Durham’s Participatory Budgeting Winning Projects Announced

DURHAM, NC – Which Durham-connected nonprofits and community organizations will soon receive participatory budgeting grant funds for their COVID-19 response? The public voting results are now in and 22 organizations will soon be awarded up to $50,000 each to address the needs of residents most impacted during the pandemic.

As Durham continues to deal with the impacts of COVID-19, the second funding cycle of Participatory Budgeting Durham (PB Durham) adopted a new scope. PB Durham recommended the establishment of a grant program to offer financial assistance to Durham-connected nonprofits and community organizations to support their COVID-19 relief efforts. Durham City Council approved the new scope and $1 million was allocated for organizations directly serving communities most adversely impacted by the current pandemic as well as organizations addressing issues contributing to racial, economic, and social injustices in the Bull City. The selected non-profit and/or community organizations were eligible to receive up to $50,000 each in grant funding to help them provide their services or programming.

More than 60 Durham-connected nonprofits and community organizations submitted grant applications to Participatory Budgeting Durham to request funding. Those 60 applications were narrowed down to 31 grant proposals, and residents 13 years and older were invited to vote to select the winning organizations to implement their projects over the next two fiscal years. The nonprofits and community organizations with the most votes are now eligible to receive up to $50,000 each in grant funding through this program.

According to Interim Assistant Budget Director Andrew Holland, in addition to offering online voting, PB Durham staff were active in engaging residents at pop-up voting sites at Durham Station, Durham County Health Services Building, African-American barbershops, religious institutions, and more. “Even though many in-person events in our community were canceled or scaled-down due to the pandemic, we were still able to conduct direct outreach and engagement by meeting many of our residents where they were with the help of volunteers and the community engagement staff with the City’s Neighborhood Improvement Services Department,” said Holland. “Our goal was to ensure that our voters represented Durham’s diversity, so we were pleased that 54% indicated they were people of color. It was important to us to make sure we addressed any systemic barriers related to public engagement, so we intentionally reached out to underrepresented communities to encourage them to give their input into this local government decision-making process.”

After a month-long voting process, Durham residents selected the following 22 non-profits and community organizations:

Children, Youth, and Family Wellness

Community Building and Economic Opportunities

 Health and Human Services

In the coming months, Participatory Budgeting Durham staff and the City Attorney’s Office will work with the winning nonprofits to develop grant agreements. PB Durham staff hopes to implement at least 50% of the winning grant proposals within the first fiscal year of the two-year funding agreement.

For more information, visit the PB Durham website, send an email to PB Durham staff, or call (984) 227-9095. Residents are also encouraged to follow PB Durham on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About the Budget and Management Services Department

The City of Durham Budget and Management Services Department is responsible for the development and oversight of the City’s annual budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The department is also responsible for performance management, continuous improvement, and strategic planning. A division of the department, the Office of Performance and Innovation, serves as internal consultants, helping City departments accomplish Durham’s “One Vision and Five Goals” through advancing the City’s Strategic Plan; providing the framework for data-driven decisions; fostering a culture of innovation; and facilitating process improvements.