Mary Duke Biddle was intentionally broad in her directions to future trustees on how and where to distribute grants.Over our history, we have given to a range of causes, including but not limited to arts and culture, education, and health and human services.She had the foresight to suggest that the trustees from “time to time” reconsider the best ways to accomplish her goals, recognizing the need to look forward and adapt to changing issues. Her vision for current and purposeful giving drives the work of the foundation’s trustees and staff.
Over the past few years, the board and staff have scrutinized both internal operations and grantmaking practices to ensure that the foundation retain its strong philanthropic practices going forward. In fall 2017, the foundation refined the focus of its non-Duke University grantmaking to have greater impact. Grants will continue to support Biddle’s long-standing interests in arts organizations, artists, and K-12 education. Changes include the definition of specific goals and criteria within the arts and education programs and the decision to make grants only in the Triangle region of North Carolina.These decisions were made after careful consideration of how the foundation’s limited financial and staff resources could be best deployed. While the majority of funding has long gone to Triangle-area nonprofits, the foundation had supported programs in other regions of North Carolina and in New York City. An exception to this Triangle focus is the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, in recognition of the family’s and foundation’s long relationship with the school. More detail about grant interests, guidelines, and eligibility can be found here [hyperlink].
The Board of Trustees firmly believes that the foundation is well poised for the future, moving forward the mission developed by Mrs. Biddle, Dr. and Mrs. Semans, trustees, and staff, and carried out by those within the organizations we have been privileged to serve.
photo by John Rogers, courtesy of Duke Performances
| BUMP: The Triangle, Durham, NC
Support for Bull City Youth Orchestra, a symphony orchestra for middle and high school students, in partnership with NCCU’s Department of Music |
$10,000 |
| Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham, NC
Support for Full Frame 2019 Summer School of Doc and 2019 Youth Screening. This grant reflects the long history shared by Full Frame and the Biddle Foundation. |
$10,000 |
| Musical Empowerment, Carrboro, NC
Support to expand its music education program, in which college students are teachers and mentors to K-12 students, through a collaborative partnership with North Carolina Central University and BUMP: The Triangle |
$75,000 |
| North Carolina Arts in Action, Durham, NC
Support to bring in a master trainer for our teaching artists to enhance the quality of our programming across Chatham, Orange, Durham and Wake Counties |
$10,000 |
| The Scrap Exchange, Durham, NC
Support for the Arts and ESL Project, which will train and support ESL teachers and subsequently students who are English Language Learners in the Durham Public Schools |
$10,000 |
| TheGifted Arts, Garner, NC
Support for the GiftedSummer 2019, a multi-week arts summer camp in Garner |
$10,000 |
| Arts Access, Raleigh, NC
Durham Arts Inclusion Project is a professional development effort that will provide inclusion training and support to arts education providers |
$10,000 |
| The Center for Documentary Studies/Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham, NC
For the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival’s 2018-19 Teach the Teachers and 2018 Youth Screening programs This grant is made through an estate gift to MDBF from the Jenny Lillian Semans Koortbojian Trust. Jenny was a granddaughter of Mary Duke Biddle. |
$10,000 |
| The Center for Documentary Studies/Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham, NC
Pilot and establish a new School of Doc afterschool program. This grant will be paid over three years and was made by invitation. |
$75,000 |
| Community Health Coalition, Durham, NC
Koalition Kids for Health "My View of A Healthy World" Photovoice Project uses digital photography to improve students' literacy levels and critical thinking through the examination of health issues in their communities |
$10,000 |
| Kidznotes, Durham, NC
The Vivaldi Symphonic Orchestra, Kidznote's middle school orchestral curriculum, engages 5th through 8th graders in 21st century skills in the arts |
$10,000 |
| Music is Life, Raleigh, NC
Music is Life offers a music enrichment pop-up program, carefully aligned and structured with NCDPI Music Standards that encourages music literacy programming incorporated with STEM |
$5,000 |
| Puppet Show, Chapel Hill, NC
Puppet Show promotes and preserves puppetry arts through a series of community outreach programs fostering social emotional learning in young children |
$5,000 |
| United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, Raleigh, NC
The Council will expand its in-service arts integration professional development program to 32 middle school teachers in two eastern Wake County schools to promote arts education standards and integrate them across the curriculum |
$10,000 |
| Voices Together, Durham, NC
Voices Together Little Voices Program uses music-based therapy as an innovative and early intervention program for pre-school students with developmental differences, and offers techniques for their parents to use at home |
$5,000 |
| Durham Nativity School, Durham, NC
Support for the Exploratory Learning Program, which will implement digital literacy education across all subjects in order to increase students’ reading and math scores |
$10,000 |
| Student U, Durham, NC
Support for the “Voices of Student U,” a project-based education program in which students develop communication and technology skills, learn to work collaboratively, and write stories that represent themselves, their families, and their communities |
$10,000 |
| Village of Wisdom, Durham, NC
Support for “Bringing Black Genius to School,” which will create a replicable school model for improving teachers’ capacity to support the socio-emotional health and academic achievement of Black youth, in partnership with Central Park School for Children |
$10,000 |
| WAKE UP and Read, Cary, NC
Support for “Playing with Reading,” which infuses evidence-based literacy strategies into summer recreational camps that serve Wake County elementary school children and provides books and activities to promote grade-level reading and stem summer learning loss |
$10,000 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Morrisville, NC
The STEMentor Initiative "SMART Saturday Academy" provides engaging, structured STEM classes, camps, and activities throughout the year to school-aged children in Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties |
$10,000 |
| The Center for Inquiry Based Learning, Durham, NC
Engaging Elementary Classrooms with Hands-on STEM: All kindergarten and 5th grade teachers in Durham Public Schools will receive professional development in STEM subjects and kits containing materials for nine weeks of integrated STEM instruction This grant is made through an estate gift to MDBF from the Jenny Lillian Semans Koortbojian Trust. Jenny was a granddaughter of Mary Duke Biddle. |
$10,000 |
| Communities in Schools of Durham, Durham, NC
Sustainable Living & Me integrates science, history, math, and English in an agricultural and biology-focused summer enrichment program that includes a teaching garden |
$10,000 |
| Communities in Schools of Wake County, Raleigh, NC
Project CHAMPS is a pilot CIS Wake program that will provide specialized, experiential learning, preparing K-8 students for postsecondary opportunities and the 21st century workforce |
$10,000 |
| Durham’s Partnership for Children, Durham, NC
To support Durham’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading |
$5,000 |
| East Durham Children’s Initiative, Durham, NC
Support to expand the STEAM Summer Camp and prevent summer learning loss. This grant will be paid over three years and was made by invitation. |
$75,000 |
| Hispanic Liaison of Chatham County, Siler City, NC
Orgullo Latinx Pride Youth Group is a year-round program designed to improve academic success for Latinx high school students in Chatham County |
$10,000 |
| Teachers2Teachers – International, Chapel Hill, NC
Dancing Numbers! Bringing STEM Lessons Alive Through Global Math Stories is a professional development program for teachers from three Chatham County schools to help them teach culturally relevant, globally connected STEM lessons |
$10,000 |
| The Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center, Durham, NC
The Institute for Civic Engagement gives students the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge for effective civic participation and to research and create a capstone project addressing a community issue. |
$10,000 |
| Wake Education Partnership, Raleigh, NC
SummerSTEM is a professional development experience for WCPSS educators, giving teachers project-based learning tools and STEM immersion experiences that bring real-world lessons to their classrooms. |
$10,000 |
| Artspace, Raleigh NC
Increasing Artspace’s impact through an organizational assessment that will allow us to meet our community’s needs more meaningfully with mission-aligned programs and measurable results |
$10,000 |
| The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Chapel Hill, NC
Building organizational capacity to support artistic expansion and underpin strong existing programs. This grant will be paid over three years and was made by invitation. |
$75,000 |
| The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Chapel Hill NC
Support for the 2018-19 concert season. The Biddle Foundation does not typically make grants for season support. This grant reflects the long history shared by The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and the Biddle Foundation. |
$10,000 |
| Chatham County Arts Council, Pittsboro, NC
The Sustainable Small Staff model will support growing impact by hiring focused staff experts, creating scalable positions, and respecting human resources |
$10,000 |
| Choral Society of Durham, Durham, NC
Choral Society of Durham and Raleigh Boychoir will collaborate to present John Rutter's "Mass of the Children" |
$10,000 |
| Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC
The Marketing and Catalyzing Project for the Guild's Art@Work Program elevates awareness and utilization of program services and benefits by local artists and local businesses This grant is made through an estate gift to MDBF from the Jenny Lillian Semans Koortbojian Trust. Jenny was a granddaughter of Mary Duke Biddle. |
$10,000 |
| Pleiades Arts, Durham, NC
Organizational Strengthening and Strategic Focus Development |
$5,100 |
| The Justice Theater Project, Raleigh, NC
Renewing the Vision: Building Capacity to Sustain The Justice Theater Project's Social Justice Mission This grant is made through an estate gift to MDBF from the Jenny Lillian Semans Koortbojian Trust. Jenny was a granddaughter of Mary Duke Biddle. |
$10,000 |
| Triangle ArtWorks, Raleigh, NC
ArtSwell - A cooperative regional professional development program for Triangle artists and arts organizations |
$10,000 |
| VAE, Raleigh, NC
QUEER HOME(land): a community-built project to highlight the creative contributions and diversity of the queer community while exploring domesticity from the queer perspective |
$10,000 |
| American Dance Festival, Durham NC
To commission and premiere a new, all-women trio by the acclaimed Pilobolus during the 2018 season |
$10,000 |
| American Dance Festival, Durham, NC
To commission and premiere work from a North Carolina artist during the 2019 season |
$10,000 |
| Black On Black Project, Raleigh, NC
The Jo Ann Williams Artist Fellowship offers studio space and resources to artists of color in North Carolina |
$5,000 |
| Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC
Support for the Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists awards, professional development project grants to individual artists residing in Durham, Orange, Chatham, Person and Granville Counties through a competitive application process |
$10,000 |
| North Carolina Theatre, Raleigh, NC
Support for “Peace of Clay,” a new play co-written by Triangle-area playwrights Mike Wiley and Howard L. Craft. This work is part of the Reflections: Sharing our Stories collaboration between NC Theatre and Theatre Raleigh. |
$10,000 |
| ShaLeigh Dance Works, Durham, NC
Bamboo Wind will commission 20 artists in the fields of music, film, poetry, photography, sculpture, theatre, costume design, and dance for a multi-media performance installation |
$10,000 |
| Southern Documentary Fund, Durham, NC
Support for the final year of a five-year grant to fund documentaries made about North Carolina or by North Carolinians |
$20,000 |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC
Support for the UNCSA Dean’s Discretionary Fund and Creative Excellence Fund. This grant reflects the long history shared by UNCSA and the Biddle Foundation. |
$60,000 |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC
Support for the UNCSA Artpreneur of the Year award, Creative Projects. This grant will be paid over three years and was made by invitation.
|
$75,000 |
photo courtesy of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and Todd Tinkham Photography
The Biddle Foundation supports long-standing interests in arts organizations, artists, and K-12 education. We have separate and distinct funding cycles for the Arts Program and the K-12 Education Program.
Arts education programs fall within the K-12 Education Program's guidelines and deadlines.
More detail about grant interests, guidelines, and eligibility can be found here.