[Durham INC] Durham’s Participatory Budgeting Winning Projects Announced

[PublicAffairs]

[Title: City of Durham Office of Public Affairs logo]
News Media Contact
Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager
919.475.7735 (mobile)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

News Release
For Immediate Release: June 30, 2021

Durham’s Participatory Budgeting Winning Projects Announced
22 Durham-Connected Nonprofits and Organizations Selected by Voters

DURHAM, N.C. – 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 PB 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
Organization
Amount Requested
Number of Votes
Families Moving Forward
$50,000
1,508
Book Harvest
$40,184
1,298
Helping Each Adolescent Reach Their Spark (H.E.A.R.T.S)
$50,000
1,268
Diaper Bank of North Carolina
$50,000
1,259
World Relief Durham
$50,000
1,246
The Association for the Preservation of the Eno Valley
$47,944
1,041
Immersion for Spanish Acquisition
$30,000
966
Purpose Learning Lab
$15,000
942
Bull City Little League
$50,000
824
Total
$383,128
10,352

Community Building and Economic Opportunities
Organization
Amount Requested
Number of Votes
Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA)
$40,000
1,234
Durham Literacy Center
$50,000
1,186
StepUp Durham
$50,000
1,175
SEEDS
$50,000
1,171
Equity Before Birth
$25,000
1,121
Durham Children's Initiative
$28,000
1,110
Durham County Teen Court and Restitution
$50,000
1,047
Southern Vision Alliance
$50,000
991
Be Connected Durham
$28,000
858
Total
$371,000
9,893

Health and Human Services
Organization
Amount Requested
Number of Votes
El Futuro
$47,116
1,242
LIFE Skills Foundation
$50,000
1,112
Center for Child & Family Health
$49,415
1,092
Community Action Advocacy Restoration and Empowerment (CAARE)
$50,000
1,006
Total
$196,531
4,452

In the coming months, PB 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<https://www.pbdurham.org/>, send an email<mailto:PBDurham at DurhamNC.gov> to PB Durham staff, or call (984) 227-9095. Residents are also encouraged to follow PB Durham on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/pbdurhamnc/>, Twitter<https://twitter.com/PBDurham_NC>, and Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/pbdurham_nc/>.

About the Budget and Management Services Department
The City of Durham Budget and Management Services Department<https://durhamnc.gov/199/Budget-Management-Services> 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<https://durhamnc.gov/232/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<https://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>; providing framework for data-driven decisions; fostering a culture of innovation; and facilitating process improvements.

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[Title: City of Durham Office of Public Affairs Contact Info]

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