The Arts

Preserve and Enrich the Triangle’s Cultural Life and Landscape

The Biddle Foundation remains committed to a strong and thriving cultural sector in Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties in North Carolina. The arts contribute significant value to communities, fueling creativity, beautifying city and town spaces, and providing joy. Long-standing arts organizations in the Triangle have created a strong infrastructure through consistent excellent programming, while newer organizations are expanding opportunities and venues that appeal to new and diverse audiences.

MDBF supports cultural organizations that demonstrate artistic excellence and elevate the profile of the Triangle’s arts scenes, both locally and nationally. MDBF also supports new, emerging, or grassroots cultural organizations and initiatives that document, preserve, or present the values, spirit, and diversity of the Triangle’s cultural community. Grants are made to develop and sustain strong Triangle-area organizations.The maximum grant is $10,000.

This program focuses on adult artists. Please see the K-12 Education grant program for guidelines for projects that engage school-aged participants.

Single-year grants in the following areas:

• Capacity-building efforts designed to create or advance operational, programmatic, financial, and/or organizational stability, leading to increased sustainability and effectiveness, for projects including:
  • Audience development, such as sustained efforts to attract new and non-typical audiences or to expand the number of attendees
  • Leadership development, such as board and staff development and leadership succession planning
  • Marketing and communications, such as projects that are part of a comprehensive or strategic plan
  • Resource development, such as fundraising, earned income, or volunteer recruitment/retention
  • Specific efforts to enhance the organization’s mission or program delivery
  • Technology improvements, such as hardware, software, consulting, and other resources necessary to advance the organization’s mission that have been identified through a strategic or comprehensive plan
• Innovative partnerships and collaborations by two or more arts organizations that promote the arts, address a community challenge, or address a need of or opportunity for both organizations for projects including:
  • Evaluation and assessment of programs
  • Future project planning
  • Joint performances, presentations, or visual arts programming
  • Joint training or learning opportunities
  • Resource development
• Operating support grants to arts organizations committed to excellence, innovation, and sustainability. These grants are by invitation only, typically focusing on organizations with which the foundation has an established relationship.

Criteria

Characteristics of competitive applications include:

• Projects have clearly identified goals, action plans, and evaluation measures.
• The role of the organization’s board in the project, if applicable, is clearly defined.
• Collaborative efforts identify why a collaborative approach is beneficial and have the full participation of all organizations. While one organization serves as the applicant, all organizations are actively involved in the project’s development and implementation.
• Projects include racially, culturally, and economically diverse participants as appropriate to the program.

Institutional and project eligibility

• Applicant must have a current 501c3 status; fiscal sponsorships are allowable.
• The applying organization must be located in and project must take place in Chatham, Durham, Orange, or Wake Counties, North Carolina.
• Organizations must have annual operating expenses under $5 million (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).
• Project budgets should not exceed $100,000.
• Projects should be new or have been operating for fewer than 5 years.
• Organizations may have only active grant at a time. A final narrative and financial report on the organization’s previous grant must be received by the foundation before a new LOI is submitted. If you have questions about your organization’s eligibility, please call the foundation before submitting an LOI.
• Exhibition support is limited to distinctive projects that involve audiences not typically engaged in the art form, such as making arts accessible to those with limited vision or hearing, or whose subject matter addresses a compelling topic or issue.
• Day-to-day technology needs (e.g., computers, printers, sound systems) are not eligible.
• Requests for recurring festivals and season support are not eligible.