North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation
ActiveArts, Culture & Humanities
About North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation
To steward and share the people's art collection, widen access to the arts, and engage communities through exhibitions, education, and public programs.
Focus Areas
visual artsmuseum collectionsexhibitionsarts educationpublic programsconservationmuseum park and outdoor arts
Who They Fund
museum visitors/general publicNorth Carolina Museum of Art (cultural institution)regional arts community
Funding Style
collection acquisition supportcapital/project-specific funding
About North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation
The North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation’s recent grantmaking is dominated by artwork support for the North Carolina Museum of Art, with three reported grants to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for artwork designated for the museum. The largest of those was $3,148,291 in 2023, followed by $1,682,789 in 2025 and $972,298 in 2024. That pattern points to a funder centered on building and stewarding the museum’s collection rather than distributing many small awards across a broad field. The foundation’s stated purpose is to steward and share the people’s art collection, widen access to the arts, and engage communities through exhibitions, education, and public programs. Its focus areas include visual arts, museum collections, exhibitions, arts education, public programs, conservation, and museum park and outdoor arts. Active grant programs also show how it raises support for museum activity through event-linked fundraising, including raffle-based offerings tied to Art in Bloom and other exhibition programming. The North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation also accepts unsolicited proposals for temporary exhibitions from North Carolina artists or representatives and other art institutions, which adds a separate pathway for exhibition-related work alongside its collection support.
What North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation Funds
Collection support is central to the foundation’s giving. A 2025 grant of $1,682,789 went to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for artwork for the North Carolina Museum of Art, continuing a multi-year pattern of major collection-related awards. Exhibitions are another clear emphasis. The foundation runs the Exhibition Submissions program for temporary exhibitions, accepting unsolicited proposals from North Carolina artists or representatives and from other art institutions. It also uses event-linked fundraising to support museum programming. Art in Bloom Raffle offers a prize package tied to the Art in Bloom event, with proceeds benefiting Museum/Foundation programming. Support for exhibition-related programming appears in other fundraising activity as well, including the Dutch Art Travel Raffle, which is promoted through the NCMA Gift Guide.
How North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation Gives
The foundation’s reported grant size profile is high and concentrated: p25 is $1,327,544, median is $1,682,789, and p75 is $2,415,540. All reported recipient grants go to U.S.-based organizations, and every grant in the provided data lands in North Carolina. The recent record shows recurring support rather than one-off giving: the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025 for artwork designated for the North Carolina Museum of Art. The foundation is not a funder of individuals and is not listed as making program-related investments. It also operates raffle-based fundraising programs and accepts unsolicited exhibition proposals through a mail-in process for temporary exhibitions.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.7M
Total Assets
$89.7M
Total Revenue
$20.3M
Total Expenses
$16.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $1.3M and $2.4M, with a median of $1.7M.
25th Percentile
$1.3M
Median
$1.7M
75th Percentile
$2.4M
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in NC.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
VALERIE HILLINGS
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