The Arts: One-Year Grant

The Arts Grant Program, funded by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, aims to support arts nonprofits and educational organizations in North Carolina's Triangle region. This program offers one-year grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to eligible organizations that have not received funding in the past five years. The initiative emphasizes the importance of arts in community building, cultural preservation, and personal enrichment, fostering a vibrant and inclusive cultural landscape.

The arts are essential to strong, vibrant communities. A dynamic cultural sector is a catalyst for growth, attracting and retaining businesses and visitors. They strengthen neighborhoods and communities by preserving the culture and memories of specific places and have a positive impact on health and well-being. The arts provide spaces to allow people from different backgrounds to engage with one another and opportunities to build community. Perhaps most importantly, they offer personal enjoyment to individuals, groups, and families, and give voice to the human condition.
We provide grants to:
Support and strengthen cultural organizations that demonstrate artistic excellence and elevate the profile of the Triangle’s art scenes, both locally and nationally.Support new, emerging, or grassroots cultural organizations.Support arts-focused organizations that work directly with artists to deepen and expand talent, develop professional and business skills, and/or create new works.
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

501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or be sponsored by a qualified fiscal agent.Organization's primary mission and programming focus on the Arts, Arts Education, or Student Academic Success.Organization has not received a MDBF grant within the past five years or is new to the foundation.Organization is located in and the majority of programming takes place in Chatham, Durham, Orange, or Wake counties.A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its governance, staffing, and participants (students or artists).A current or expected expenses budget under $2,000,000 (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).

Ineligibility

Organizations that have an interim or new executive director (hired within the past 6 months) are not eligible.Public schools and charter schools are not eligible.We do not make project-based grants.Organizations whose primary mission and focus is on the humanities or history are not eligible.University affiliated-organization are not eligible to apply.