DGHI Surpasses Halfway Mark in Fundraising toward Matching Grant

Charlie and Students

Students from Duke and Madagascar enter a home to conduct a household survey in the village of Mandena, Madagascar, as faculty advisor Charlie Nunn, global health and evolutionary anthropology professor, looks on. Part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant supports fieldwork projects such as this one.

Published October 25, 2016

In July 2015, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) a $20 million grant—$10 million in endowment support to sustain the institute’s growth and $10 million to support a challenge that matches donations dollar-for-dollar, making the total impact of the grant $30 million. 

The Foundation allotted seven years to reach this goal, but in just over a year, we’ve raised $6,600,000 in qualifying gifts and pledges toward the $10 million grant and we expect to raise the rest by the end of June 2017. 

The top fundraising priorities in the current fiscal year are education programs, financial support for graduate students, international partnerships and unrestricted support.

“We attribute much of the early success in fundraising to the generous terms of the match and to the unique opportunity to partner with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the work of the Institute,” said Joshua Bond, DGHI’s development director. 

Matching Grant Contributions by Category

This chart details matching grant contributions to date.

 

The matching fund donors include several DGHI leaders and faculty members: DGHI director Michael Merson and his wife, Kathleen Sikkema, professor of psychology and neuroscience and global health, and Dennis Clements, medicine and global health professor.

My wife, Martha Ann Keels, and I were drawn to invest in the Institute’s educational programs because we believe teaching can have such a broad impact on the world. Our faculty have the potential to affect so many people in what they do with their lives. - Dennis Clements, medicine and global health professor

And knowing that the cost of tuition is often a barrier to attending Duke graduate school, Merson was inspired to support students from low and middle income countries in obtaining a Master of Science in Global Health degree.

Several DGHI board of advisors members, including chair Jack Leslie and his wife, have also contributed to the matching fund challenge. 

“We’re deeply grateful for this generous grant,” said Bond. “In addition to the substantial financial support it has brought to DGHI, the visibility of the Institute within Duke and among external audiences has greatly increased since the announcement of this gift. And we’re truly excited about the incredible opportunities this grant makes possible.”

Learn more about the grant and our donors.

The matching fund donors include several DGHI leaders and faculty members.