
Our Community
Giving in Action
Investing in People. Strengthening Communities.
Our philosophy becomes most meaningful when it moves from an idea to an opportunity in someone's life.
That can take many forms — supporting a student’s education, helping meet basic needs, investing in young people, strengthening local organizations, supporting faith communities, or simply providing resources where they can make a meaningful difference.
Over time, Justin and Jessica have supported organizations and causes that reflect the values most important to their family. The stories below are examples of what that commitment can look like.
Investing in People
Wake Forest University.
For Justin and Jessica Strickland, their relationship with Wake Forest University is one example of giving centered on opportunity. Basketball was a defining part of Justin’s early life. The discipline, persistence, humility, and resilience he developed through the game stayed with him long after he stopped playing and eventually became part of the way he approached business, leadership, and giving.
Years later, Wake Forest gave Justin an opportunity to reconnect with something he had once loved — and to use that connection to create opportunities for others.
Together, Justin and Jessica have supported Wake Forest student-athletes through scholarship giving, including a current-use scholarship supporting students with immediate financial need and the Justin Strickland Pro Humanitate Scholarship.
“See the potential. Open the door. Give someone the opportunity to walk through it.”
Investing in Community
Supporting the Places and People Around Us.
Our giving extends beyond any single institution or cause. Justin and Jessica have long believed in supporting organizations that strengthen the communities around them — from addressing basic needs and supporting local families to investing in faith-based organizations and other groups doing meaningful work.
As this work continues, we hope to share more of the people and organizations whose efforts reflect the kind of impact we believe is worth supporting.
More stories to come!
Our Foundation
The SEED Foundation.
Planting Something That Can Grow.
Giving back was part of the Strickland family’s story long before it had a formal name. In 2026, that commitment took a more intentional form with the establishment of the Strickland Education & Economic Development Fund — the SEED Foundation. Through SEED, our family supports organizations and initiatives spanning higher education, health, the arts, and programs serving young people facing adversity.
The name reflects something we believe deeply about giving. Meaningful change doesn’t always begin with something enormous.
Interested in planting a seed? Contact us here.
Sometimes it begins with a seed.
- An education.
- An introduction.
- A mentor.
- A resource.
Someone willing to believe.
A single opportunity can grow into something much larger than anyone imagined when it was first given. Our own family's story is proof of that.
What Giving Can Be
More Than a Donation.
Giving Can Mean More Than Writing a Check.
Because creating opportunity doesn’t always require doing something enormous. Sometimes it simply requires opening the right door.
Capital matters. But sometimes what a person or organization needs most is something else.
- A relationship
- An introduction
- An experience
- Encouragement
- Access
- Someone willing to listen
- Someone willing to believe
We want to think broadly about the resources we can put to work for others and thoughtfully consider where our relationships, experiences, time, and capital can make a meaningful difference.
Give With Us
Pass It Forward
Someone once took a chance on our family.
That opportunity became a business.
The business created more opportunities.
And those opportunities gave us the ability to create opportunities for others.
That’s the kind of legacy we believe is worth building.