The Duke Endowment celebrates 100 years, pledges to give $5 billion in grants

The Duke Endowment, one of the nation’s largest foundations, announced on its 100th anniversary Wednesday that it intends to give away $5 billion in grants across the Carolinas over the next 15 years.

The Charlotte-based foundation – founded by tobacco and energy industrialist James Buchanan Duke in 1924 – has provided billions of dollars to programs that fall under its four main pillars: child and family well-being, health care, higher education and rural churches.

Based on its current assets of $4.9 billion, the endowment had expected to make $4 billion in grants over the next 15 years. But to commemorate the milestone, the organization decided to put forth an additional $1 billion.

Board Chair Charles C. Lucas told The Charlotte Observer the endowment considered different ways to celebrate its centennial, such as looking into other focus areas. But its leaders ultimately decided that their main pillars were still relevant.

“We believe that we’re very good grant makers in our areas of expertise, and to be able to leverage our expertise and experience and devote more resources into those areas – that will actually be a stronger and better result for the people of the Carolinas,” he said.

Lucas said the endowment has evolved to support a changing North Carolina. In its early days, for example, the foundation expanded access to health care through building hospitals. Now the endowment has turned its attention to building programs to help improve the overall health of North Carolinians — such as school-based health and mental health programs.

The endowment has given $5 billion total in its 100 years of existence, not adjusted for inflation. In the past 15 years, it’s given $2.3 billion – about half of what it plans to give in the same time frame going forward.

To accomplish the goal of giving $5 billion over the next 15 years, the endowment will have to accelerate its grant making process, Lucas said.

It’s a daunting challenge, he said, but one the endowment is up for.

“One of the lessons we’ve learned in our first 100 years is that success does not occur simply by giving money away; it means nurturing the kind of long-term systemic change that produces generational impact,” Lucas said in a press release. “Today, we’re accelerating those efforts in pursuit of that ambitious goal.”

Legacy of strengthening education

Among the organization’s many achievements, Lucas said he’s proud of the impact it has had on higher education in the Carolinas.

In the early 1900s, Trinity College – now, Duke University – was a small regional college. Now, with the endowment’s support, Duke is considered one of the best universities in the nation. The endowment also supports Davidson College, Furman University and Johnson C. Smith University.

“The fact that (Duke) has been able to grow to such a prominent role in 100 years is almost unheard of in higher education. It’s amazing,” Lucas said. “We continue to be the largest donor at each of our four schools, and we’ve helped transform those schools into bigger, better, stronger institutions today.”

Last year, as part of its year-long centennial celebration, the endowment granted Duke University the largest grant in the school’s history – $100 million.

A large part of that grant will be used to support Duke’s newest initiative to provide free tuition to students whose families make less than $150,000 a year.

Endowment’s local support

The endowment has also made a tangible impact by supporting local nonprofits dedicated to child well-being.

The Relatives — a non-profit that supports Charlotte’s vulnerable youth — received $400,000 from the Duke Endowment over eight years to support an inaugural housing program for young adults who’ve aged out of the foster care system. The money covered rent and helped bolster the program’s case management.

The funding supported more than 75 young adults, the organization’s executive director, Trish Hobson, said. The partnership with the endowment helped the organization secure a $1 million contract with Mecklenburg County in 2023, she said.

“A lot of funders ask you to give them the goals for the funding and what outcomes (you’re) expecting. And then if you don’t meet those outcomes, they might not fund you again,” Hobson said. “The Duke Endowment is completely the opposite. They understand that there’s going to be challenges, and they just want to learn along the way.”

Hobson said that many young adults who’ve aged out of foster care are also parents. The program has impacted not only individuals, but families.

“These young people are not struggling, and the babies aren’t struggling. You know, they have a safe place to live,” she said.

While the endowment is known for its work in helping expand access to health care in North Carolina, it has made a switch to focus on individuals’ health. One example is through its school-based oral health initiative.

Grants have helped people like Dr. Amanda Stroud and her organization, App Health Care, provide dental services to school children. The organization has relationships with 18 K-12 schools across three counties in Western North Carolina. The program has served 2,000 students since 2019.

Stroud said the endowment’s support has gone beyond funding. It’s given her a support network to make her vision of providing accessible dental care to students a reality. The endowment has paired her with people who’ve done similar programs in the past to help guide her through the process.

“It’s almost like the Duke Endowment is the family that you’re going to turn to for Thanksgiving dinner, and they’ve got the big, giant table that they’ve invited everybody to come to.”

Impact on maternal health

The Duke Endowment’s support has transformed pre-natal care and maternal health in North Carolina, said Sarah McGee, the Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer for the National Service Office for Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First.

Before the partnership between Nurse Family Partnership and The Duke Endowment in 2005, the organization had only two small offices within the state. Now, 20 years later, it has expanded statewide and supports about 2,200 families across 28 counties, she said. To date, they’ve supported more than 11,000 families.

The relationship has gone beyond the $4 million grant to help the organization form strong relationships with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and state legislators.

“You couldn’t ask for a better not only funder, but thought partner and innovative thinker for the state of North Carolina,” McGee said.