With its rich historic heritage, vibrant cultural landscape, and varied educational opportunities for its citizens, North Carolina fosters a sense of pride among its citizens. That’s as true today as it was when Mary Duke Biddle established the Foundation that bears her name. For the past half-century, the Foundation has supported the work of countless numbers of individuals and organizations throughout Biddle’s home state, from small community groups that help dozens of people to nationally-respected institutions that serve thousands. In 2007, The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation awarded $582,050to 118 grantees.

To help preserve and promote North Carolina history, the Foundation made grants to the New Bern Historical Society Foundation and the Tryon Palace Council of Friends. These neighboring organizations build engaging links to the past that appeal to everyone from school children to Civil War buffs. At Tryon Palace, for example, a Foundation grant provided funding for a natural history exhibit commemorating the 300th anniversary of John Lawson’s landmark journal, A New Voyage to Carolina.We also supported two major exhibits presented by the North Carolina Museum of History Associates: "Mysteries of the Lost Colony" and "A New Look: England’s First View of America."

Grants to the Southern Documentary Fund will help finance the creation of two films that examine how particular racial and socioeconomic conditions can shape urban dynamics. "The Silver Rights Movement" explores racial economic inequality on a national level through the lens of Durham’s Black Wall Street and Hayti district. "Writing Our Way" shows recovering substance abusers using guided creative writing exercises to make sense of their past, and their hopes for the future. Backstage: Emerging artist Katja Hill heads to New York Fringe Festival for her first one-woman show. LISA GOTTWALS

Building bridges is an enduring theme among our recipients. To help disadvantaged children succeed in school and beyond, the Foundation helps fund the Communities in Schools of Durham Weekend Backpack Program. In partnership with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina— another grant recipient—the program gives 150 elementary-school children who receive free or reduced lunch a backpack full of nutritious and non-perishable food each weekend.

Another program with long-term potential is an innovative, school-based initiative designed to foster optimal learning and teaching environments. Based in Durham, Student U. brings motivated middle-school students together with high school and college students who are considering careers in teaching. The idea is to provide the younger scholars with mentors and role models who instill a love of learning, and to encourage a new generation of teachers to convey the excitement and rewards of intellectual inquiry.

Planting the seeds of growth is a goal that another of our grant recipients takes literally and figuratively. Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) teaches teenagers how to grow organic food, market their product at the Durham Farmers Market, and make healthy food choices. One of several programs sponsored by the Southeastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces project, DIG is an "urban farming leadership development program" that emphasizes sustainable living and growing practices, ecological balance, and the natural recycling of organic materials for plant health and nourishment. Teaching, learning: Student U. COURTESY OF STUDENT U.

In the arts, the Foundation once again had the difficult challenge of deciding which of many worthy applicants should receive funding. Among these were Voices Together, a music therapy program that includes a chorus for teens and adults with autism and developmental disabilities; the Opera Company of North Carolina, for its production of La Bohème; and the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, in support of its first biannual chamber music competition for young soloists.

The North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA), a perennial Foundation recipient, continued its ambitious programming, including a celebration to honor Susan McCullough for her many contributions as the school’s dean of dance from 1988 to 2007. "A Celebration of Dance," held in October, featured NCSA students and alumni performing a dazzling array of works, including McCullough’s own choreographed work, Concerto.Even though she has passed the baton to a new dean of dance, McCullough will continue to teach, providing further continuity between the NCSA’s past and future.