Duke raises funds with the help of employees, corporate partners and the institution in order to provide grants and sponsorships to community organizations, to further the well-being of all residents.
Applying for community grants
Find more information on available grants and upcoming opportunities via the grant portal on The Partnership Platform (login required).
Types of grants
duke Doing good Grants
Doing Good is Duke's annual employee giving campaign, which encourages Duke University and Duke Health System employees to support communities through monetary and time donations to schools, nonprofits, and/or to the United Way of the Greater Triangle. Doing Good grants are aligned with the five community-informed focus areas in the Strategic Community Impact Plan: Community and Nonprofit Capacity, Economic Mobility, Education, Health, or Housing and Neighborhoods.
Initially created as the Community Care Fund in 2009, more than 100 local nonprofits have been awarded grants for projects meeting significant community needs. The themes addressed by this fund are:
- Affordable Housing
- Young Adult Empowerment & Education
- Child Development & Education
- Food Access & Education
- Healthy Communities
- Environment & Sustainability
The Duke University Doing Good employee giving campaign invites applications from nonprofit organizations impacting a person or family’s ability to improve their economic status over time.
Proposed interventions and initiatives must focus on increasing economic mobility, meaning a
person or family’s ability to improve their economic status over time. Interventions and initiatives must also embrace an equity approach and align with at least one of the following focus areas:
• College and career readiness programming for high school students
• Career pathways and advanced employment
• Skills based and apprenticeship opportunities
• Entrepreneur and small businesses support, particularly from under-represented communities
This grant is open to publicly funded academic institutions and nonprofit organizations offering college, career, and entrepreneurial readiness services in Durham County.
The Duke University Doing Good – Health Fund invites applications from Triangle non-profit organizations facilitating projects that help address food security and nutrition, as well as the environment and sustainability, and support healthy communities. Proposed interventions and initiatives must embrace an equity approach to community engagement, and align with at least one of the following funding themes:
- Environment & Sustainability – Organizing programs that strengthen community awareness, advocacy, or stewardship for environmental issues and sustainable “green” behaviors.
- Food Access & Education — Helping Triangle residents access affordable and nutritious food and creating a culture of healthy eating.
- Healthy Communities — Supporting health and wellness initiatives that positively promote the physical and mental well-being of individuals and their communities. Projects must address one of the following issues: chronic illnesses, mental health, obesity, sexual & reproductive health (maternal health, sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancy), substance abuse.
Project scope, key partners, and benefits must be located in Durham, Orange, or Wake counties. Full details on applicant eligibility criteria and the application must be completed in the grant application system).
The Duke University Doing Good employee giving campaign invites applications from public schools and non-profit organizations offering educational services to young people in Durham County.
- Effective early childhood learning interventions
- Learning interventions that promote community and family engagement
- School-based outdoor learning and dining accommodations
- Social-emotional supports for students and their wellbeing
- Skills-based summer programming for high school students
- Development initiatives for teachers
The Doing Good – Housing and Neighborhoods category supports the community projects of 14 neighborhoods connected via the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership (DDNP). Through a facilitated consensus process, DDNP neighborhood stakeholders first identify their key needs and priorities, highlighting potential opportunities to work cooperatively and partner across neighborhoods. Through a consensus process that occurs every 2-3 years, stakeholders within these neighborhoods identify key needs and priorities that guide our work together.
Those key needs and priorities are currently as follows:
- Cultural Heritage & Preservation
- Environmental Justice
- Housing Justice
- Intra-Community Development
- Neighborhood Networking
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors
- Political Activism
- Supportive & Safe Communities
- Traffic & Pedestrian Safety
Funds from the Doing Good – Housing and Neighborhoods category are used by neighborhood association leaders and other community members to coordinate projects that address the aforementioned key needs and priorities.