Philanthropist and industrialist James B. Duke created The Duke Endowment 100 years ago to help people and strengthen communities in North Carolina and South Carolina. Mr. Duke outlined this vision in his Indenture of Trust, a legal document that guides the Endowment’s grantmaking today in four priority areas: child and family well-being, health care, higher education and rural United Methodist Churches in North Carolina.
Much has been learned through the last century in fulfilling Mr. Duke’s belief that all children deserve to grow up safe from maltreatment and supported by nurturing families and caring adults. Now in its centennial year, the Endowment’s grantmaking has extended beyond supporting direct client services to include the funding of statewide intermediary organizations. Similar to how a conductor connects musicians performing the same song, intermediary organizations unite partner agencies around a shared community need, providing infrastructure, resources and support that equips them to do the work at hand.
For the past few decades, the Endowment has invested in the Children’s Advocacy Centers of NC (CACNC) and Children’s Trust of South Carolina. Both provide a framework to support agencies directly serving children and families. And while neither CACNC nor Children’s Trust provide direct client services, both provide crucial support and resources to the professionals that do.
Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina
During 2023, North Carolina’s 55 local children’s advocacy centers served more than 12,000 new victims of child abuse and neglect, trafficking or exposure to drugs and violence. Over the years with the Endowment’s support, CACNC has enhanced the work of local CACs by providing advocacy for sustainment and protection of services, legal guidance, technical assistance and training. As the state chapter organization, we believe that our work strengthens local investigations, evaluations, treatments and prosecution all for the ultimate goal of the betterment of children and families lives.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility to look after and protect our children,” said Executive Director Deana Joy, stressing that CACNC’s role is to sustain and strengthen these centers, where trained interviewers, advocates, therapists and medical providers share healing and hope for survivors and their families. “The message to children and families is you’ve been heard, you’ve been seen, and you’ve been believed,” she continued.
Children’s Trust of South Carolina
Like CACNC, Children’s Trust of South Carolina does not directly provide services to families but offers an array of child welfare and family strengthening programs. These are delivered by local partners throughout the Palmetto State, including pediatricians, educators, schools, faith-based organizations and childcare providers. Support from the Endowment allows Children’s Trust to fund the delivery of evidence-based programs such as Strengthening Families and the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P).
The results of these programs speak for themselves. For example, Strengthening Families Program participants in North Carolina and South Carolina have consistently shown statistically significant improvements in 14 outcomes, including family cohesion and communication, positive parenting and parenting skills, and fewer depressive symptoms and improved social skills among children. Research conducted by Triple P, meanwhile, found that making Triple P available to all parents in a county led to fewer hospitalizations from child abuse injuries; a reduction of out-of-home placements; and slower growth of confirmed child abuse cases.
“It’s always been my idea that we shouldn’t just have a one-size-fits-all but should have an array of services so you can meet families where they are, not where we think they should be,” remarked Children’s Trust of South Carolina Executive Director, Sue Williams. “I want people to know that while being a parent can feel lonely at times, you are not alone.”
The Endowment, in partnership with the S.C. Department of Social Services, supports Children’s Trust’s work in sites across South Carolina, where local partners are vital to the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s prevention, early intervention and recovery services. Supporting these partners in practical ways enables Children’s Trust to both address the root causes of, and to significantly reduce, child abuse and neglect.
We celebrate the inspiring accomplishments and collaboration of our grantees. Join us as we honor our century of service to others and renew our commitment to the Carolinas. Together, we can ensure that the generational change set in motion by James B. Duke 100 years ago continues for the next century and beyond.
