Two local nonprofits are teaming up with Mayor Leonardo Williams to help foster more youth opportunities in Durham.
On August 15, during a press conference at the Boys and Girls Club of Durham and Orange Counties, Williams announced the Bull City Future Fund, a privately-funded initiative that aims to provide overstressed youth programs with supportive resources.
“This fund is about creating a community and culture in which helping one another build a better, safer community for our future, which are our children, is a reality for all of us,” Williams said.
United Way of the Greater Triangle will lead the initiative with support from Triangle Community Foundation. Eric Guckian, United Way of the Greater Triangle President and CEO, kicked off remarks with an impassioned speech about the need for the fund.
“This is a big deal for our community here in Durham,” Guckian said. “This mayor is doing amazing work and shows amazing vision to know that this is all our youth need: to be safe, seen, and celebrated. We will not rest until every one of our kids has that. That is a God-given right.”
Jeff Howell, chief program officer for United Way, says the project has been in the works for months, but the idea stems from a decades-long relationship between Howell and Williams. The two taught at Southern High School in the early 2010s and have kept in touch, hoping to one day collaborate together outside of the classroom. Howell says United Way has the trust and community relationships with nonprofits to maximize the partnership, and working outside the bureaucracy of government will allow funding to reach nonprofits more quickly.
“When Leo and I were talking, it was a lot of, how can we leverage his current position as mayor and also his spotlight within the Democratic Party—he’s getting a lot of attention right now—with United Way to support nonprofits who are doing the on-the-ground work?” Howell tells the INDY.
United Way has stepped up to answer the call when communities are hit by unforeseen circumstances. In April 2019, following a gas explosion in downtown Durham that killed two people, United Way partnered with Triangle Community Foundation to create the Durham One Fund to raise money for residents and businesses that the blast impacted.
Months later in January 2020, the same United Way and TCF partnership provided more than $50,000 to McDougald Terrace residents who were evacuated due to high levels of carbon monoxide and mold. Guckian says the organization, through Howell’s leadership, better understood how to best serve the community’s needs through this experience.
“I was getting calls from various corporations saying, ‘Hey, we want to help. We’ll give you money for this or that,’” Guckian says. “And [Jeff] was like, ‘we need to go to McDougald Terrace and ask them what they need.’ That ethos seems simple, but it is not the way philanthropy works. It’s generally like I get a call or people in power get a call and then they react to it.”
Durham has no shortage of nonprofits, but often, the individual groups lack resources to scale their operation. Howell says they want to invest in programs with a proven track record instead of supporting folks who want to build something from scratch.
“Folks that have been doing this work for a while need resources to expand what works,” Howell says. “What we want to do is give enough money to where they can hire another staff person, increase hours that they’re operating services, or the number of people to show they can ramp up to go get other funding.”
Crime still plagues sectors of Durham, especially among young people. Calls for safe, accessible alternative outlets for Durham’s youth have echoed throughout the city. Williams is a vocal advocate for mentorship programs and recreational activities and he’s not alone. The city council is unified on ensuring Durham’s youth have their needs met.
“We need to make sure that young people never have a moment where they don’t have any options for things to do,” Council member Nate Baker told the INDY in December. “They need real, legitimate choices for fun and stimulating activities that are close to where they live all year long. We can make sure that’s a goal.”
Many Triangle youth programs were significantly downsized or eliminated during the pandemic. In response, United Way has contributed over $30 million to local nonprofits across Orange, Wake, Durham, and Johnston counties to support youth and families. The group aims to raise $1 million in its first round of funding for the mayor’s youth initiative.
“If you go downtown, there isn’t much for young people,” Howell says. “You can’t go to the mall anymore if you’re under 18 by yourself, or wander around downtown, you can’t go into an arcade. So how are we supporting both educational pieces, but also letting kids have a safe space?”
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