The guiding star of the North Carolina Arts Foundation is the aspirational vision of “arts for all people.” To achieve this goal, we support arts programs that inspire our citizens and contribute to the well-being of their communities and of our state. We believe that arts philanthropy is key to launching and growing arts initiatives of public value and we bring the private and public sectors into partnerships that allow impactful arts programs to flourish. The programs we support are regional and statewide in scope and include participants in rural, urban, and metropolitan counties across North Carolina.

Originally created as a support group for the N.C. Arts Council, the North Carolina Arts Foundation transitioned into a fully independent public charity in 2022. While the Arts Council remains an important partner, our administrative costs are not funded with state or federal grants, and we collaborate with many organizations and individuals that help us achieve our mission.

Arts education, a key to helping young people achieve success in school and in life, is our priority as North Carolina emerges from the pandemic. We have recently negotiated a groundbreaking partnership between private donors and the state on behalf of A+ Schools of North Carolina, a school choice program that has received national attention for its success in using the arts to teach the state’s educational curriculum. This public-private collaboration greatly increases funding for the program and will allow it to grow its present network of 67 schools.

Musician Ben Folds approached the Arts Foundation in 2022 and together we created Keys for Kids, which provides music lessons and keyboards to low-wealth students who might not otherwise have access to these resources. Keys for Kids is now starting its second year with sites in seven counties across the state. 

Our foundation also supports a rising generation of traditional musicians, dancers and crafts artists in western North Carolina by assisting In These Mountains, which supports apprenticeships and afterschool programs.