Participating in the arts confers numerous benefits, from providing captivation and pleasure, to providing a vehicle for self-expression, to promoting cognitive growth and the capacity for empathy. Arts education can also provide the means for sharing ideas and images, cultural and political knowledge, and insights about humanity across generations. By nurturing creative thinking, collaboration, and other competencies, arts education can play a vital role in preparing students for fulfilling and successful lives and careers.

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation supports organizations whose primary purpose is to provide high-quality, participatory arts education experiences for PreK-12 students. These organizations work with students who lack access to such programming because of economic conditions, race or ethnic background, geography, or different abilities.

We do not accept applications from organizations whose primary arts education programming focuses on adults.

What We Fund

As detailed in Our Grantmaking Approach, MDBF's goal for its grantmaking is to support nonprofits to strengthen their effectiveness as organizations in ways that lead to long-term sustainability. We strongly encourage you to read Our Approach for essential information regarding how we making funding decisions and to prepare you for information we ask for in the application.

MDBF supports organizations that offer high-quality arts instructions to PreK-12 students who lack access to such programming because of economic conditions, race or ethnic background, geography, or different abilities.

All arts disciplines - music, dance, theater, visual, and digital/photography/filmmaking - are eligible. Programming may take place within a school setting or outside of school.

Grant Opportunities

• Multiyear grants: Organizations that focus on PreK-12 arts education AND have received funding from MDBF in the previous 5 years are eligible to apply for a 3-year grant.
• One-year grants: Organizations that focus on PreK-12 arts education AND have not received funding from MDBF in the previous 5 years or have never received a grant from us are eligible to apply for a 1-year grant.

Please see Our Approach for more information regarding multiyear and one-year grants.

General Eligibility Requirements

• Organization is located in and the majority of programming takes place in Chatham, Durham, Orange, and/or Wake counties.
• The majority of students engaged or served by the organization are those who lack access to programs because of economic conditions, race or ethnic background, geography, or different abilities.
• Students actively participate in making art.
• 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or sponsored by a qualified fiscal agent.
• A current or expected expenses budget under $2,000,000 (fiscal sponsors are exempt from this stipulation).
• A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its governance, staffing, and participants.
• Capacity to achieve its goals: staff and experience (including volunteers), board governance, and financial resources.

Grant Restrictions

• Public schools and charter schools are not eligible.
• Organizations that have an interim or new executive director (hired within the past 6 months) are not eligible.
• Arts education programs that are primarily passive, in which students do not actively participate in making art, are not eligible.
• Arts instruction focused on adults is 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 organizations are not eligible.