Who We Are

 

our focus

Our focus is providing compassionate support to individuals and families harmed by gun violence —funding essential needs like grief counseling and funeral expenses to longer term health and wellness resources.

gratefully accepting contributions

The family of Riley Howell has established the Riley Howell Foundation Fund at The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. 
Tax-deductible gifts can be made to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

Give online  or mail checks with ‘Riley Howell Foundation Fund' in the memo to:

CFWNC 
4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 300
Asheville, NC 28803

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

  • President - Natalie Henry-Howell

  • Treasurer - Scott Pritchard

  • Secretary - Kevin Westmoreland

  • Member - Rachel Feichter

  • Member - Jenny Baldwin

2025 Fund Recipients

The Onsite Foundation: $20,000 to help fund their Triumph Over Tragedy program for survivors of mass shootings and Life After Loss program which is a healing retreat for parents who have lost a child.

Guns to Gardens: $500 - The Guns to Gardens program by RAWtools safely transforms donated guns into garden tools, turning weapons of violence into symbols of peace and growth.

Enough and Hendersonville Theater: $1,000 - ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence calls on teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theatre that will spark critical conversations and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country.

Newtown Action Alliance Foundation: $2,500 to partner with them in sponsoring the 13th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held on December 10, 2025 at 7 pm.

2024 Fund Recipients

The Onsite Foundation: $20,000 to help fund their Triumph Over Tragedy program for survivors of mass shootings and Life After Loss program which is a healing retreat for parents who have lost a child.

Newtown Action Alliance Foundation: $2,500 to partner with them in sponsoring the 12th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held on December 11, 2024 at 7 pm.

2023 Fund Recipients

Michigan State University: $5,000 for the Spartan Strong Fund to support those impacted by the campus shooting on February 13, 2023.

The Onsite Foundation: $15,000 to help fund their Triumph Over Tragedy program for survivors of mass shootings and Life After Loss program which is a healing retreat for parents who have lost a child.

Newtown Action Alliance Foundation: $2,500 to partner with them in sponsoring the 11th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 7 pm

 

2022 Fund Recipients

The Onsite Foundation: $20,000 to help fund their Triumph Over Tragedy program for survivors of mass shootings and Life After Loss program which is a healing retreat for parents who have lost a child.

Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country: $10,000 toward the Uvalde Strong Fund which supports victims, their families, and all the people of Uvalde, including nonprofit organizations working in Uvalde now and in the months and years to come. 

Survivors Empowered: $10,000 for Survivors Empowered, an organization founded by Sandy and Lonnie Phillips after the slaughter of their daughter, Jessica Redfield Ghawi and eleven others in the Aurora Colorado Theater Mass Shooting in 2012.  Survivors Empowered is a national organization created By Survivors, For Survivors, Empowering Survivors.

Newtown Action Alliance Foundation: $2,500 to partner with them in sponsoring the 10th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held on December 7, 2022 at 7 pm.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: $2,500 for the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, an organization dedicated to helping schools support their students through crisis and loss.

2021 Fund Recipients

The Onsite Foundation: $30,000 to help fund their Triumph Over Tragedy program for survivors of mass shootings and Life After Loss program which is a healing retreat for parents who have lost a child.

The Rebels Project: $2,500 for their programming which helps survivors of mass shootings and trauma as they navigate life after experiencing a mass tragedy.

Newtown Action Alliance Foundation: $2,500 to partner with them in sponsoring the 9th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 7 pm.

UNC Charlotte Foundation: $3,000 to fund the Ellis Reed Parlier Scholarship Fund; Reed was also killed in the April 30, 2019 shooting at UNC-Charlotte.

Conserving Carolina: $2,500 for the establishment of the Ecusta Trail, a mixed-use greenway for walking, hiking and biking - all things that Riley loved to do.

2020 Fund Recipients

Outward Bound: $5,000 for a scholarship as part of the Outward Bound for Grieving Teens program to be awarded in Riley’s name.

All Souls Counseling Center: $4,000 to provide traumatic grief counseling to those in need in Asheville, NC.

UNC Charlotte Foundation: $3,000 to fund the Ellis Reed Parlier Scholarship Fund; Reed was also killed in the April 30, 2019 at UNC-Charlotte.

Gun Violence Survivors Foundation: $3,000 toward the organization’s Emergency Fund for gun violence survivors.

2019 Fund Recipients