Durham Seeks Neighborhoods for New Matching Grant Health Program

DURHAM, N.C. – Durham neighborhood groups seeking to make their neighborhoods healthier places to live may now receive funds for projects through a new City of Durham grant program.

The City’s Neighborhood Improvement Services Department is launching Neighborhood Matching Grants for Health, which provides grants up to $1,500 to neighborhood associations, homeowner associations, community watch groups, and resident groups for projects that benefit residents’ health.

Neighborhood Project Applications Due March 26

The department, which is partnering with Duke University Health System and Healthy Durham 20/20, recognizes neighborhoods are important factors in the health of individuals and communities. Thus, these health grants will fund projects that increase neighborhood involvement and address Durham County’s health priorities as identified in the most recent Community Health Assessment. These priorities are obesity and chronic illness, access to medical and dental care, mental health and substance abuse, and HIV and sexually-transmitted infections.

Examples of projects eligible for funding include urban gardening, healthy cooking classes, health literacy education, training for neighborhood health advocates, suicide prevention activities, World AIDS Day activities, and campaigns for HIV awareness.

Selected projects must provide a minimum dollar-for-dollar match for City funds awarded. The types of contributions eligible for meeting the match requirements are volunteer labor, donated professional services, donated materials, and cash donations.

Neighborhood groups can visit the department’s Web page to review the complete application guidelines. Applications are due Sunday, March 26, 2017. For additional information contact the department’s Community Engagement team at (919) 560-1647 or by email.

About the City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services Department

The Neighborhood Improvement Services Department works to preserve and improve quality of life conditions for Durham residents, and to encourage active participation in neighborhood redevelopment and public policy and decision-making dialogue. The department is responsible for enforcement of quality of life ordinances and state statutes including the City’s Fair Housing Ordinance; Minimum Housing Code; Nonresidential Code; Weedy Lot, Abandoned & Junk Vehicle ordinances; and the State of North Carolina’s Unsafe Building Statute. The department’s rapid responders, known as the Impact Team, remediate non-compliant housing properties; abate public nuisances, such as graffiti, illegal dumping, and abandoned shopping carts; and conduct neighborhood service projects. The department’s Community Engagement staff provides outreach and education to Durham residents and community organizations. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, the department helps ensure that Durham has thriving, livable neighborhoods by providing the highest quality of services to engage and educate the community, eradicating blight, ensuring safer neighborhoods, and enhancing neighborhood revitalization.