PreK-12 Education Grant

Overview

_NOTE: February is the deadline for multiyear grants. September is the deadline for one-year grants._

About Us

For nearly 70 years, we have remained committed to a tradition of carrying out Mary Duke Biddle’s goal of sharing resources in a way that improves people’s lives and responds to evolving community needs.

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation supports arts nonprofits and PreK-12 education organizations in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Additionally, we support Duke University and other institutions of great importance to Mary Duke Biddle's family.

PreK-12 Education

We provide resources that empower nonprofit organizations to build momentum, stay curious and creative, and shape Triangle communities into being the best places to live, work, learn, and play.

Through our PreK-12 grantmaking, we seek to address and challenge inequities that limit student success, learning, and access to arts experiences. In particular, we are focused on supporting organizations that:

* Work to close the academic opportunity gap, prepare students for careers and college, and/or foster social and emotional learning for students’ growth and success.
* Provide opportunities for students to engage directly in high-quality arts instruction, particularly in which students actively participate in making art.

We only make grants to organizations located in and serving students in Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties in North Carolina.

Our Grantmaking Goals

* Support PreK-12 organizations that work to close the academic opportunity gap, prepare students for careers and college, and/or foster social and emotional learning for students’ growth and success.
* Support arts education organizations that provide opportunities for under-resourced students to engage directly in high-quality arts instruction, particularly in which students actively participate in making art.

Across both PreK-12 education interest areas, MDBF seeks to address and challenge inequities that limit student success, learning, and arts experiences.

Multi-year Grants

Each year, we will award 5-7 general operating support grants to nonprofit organizations that further our grantmaking goals. Grant amounts range from $15,000-$50,000 a year for each organization. MDBF has a finite budget and may not be able to fund the full amount requested. If your application moves forward, MDBF staff will work with your organization to determine the actual requested amount. Please know that there is no penalty for requesting the maximum amount at the LOI stage.

Multi-year grants are only available to organizations that MDBF has funded in the previous five years (2019-2023). All organizations must have a primary focus on the arts or PreK-12 education and main programming must take place in Chatham, Durham, Orange, and/or Wake Counties, NC.

We focus our multi-year grants on two types of organizations:

Developing organizations

These organizations have identified a clear need or opportunity, have strategic goals, and have already begun offering programming. Our goal in supporting developing organizations is to help them solidify their programs and operations as they build a strong and sustainable foundation for long-term success.

Organizations at this stage may have limited or no board of directors with staff who are primarily volunteers. Or, their boards may have expanded beyond “friends and family” to focus more on governance and less on day-to-day operations, with staffing in place beyond an Executive Director and volunteers.

Funding sources are likely not diversified at this stage of development, but the organization may be starting to formalize financial management, volunteer management, program evaluation, fundraising, board development, marketing, and strategic planning as they grow.

Established organizations experiencing pivotal moments

These organizations have more maturity and stability; programs/services are solid and well-recognized with strong and effective leadership. Paid program and administrative staff are in place and the board’s focus is primarily policy and oversight. These organizations may have a well-demonstrated model and data that shows outcomes or is currently executing a plan for evaluation, continuous learning, and improvement.

Through the years, MDBF’s experience has illuminated the importance of strategic alignment. We have learned that certain types of organizations tend to thrive more within our grant support framework. The reality of our resource constraints necessitates a thoughtful and selective approach. Thus, we concentrate our efforts on established organizations that are experiencing inflection points in their lifecycle, when leaders face big decisions about how to ensure progress towards the organization’s vision.

These organizations are in moments of transition, challenge, and opportunity and are seeking additional help, resources, and expertise to ensure they’re positioned for success and heading in the right direction to achieve their goals and mission. This could include organizations that have an opportunity to expand programming, capacity, and/or locations.

One-Year Grants

One-year grants are available to organizations that have not received an MDBF grant in the past five years (2019-2023) or have never received a grant from us. Both emerging nonprofits and more established organizations are eligible for these grants.

By providing operating support grants, we show our commitment to providing resources that empower nonprofit organizations to proactively build momentum, stay curious and creative, and shape Triangle communities into being the best places to live, work, learn, and play.

Each year, we will typically award 5 general operating support grants to nonprofit organizations that further our grantmaking goals. Grant amounts range from $5,000-$10,000 a year for each organization. MDBF has a finite budget and may not be able to fund the full amount requested. If your application moves forward, MDBF staff will work with your organization to determine the actual requested amount. Please know that there is no penalty for requesting the maximum amount at the LOI stage.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Multi-year Grants Additional Eligibility Requirements:
* Developing organizations must have:
* 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or be sponsored by a qualified fiscal agent. If this organization or initiative has a fiscal sponsorship, it must have an advisory board working with the founder.
* A mission, goals, and programming directly related to at least one of MDBF’s grantmaking goals (see above) and programming must be currently offered. The organization must have at least 2-3 strategic goals that are demonstrably feasible and realistic.
* A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its governance, staffing, and participants (students or artists).
* A current or expected budget between $20,000 and $300,000 (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).
* Public school foundations are eligible to apply.
* Established organizations must have:
* 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or be sponsored by a qualified fiscal agent.
* A mission, goals, and programming directly related to at least one of MDBF’s grantmaking goals (see above). Programming is currently being offered, has demonstrated efficacy, and is in demand by community members.
* A current or expected budget under $3,000,000 (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).
* Clearly defined strategies and is at a pivotal moment (see above) that proves to be an important opportunity for increased investment to prepare for the organization’s future.
* A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its governance, staffing, and participants (students or artists).
* The ability and capacity to implement changes, with notable staff and board buy-in and participation.
* Public school foundations are eligible to apply.
* One-year Grants Additional Eligibility Requirements:
* 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or be sponsored by a qualified fiscal agent.
* Organization's primary mission and programming focus on PreK-12 education or the arts.
* Organization is located in and the majority of programming takes place in Chatham, Durham, Orange, or Wake counties.
* A current or expected expenses budget under $3,000,000 (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).
* A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its governance, staffing, and participants (students or artists).
* Capacity to achieve its goals: staffing and experience (including volunteers), board governance, and financial resources.
* Public school foundations are eligible to apply.

Ineligibility

* Public schools and charter schools are not eligible to apply.
* Individual artist projects are not eligible, nor are fiscal sponsorships of individual artist projects.
* Organizations whose primary mission and focus is on the humanities or history are not eligible to apply.
* Organizations that have an interim or new executive director (hired within the past 6 months) are not eligible to apply.