The Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation based in Charlotte, North Carolina that funds work across the Carolinas in child & family well-being, health care, higher education, and rural churches. The site presents organizational information, trustees and staff, financials, news, and grantmaking priorities.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
A nonprofit or higher-education institution based in North Carolina or South Carolina working in child & family well-being, health care, higher education, or rural church/community initiatives with evidence-informed programming and capacity for evaluation.
Good Fit
- • Primary operations or clear program focus in North Carolina or South Carolina
- • Work aligned with child & family well-being, health care, higher education, or rural church initiatives
- • Evidence-based or evaluable interventions and clear outcomes
- • Willingness to start with a letter of inquiry and engage with a program officer
- • Capacity to manage multi-year or larger institutional grants if applicable
Geography
Observed giving is heavily concentrated in North Carolina (about 77% of dollars) with most remaining funding in South Carolina; occasional out-of-state grants appear but the footprint is effectively Carolinas-focused.
Recipient Variety
The latest year shows a large and diverse portfolio—480 grants to 179 distinct recipients including universities, health systems, community intermediaries and many smaller local projects—so the recipient set is broad for the funder's size.
New Applicants
Direct access cues (public application forms, acceptance of letters of inquiry, named program officers) combined with 86 new recipients in the latest year and four years of observable history indicate that unfamiliar applicants can plausibly enter the portfolio.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
