Duke Endowment Grant Will Help University Support Durham Neighborhood Initiatives

DURHAM, N.C. -- A $500,000 grant from The Duke Endowment will help Duke University support ongoing affordable housing initiatives, youth programming and nonprofits in the West End and Walltown neighborhoods.

The Endowment's grant brings to more than $3 million the amount that the Charlotte-based foundation has donated over the past six years to the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. The Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, launched in 1996, works with residents to improve the quality of life in 12 neighborhoods closest to campus and to boost student achievement in the seven public schools that serve those neighborhoods.

"The progress of the Duke-Durham effort is remarkable," said Elizabeth H. Locke, president of The Duke Endowment. "But now is not the time to decrease dollars. Building trust is a long, slow process, but it has begun to take root. We want to see those roots grow stronger."

Among the programs that will receive money is a Southwest Central Durham organization that has been working to identify community needs and establish future priorities. A core group of 30 representatives of the Southwest Central area's six neighborhoods, nonprofits and for-profit companies, have met during the past year with the goals of increasing affordable housing options, celebrating the history of the various neighborhoods, strengthening nonprofits and encouraging cooperation among businesses.

John Heffernan, a co-facilitator of the steering committee of volunteers involved in the grassroots Southwest Central Durham Quality of Life plan, said the grant renewal would help further the progress made this past year.

"It means continued support for making a tradition of the community celebration we held this year at the Shoppes at Lakewood," Heffernan said. "We'll be able to continue the creation of a strategic plan to improve the homeowner and rental housing, and coordinate the services offered by the nonprofits, to make the organizations more viable.

"I have to give an immense amount of credit to the group for continuing to meet," said Heffernan, who is also a teacher at Forest View Elementary, one of the schools in the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. "Duke has been very helpful in facilitating the process."

A new component of The Duke Endowment grant includes $50,000 for the Duke Law School's Community Economic Development Clinic to provide legal services to nonprofits in Southwest Central Durham, such as the West End Community Center and Calvary Ministries of the West End. Duke law students provide assistance to organizations with small staffs that don't often have the time or experience needed to comply with the multitude of legal and financial requirements.

"One thing that Duke is bringing to the table is help from sources such as the Duke Law Clinic," said Mayme Webb, a neighborhood coordinator in the Office of Community Affairs at Duke. "These are amazing students from the law clinic who come in and do assessments to be sure that federal 990 tax reports and bylaws are consistent with their missions. This kind of assistance is essential for their survival. "

The Self-Help Community Development Corporation, which promotes affordable housing opportunities, will also receive continued funding of $200,000. In 2003, Self-Help, a nonprofit, completed the renovation of its 50th house in the Walltown neighborhood, with support from a $2 million affordable housing loan from Duke. The houses are sold to low-income homeowners, with the help of low-interest financing from the government. About one-third of the first-time homebuyers have been Duke employees.

The grant also includes $40,000 for youth programming in Partners for Youth, an award-winning intensive mentoring and job-training program for young people ages 14-18 in the West End, and Partners for Success, which trains Duke students to be more effective tutors. More than 300 Duke students volunteer each week in the Durham Public Schools with which Duke partners.

The grant also will benefit the Walltown Children's Theatre and Rites of Passage, a program for at-risk youngsters in Walltown, sponsored by Northside Baptist Church.

John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations at Duke University, expressed appreciation for The Duke Endowment's continuing support for the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Initiative.

"Each project was identified by community leaders as an important priority, and each one addresses unmet needs of families and children in local schools and neighborhoods," Burness said. "We are deeply grateful for this support from The Duke Endowment, which once again demonstrates its commitment to help communities in the Carolinas address compelling social issues."

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The Duke Endowment, started in 1924 by industrialist, philanthropist and Duke University founder James B. Duke, is one of the nation's largest foundations. The Duke Endowment supports health care and child welfare organizations in North and South Carolina, rural United Methodist churches and retired ministers in North Carolina, and four educational institutions: Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith and Duke universities in North Carolina and Furman University in South Carolina.

In 2003, the Endowment awarded grants of more than $108 million to support agencies and organizations in the Carolinas. Grants since 1924 total more than $1.9 billion.