2023 MDBF Annual Report

THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE FOUNDATION 2023 Annual Report

Message from Russell Bryan, Interim Chair

2024

marks a turning point for The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation as we transition fully to new grantmaking procedures that we have been developing for several years. The changes follow an in-depth process of reflecting on our mission and listening to our nonprofit partners about the challenges they face in advancing vitality, creativity, and resilience in Triangle communities.

At this moment of growth and change, I have the privilege to serve as Interim Chair. I’m completing the Chair term of Ben Jones who is on sabbatical, returning in fall 2024. As the foundation’s longestserving trustee currently on the board (since 2004), I am deeply honored to have this opportunity.

As Ben has said, the foundation’s “why,” “where,” and “what” did not change after our self-examination. What’s different is the “how.” By putting less emphasis on funding short-term projects and more on supporting operations, we aim to strengthen our partner nonprofits. By increasing the length and size of our multiyear grants, we seek to enable nonprofits to plan further out, retain and in some cases add mission-critical staff, and reach their goals more effectively. They want to move the needle and ensure their organizations’ stability. We want to help them succeed.

Applying the principles of trust-based philanthropy, MDBF streamlined the application and reporting processes to reduce the burden of fundraising for partner nonprofits. We’d like to be “the wind in their sails,” not extra weight to carry. Going forward, we plan to deepen our relationships with nonprofit leaders and be a resource for them. This means we’re having more frequent informal conversations.

Our trustees, already an active group, are even more hands-on than before.

During our review process, trustees and staff examined all aspects of our work.

We reaffirmed our commitment to focusing on the fast-growing Triangle region and to supporting innovation. Our core grantmaking areas, established by Mrs. Biddle’s daughter Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, also remain the same: the arts, pre-K–12 education, and Mrs. Semans’ beloved Duke University. We’re maintaining a few long-term relationships with organizations important to Mrs. Semans while deepening connections and creating new partnerships with some of the many excellent nonprofits in the region.

I love supporting what I call the “front doors” of Duke—activities that carry university resources beyond the campus walls and invite diverse audiences on campus. One example is the ongoing pre-K–12 tutoring initiative led by Duke’s Office of Durham and Community Affairs. Another was the three-year American Ballet Theater residency, which included a free performance for 700 Durham Public School students, DPS teacher training opportunities, and much more.

All of us are grateful to Allison Haltom and Lois Deloatch. They completed their terms in 2023 but are continuing in advisory roles for another year, serving on the allocations committee. I am pleased to welcome new trustees E’Vonne Coleman and Jacqueline Looney. As the former COO of Discover Durham and a longtime volunteer with local cultural organizations, E’Vonne knows Durham both broadly and deeply.

Jacqueline recently retired from a 30-year career at Duke University, most recently as associate vice provost and senior associate dean for graduate programs in the Graduate School. Among other accomplishments, she pioneered the successful Sloan Scholars program to recruit and mentor minority PhD students in the sciences. I look forward to working with both Jacqueline and E’Vonne, who bring new insights to the board.

We’re also delighted to add a new staff member, Program Associate Kathleen Collier.

Previously she was Arts in Education Director at the North Carolina Arts Council.

Change can sometimes cause uncertainty or have unforeseen effects.

I encourage all our community partners who have questions or concerns to reach out to our excellent staff—Executive Director Mimi O’Brien, Kathleen Collier, or Executive Assistant Kathy Harrision. Your work enhances the quality of life in our communities, today and in the future. We’re here to help!

Trustees of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Russell Bryan, Interim Chair Joe Lucas, Vice Chair Yomi Adigun, Treasurer Jacqueline Looney, Secretary George Biddle, Trustee E’Vonne Coleman, Trustee Ben Jones, Trustee

Kathleen Collier became the Program Associate at The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation in August 2023.

Formerly she served as the Arts in Education Director at the North Carolina Arts Council where she managed the agency’s statewide arts in education and arts accessibility grant programs and initiatives. She has a M.A. from the University of Glasgow (UK) and a B.A. from Furman University (SC).

Staff

Mimi O’Brien, Executive Director Kathleen Collier, Program Associate Kathy L. Harrison, Executive Assistant Contributors

Colleen Carrigan, Designer Karen Kemp, Writer

2023 Grantmaking Overview | $1,591,000 Total

MDBF

awards most of our grants through three programs: Duke University, the Arts, and PreK-12 Education. In 2023, we also supported organizations addressing food insecurity and that connect with our history and broader nonprofit sector interests.

We recognized retiring trustees and staff with grants to organizations important to them. And, as we have for the past several years, we honored the memory of long-time trustee James D. Semans.

Mrs. Biddle directed that at least half of grant funds be given to Duke University, which we do through an annual proposal process. For decades, most of the Duke awards have gone to the Arts: the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke Arts Presents, Arts & Health at Duke Hospital, the Duke Gardens, and the five Arts units with Trinity College: Art, Art History, and Visual Studies, the Cinematic Arts, Dance, Music, and Theater Studies. In addition, we have long made an annual grant for scholarships in the School of Medicine. In 2023, we also made a grant to Duke Libraries

for the Duke Family Papers Archiving project, a collaborative effort with The Duke Endowment, the Josiah Charles Trent Endowment, and the Mary D.B.T. Semans Foundation. We also supported a podcast, Unhealed: A Story of Memory, Racism, and a Teaching Hospital, administered by the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine.

In 2023, we paused our regular open-submission grant programs in the Arts and PreK-12 Education as we prepared to transition to the new grant framework mentioned in the Chair’s Message. However, we didn’t stop making grants in these areas. We paid previous multiyear pledges in both the Arts and PreK-12 Education programs and we made a number of one-year grants to support our grantmaking goals—you will see these listed in the following pages. We also made grants to four arts organizations with which we have long-standing relationships and to support Big Night In for the Arts which benefits arts councils in Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties.

Duke University Grants | $850,000 PAID

Arts & Health at Duke, Durham Duke Arts Presents, Durham Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham Nasher Museum of Art, Durham School of Medicine–Medical School Scholarships, Durham Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Durham

$50,000 $70,000 $25,000 $115,000 $30,000

SUBTOTAL

$565,000

NEW PROJECTS

$275,000

PAID

Duke University Libraries, Durham Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and the History of Medicine, Durham

$250,000 $35,000

SUBTOTAL

$285,000

JARED LAZARUS

ONGOING SUPPORT

Clockwise from left: Arts & Health at Duke; American Dance Festival at Nasher Museum; Duke Arts Presents at Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

Arts Grants | $275,000 PAYMENTS ON PRIOR PLEDGED FUNDS

PAID

Chatham County Arts Council, Pittsboro Culture Mill, Saxapahaw Diamante Cultural Center, Raleigh Hillsborough Arts Council, Hillsborough Northstar Church of the Arts, Durham Raleigh Camerata, Apex Raleigh Little Theatre, Raleigh ShaLeigh Dance Works, Durham Southern Documentary Fund, Durham Triangle ArtWorks, Raleigh

$10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000

SUBTOTAL

$100,000

ARTS LEGACY GRANTS

PAID

American Dance Festival, Durham The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Durham Durham Arts Council, Durham UNC School of the Arts Foundation, Winston Salem

$15,000 $15,000

SUBTOTAL

$125,000

$25,000 $70,000

Pre-K–12 Education Grants | $296,000 PAYMENTS ON PRIOR PLEDGED FUNDS Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Carolina, Inc, Sanford Chatham Education Foundation, Pittsboro Children’s Literacy Project, Durham Communities in Schools of Wake County, Raleigh Empower Dance Foundation, Durham Gigi’s Playhouse-Raleigh, LLC, Cary Refugee Community Partnership, Carrboro The Center for Inquiry Based Learning, Durham TheGifted Arts Inc, Raleigh Walltown Children’s Theatre, Durham SUBTOTAL

ONE-TIME ARTS GRANTS

PAID

Big Night In for the Arts: $10,000 Chatham County Arts Council, Pittsboro Durham County Arts Council, Durham $10,000 Orange County Arts Commission, $10,000 Hillsborough United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake $5,000 County, Raleigh Chatham County Arts Council, Pittsboro Durham Art Guild, Durham Moonchild, a documentary film (fiscal sponsor Southern Documentary Fund), Durham Sloane: A Jazz Singer, a documentary film (fiscal sponsor Clayton Cultural Arts Foundation), Clayton

$2,500 $5,000 $5,000

SUBTOTAL

$50,000

$2,500

PAID $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $100,000

ONE-TIME PRE-K–12 EDUCATION GRANTS

PAID

A+ Schools of North Carolina, (fiscal sponsor $25,000 North Carolina Community Foundation), Raleigh Durham Children’s Initiative, Durham $25,000 Durham Public Schools Foundation, Durham $16,000 Hispanic Liaison of Chatham County, $5,000 Siler City $100,000 Kidznotes, Durham North Carolina Arts in Action Inc., Durham $25,000 SUBTOTAL

$196,000

Additional Grants | $170,000 FOOD INSECURITY GRANTS

PAID

Chatham Outreach Alliance, Pittsboro Durham Technical Community College, The Campus Harvest Food Pantry, Durham Emanuel Food Pantry, Durham Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, Carrboro Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Raleigh NCCU Foundation, Food Pantry, Durham Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church, Durham Wake Tech Foundation, The Nest Food Pantry, Raleigh

$10,000 $12,500

SUBTOTAL

$90,000

$10,000 $10,000 $12,500 $12,500 $10,000 $12,500

Clockwise from left: Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs; Moonchild documentary film; Chatham County Arts Council; UNC School of the Arts; The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle.

Emanuel Food Pantry.

OTHER GRANTS

PAID

$5,000 Christ Church United Methodist, New York Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, $5,000 Durham Irvington Presbyterian Church, Irvington $5,000 North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, Raleigh $5,000 Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham, $5,000 Durham Triangle Capacity Building Network, Durham $25,000 SUBTOTAL GRANTS TO HONOR STAFF & TRUSTEES

From left: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Carolina; A+ Schools of North Carolina; Walltown Children’s Theatre.

$50,000 PAID

Emanuel Food Pantry (Allison Haltom), Durham $5,000 Gregory B. Davis Foundation (Lois Deloatch), $2,500 Garysburg Moving Forward Carolina Foundation $2,500 (Lois Deloatch), Greensboro New Hope United Methodist Church $5,000 (Kathy Harrison), Roanoke Rapids Senior PharmAssist (James D.B.T. Semans), $15,000 Durham SUBTOTAL

$30,000

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Our History

M

ary Lillian Duke Biddle (1887-1960) was born in Durham, NC, the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Duke. She graduated from Trinity College, later named Duke University in honor of her grandfather, Washington Duke. Mrs. Biddle developed an appreciation for the importance of philanthropy from her father, who was the guiding hand behind many of the Duke family’s charitable activities. Duke University, in particular, flourished in its early days thanks to the financial backing of her grandfather, father, and Uncle James B. Duke, who were successful entrepreneurs as well as philanthropists.

In September 1956, she established The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. Mrs. Biddle directed that at least one-half of the foundation’s grants be made to Duke University and identified three churches as institutions important to her. Otherwise, she was intentionally broad in her directions to future trustees on how and where to distribute grants.

Mrs. Biddle valued the input and wisdom of her friends and trusted advisors, and, from the beginning, the foundation’s Board of Trustees has included family and non-family members.

The foundation continues her practice of actively engaging members of the community to serve as trustees. Currently, the board is comprised of three family and four non-family members.

Mrs. Biddle’s vision for current and purposeful giving drives the work of the foundation’s trustees and staff.

Portrait of Mary Lillian Duke Biddle from the Duke Archives.

All photos provided courtesy of their respective organizations.