Nonprofit Capacity

A large crowd of Duke students at the Durham Food bank posing with produce

Durham and Community Affairs is committed to supporting nonprofits and community-based organizations through capacity-building activities such as grant writing and board development, resources such as grants, research and volunteerism, and programmatic support.

For Community Partners

ConnectCommunity Platform

Create a profile for your organization and share opportunities to connect with Duke students, staff and faculty.

Submit Opportunities

Resources for Connecting with Duke

Do you need more volunteers? Do you have an upcoming project for which you might like to collaborate with Duke faculty and students? Do you know what resources are available at Duke for funding, space use, training or consultations?

The resources listed here are intended to assist in your navigation of Duke, but this is not an exhaustive list. If you have questions about the resources available, or if you have changes or additions to the list, please contact communityaffairs@duke.edu.


Community-Based Work Study

Duke provides a wide variety of community-based work-study opportunities for students interested in working with nonprofit organizations in Durham. These positions provide students with meaningful skill development and sustained employment and organizations with skilled labor at a minimal cost. Organizations hosting a community-based federal work-study position are reimbursed for 90% of the cost of a work-study student.

Submission and Hiring Process for Work Study

  1. Agencies should submit a request for approval to use work study by completing an online submission form. The JobX Tutorial must be reviewed & online form completed prior to requesting access.
  2. If the request is approved, the agency will receive a “Work-Study Agreement” form which they will need to complete, sign and return to the University.
  3. Once the agreement is processed, the agency will request access to the JobX platform. Once access is granted, the agency will post their position within JobX. The agency will be able to select students to interview & complete a hire form all within the platform.
  4. Interested students can apply for positions directly within JobX. Students must be eligible for federal or Duke work study*
  5. Agency identifies a student to hire and submits the “hire” through JobX (agency emails studentemployment@duke.edu to advise that a “hire” has been initiated). The hire within JobX must be completed and on file prior to hiring a work-study student and, in order for the agency to receive the reimbursement form.
  6. Agency hires the student through the organization’s established pay routine and the student is paid by the organization for hours worked. After payment to student, the agency will submit the reimbursement form with required documentation attached to studentemployment@duke.edu

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Agencies may consider Duke work study even if the selected student does not qualify for federal work study. Please be aware that the university funds Duke work study and the reimbursement rate is 50% of student earnings. Federal work study is funded by the federal government and has a reimbursement rate of 90% of student earnings.

2022/23 Rates for Hourly Student Employees

The 2022/23 rates for hourly student employees are as follows (effective July 1, 2022). These allocations reflect total wage earnings. ***Please note that enrolled students may work a maximum of 19.9 hours per week during academic periods and up to 39.9 hours during periods of non-enrollment. Students enrolled in one or more classes during the summer may only work up to 19.9 hours.***

Position TypeMinimumMaximum
Student Assistant – General$15.00/hr$19.50/hr
Student Assistant – Specialized$16.00/hr$22.50/hr

For detailed information about hiring and paying work-study students, log into JobX or contact studentemployment@duke.edu.