The Doing Good employee giving campaign, administered by Duke’s Office of Durham and Community Affairs, awards grants to local non-profits, community-organizations, schools, and neighborhoods. In 2020-21, Duke employees contributed $526,407 to Doing Good to support purposeful partnerships and projects in Durham and the region.
For the 2021-22 Doing Good grant cycle, Duke Arts is partnering with the Office of Durham and Community Affairs to support community-led art projects that have a positive impact on Duke’s fourteen partner neighborhoods. Duke Arts will match up to $20,000 of this year’s Doing Good: Housing & Neighborhoods Fund, specifically for grant applications that incorporate the arts into neighborhood projects. Proposed Doing Good neighborhood projects should address needs in the following categories: Equity and Justice, Health and Safety, Education, Neighborhood Communication Tools, People First Development, Respect and Preserve History.
“We know that the arts bring people together, create awareness around issues facing communities, and provide joy,” says Vice Provost for the Arts John Brown. “We also know this is a challenging time for our local artists and arts ecosystem. Through matching Doing Good funding, I hope we can inspire and support new kinds of collaborations between neighbors and artists.”
Housing affordability and infrastructure is one of five priority areas of Duke’s Strategic Community Impact Plan, and the arts fall within this particular priority, as part of collective efforts to contribute to social infrastructures. Assistant Vice President for Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and Community Development Mayme Webb-Bledsoe commented, “Our partner neighborhoods have a history of activating artists and leveraging creative energies to build community more substantively. We are excited to support neighborhood engagement and take advantage of this opportunity to get creative and work with artists and arts organizations.”
Eligible neighborhood associations are invited to submit an application by January 30, 2022.