Foundation Purpose

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne seeks to contribute to the development of a vital culture of excellence in classical music and to help attract new audiences to the field. To achieve these objectives, the Foundation sponsors international academies and master classes conducted by established instructors.

In addition, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne supports outstanding event series or festivals with visionary programming and innovative modes of outreach and communication to foster the public’s engagement with classical music. In general, the Foundation focuses on the promotion of new and contemporary music, although projects on music from other eras are by no means excluded.

Focus Areas

Visual Arts

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne’s concept of «Visual Art» encompasses not only the classical genres of art such as painting, sculpture, graphic art, drawing and photography, but also new forms of expression and media such as performance, experimental film and video. The Foundation provides funds for regular and special exhibitions as well as their accompanying catalogues at publicly accessible, well established museums and art collections provided that the exhibitions funded are international in their orientation, relevant from an art historical perspective, and carefully curated. Furthermore, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne supports innovative und interactive projects that explore new approaches to fostering art education so as to attract new audiences. In principle, the Foundation also provides funds for the involvement of modern media in the expansion or presentation of significant pieces of art in the context of major museum projects.c

Music

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne predominantly supports contemporary classical music projects. However, projects on music from other eras are not excluded as a rule. In its effort to contribute to the development of professional music culture, the Foundation supports international academies and master classes conducted by established instructors. Furthermore, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne supports various series of music events or festivals that explore new ways of fostering the public’s engagement with classical music in an attempt to attract new audiences. In principle, professional orchestras and ensembles or music centers may also submit a project request for the equipment of rehearsal rooms, the acquisition of instruments or other infra-structural needs.

Cultural Education

In the area of Cultural Education, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne supports projects that bear a significant relation to Visual Art or Music. The target group includes children and teenagers, particularly from underprivileged backgrounds, who are introduced to art and music in the context of curricular or extracurricular activities. In this way, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne offers support to teenagers in their personal development and, at the same time, trains the next generation of artists as well as a future audience. A project request can only be submitted provided that the programs are developed, conducted, and realized by a professional artist or a recognized public institution. Furthermore, the projects should have a long-term horizon and be accessible to as wide a group of participants as possible. Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne funds both expansion and continuation of ongoing projects as well as the launch of exemplary pilot projects.

NOTE: Please keep in mind if you are applying for support for the first time, you must submit a letter of inquiry first before being invited to submit a formal grant proposal. Letter of inquiries are accepted on a rolling basis. 

D’Addario Foundation

We are dedicated to thoroughly assessing our non-profit partner programs so that those who are passionate about supporting music education don’t have to.

Through a disciplined bi-annual application process, the D’Addario Foundation awards grants to upwards of 200 non-profit music education organizations each year.

At the D’Addario Foundation, we are not the champions. Our job is to find the champions. We support focused teams deeply trusted by the communities they serve executing immersive and enduring music education and youth development programs. We provide services, resources (instruments and accessories), and development opportunities constantly.

D'Addario Foundation Grants

Music education builds self-confidence, creativity, discipline and the ability to reconcile conflicting ideas. If your program is aligned with these beliefs and goals, we want to help. 

The average dollar amount generally granted is approximately $2,500.

History

Classics for Kids Foundation (CFKF) was formed in 1998 in response to the decline of music performance education programs for young people. Our mission is to support young people and the programs that serve them by offering matching grants for fine stringed instruments. Our focus is on at-risk and rural youth, with the premise that learning a complex musical instrument brings with it a host of lifelong benefits including better self-discipline and academic performance, the confidence that comes from doing something well, better coordination, positive peer groups, and immersion in the beauty of music.

CFKF has a grant-making presence in all 50 states of America; at this writing, we’ve supported well over 300 string programs with over $2 million in beautiful new stringed instruments that inspire young people to participate and remain in their programs.

Funding

If your school or non-profit organization believes in the role of fine instruments in your program, and can show evidence of need and commitment to raising matching funds, you are a strong candidate for the Classics for Kids matching grant program.

Instruments needed can be: 

• Violins
• Violas
• Cellos
• Double Basses
• Ukuleles
• Guitars

NOTE: CFKF grants never exceed 50% of total instrument cost; please contact CFKF to determine total instrument cost through CFKF’s authorized instrument provider.

ROSS MERRILL AWARD

The Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections honors institutions in North America that have shown an exemplary and sustained commitment to conservation and collections care through interpretation, research, scholarship, education, and/or public outreach.

Criteria

• Nominee should be a North American not-for-profit organization of any size responsible for cultural property that may include collections, historic sites and structures. Cultural property is defined as material that may be artistic, historic, scientific, religious or social and is an invaluable and irreplaceable legacy that must be preserved for future generations. Collections can include fine arts, library and archival materials, natural history, natural science, musical instruments, textiles, technology, archaeology, ethnography and photography. If a collection is located in a historical building or site, that building or site should be considered part of the collection. If the nominee does not own objects, historic structures or sites, a case may be made regarding how its activities affect cultural property, for instance through funding or advocacy. Organizations that have preservation or conservation as their sole and exclusive purpose are not eligible recipients of this award.

• Nominators should provide evidence of the nominee’s sustained and exemplary commitment to the preservation and care of its collections through description of its conservation and preservation activities, special programs and involvement of conservation professionals in decision-making processes. Providing evidence of how the organization has broadened its community’s understanding of the goals of conservation and the importance of preserving cultural property through its conservation activities can strengthen a nomination.

• Nominators can be any individual within or outside the organization, although when the nomination comes from outside it is useful if the nomination package includes a letter from the institution's director. Letters of support are welcome, and are most appropriate when they come from outside the organization and from individuals knowledgeable about conservation.

Guidelines

• Nominations should show evidence of involvement of senior conservation professionals who are recognized by their peers, such as Fellows or Professional Associates of the American Institute for Conservation. Nominators should demonstrate this by including a brief (one page or less) summary of the professional credentials of key conservation professionals and describe the role they have played at the institution.
• Nominations should show evidence of a systematic approach to long-term planning for collections care. Nominators can demonstrate this by descriptions of maintenance plans, condition surveys, future treatment priorities, staffing plans, disaster preparedness guidelines, or storage redesign and upgrades.
• Nominations should show evidence of community impact and involvement. Nominators can demonstrate this by fundraising efforts, volunteer programs, or educational activities with community groups and schools.
• Nominations should show evidence of outreach in the form of websites, radio and television coverage, or local newspaper articles.
• Nominations should show evidence of attempts to recruit support from multiple financial and or personnel resources.
• Nominations should show evidence of exemplary work and achievements. This award seeks to recognize organizations and programs that can be held up as models for others to emulate.
• We encourage nominators to include visual documentation (photography or video) and other supporting materials (publications, etc.) in their nomination materials. Many successful applicants submitted for several award cycles. Re-submissions, particularly with updated information, are always welcome.

Award

This award does not come with any monetary compensation.

Note: Full proposals are by invitation only, and will not be considered if unsolicited. Those interested in funding should complete the Initial Inquiry Form, to provide organizational details and some brief narrative elements. No inquiries submitted via any other channel, including postal mail, will be considered.

Mockingbird Foundation Grants

The Mockingbird Foundation provides funding for music education for children, through competitive grants, emergency-related grants, and tour-related grants – more than a million dollars, and counting. Competitive grants are awarded through a two-tiered grant application process that is among the most competitive: We are currently able to fund fewer than 1% of inquiries received (e.g. $40K on $1.4M in inquiries). That’s in part because the need is so widespread, and in part because we are unique in what we fund, differing from other players in this funding area in important ways:

Music itself matters – Music is powerful not only culturally and emotionally, but for skills, health, and general well-being. However, we have never funded a grantee solely on the basis of such tangential benefits (such as for music therapy), and tend to favor applicants who recognize the importance of music education for its own sake. While a laudable enterprise, music therapy is just not what we do.

Direct experience is best – Each grantee works to bring the power of music into the lives of a particular group of children. Several grantees have also utilized funds to expose students to music, also a laudable effort. But the Mockingbird board has historically been more interested in programs that engage students directly with music, rather than in funding musical performances for students who would only observe others experiencing music.

Underserved niches are great – Like Save the Music and Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, we’ve given support to high school bands. But we’re especially proud of support we’ve given to economically, culturally, and musically distinct efforts. Many of our grantees serve children with special needs and/or underserved populations, and some have been internal efforts by dwindling indigenous peoples. Additionally, we are interested in supporting unconventional forms of instruction, and instruction in unconventional forms; and we are not focused on traditional performance skills, but are also interested in composition, vocalization, and musical improvisation.

Unconventional outlets are interesting – Our funding guidelines define music education for children broadly and somewhat unconventionally. For example, while we have funded many schools – rural and urban, public and private, kindergarten through university – we are especially interested in efforts outside of schools, including hospitals, shelters, foster homes, prisons, churches, camps, and community centers.

Outcomes may not be assessable – Nearly all relevant advocacy efforts have focused on putting instruments in public schools, promoting music education as a tool within broader education, and measuring outcomes in terms of assessable skills. Contrarily, the Mockingbird Foundation looks beyond public schools, and is interested in some areas for which skills may be less assessable (or even irrelevant).

Program Areas

The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. (“Mockingbird”) offers competitive grants to schools and nonprofit organizations that effect improvements in areas of importance to the Phish fan community. Our programmatic focus is music education for children, defined as follows:

Music: We recognize broad and basic needs within conventional instruction, though are particularly interested in projects that foster creative expression (whether in instrumentation, vocalization, composition, or improvisation) and encourage applications associated with diverse or unusual musical styles, genres, forms, and philosophies.

Education: Education may include the provision of instruments, texts, office materials, or equipment; the support of learning, practice, and/or performance spaces; and the provision of instructors or instruction. We appreciate the fostering of self-esteem and free expression, but have never funded music therapy separate from education nor music appreciation which does not include participation.

Children: We primarily fund programs serving children eighteen years of age or younger, but will consider projects which benefit college students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. We are particularly (though not exclusively) interested in programs which benefit disenfranchised groups, including those with low skill levels, income, or education; with disabilities or terminal illnesses; and in foster homes, shelters, hospitals, prisons, or other remote or isolated situations.

Mission

The mission of the Tri-M Foundation is to cultivate and promote the production and presentation of regional performing and media arts, through grants and gifts to new and established arts organizations and educational institutions, and through our own salons and publications.

We focus on traditional theatre, music, dance, and motion pictures, as well as new and innovative works in new and experimental forms of media.  We are interested in the development and production of new works and individual emerging artists; bringing performance and discussion to regional communities; and the study, research, and publication of information about these art forms.  Although we recognize the important work of artists in the traditional cultural centers of the country, we also believe that vital work is developed and performed in other regions, and seek to encourage artists and audiences in those areas.

Performing Arts Grant Program

The purpose of the Program is to support the development and presentation of innovative, high-quality performing arts projects, events, and festivals by regional non-profit arts organizations.

For the current funding year we are awarding grants in the areas of  Theatre and Dance.

Grant Program Priorities: What We're Looking for in a Proposal

Proposed projects must comply with the applicant’s established mission and vision, be a featured project in the organization’s season, and demonstrate detailed planning. We want to see projects that encourage artists to produce their best work, enthrall audiences, and provoke important discussions. Projects should represent a unique regional perspective, meaning that they should address a location’s culture, history, aesthetic, or character. 

We invite organizations to submit proposals for projects that address sensitive topics, controversial politics, and uncomfortable subjects.  Grantees must make their programs open and accessible to all members of the public, regardless of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual preference, or gender expression.

Award Information

Award Range: $3,000 – $10,000.

Project Periods: Maximum of 12 months following the award; at this time, the Program does NOT fund multi-year projects.

Anticipated Number of Awards: 5 - 10 awards per year.

PlayUSA

Carnegie Hall’s PlayUSA supports community partner organizations across the country that offer equitable instrumental music education programs to K–12 students, including those whose opportunities to engage in instrumental music instruction are limited by socioeconomic, geographic, or other factors. These organizations receive funding, as well as training and professional development for teachers and arts administrators, in addition to guidance from Carnegie Hall staff to help address challenges and build on best practices.

The primary objectives of PlayUSA grants and support are to

• reduce the barriers to entry in music learning and performance for students from economically under-resourced communities
• make a transformative investment in the creativity and human development of students
• engage in partnerships with grantees that increase the organizational capacity, effectiveness, and impact of socially responsive instrumental instruction

PlayUSA partnership includes :

• financial support for new or expanded programmatic work
• program development consultation in working with partners to solve problems, address challenges, and build on best practices in the field
• professional development both online and in-person for music educators to support delivery of exceptional programs

Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning program provides grants to professional U.S.-based presenters and ensembles whose programming includes Western European and/or non-Western classical and contemporary music. Grants are provided for the commissioning and performance of new works by American composers.

The program supports works scored for 2-10 musicians performing one per part, composed in any of the musical styles associated with contemporary classical music.

Performance Program

Funds are available for General Operating Support for professional performing ensembles and presenting organizations with a history of substantial commitment to contemporary American music and with plans to continue that commitment. The program also provides Project Support for exceptionally important activities relating to contemporary American music proposed by professional performing ensembles and presenting organizations that do not normally feature such music in their programming.

• An eligible project is a clearly defined endeavor that includes one or more performances of contemporary American music and, often, other activities related to the performance(s) that improve the public’s knowledge of such music.

The Performance Program also supports the electronic dissemination of live performances, including both live streams or broadcasts and delayed streams or broadcasts. Expenses such as recording and electronic distribution costs can be considered as eligible costs in a request for general operating or project support when related to live performance. Stand-alone recording projects (e.g., a studio album) and projects involving the acquisition of equipment (e.g., microphones, cameras, etc.) are not eligible for support in this program.

Special note for dance applicants

The Fund’s primary focus for dance applicants is on the quality of the music and the performance, which must be by live musicians, not the choreography. However, the choreography must enhance the performance of contemporary American music.

Special note for festival applicants and other applications with professional training activities

If the primary focus of the organization or project is public professional performance of music, the applicant should apply to the Performance Program. If the primary focus of the organization or project is educational activities, workshops, professional training, or career development, the applicant should apply to the Supplemental Program.

Funding Provisions

In general, grants range from $1,000 to $20,000. Grant amounts for larger organizations with a demonstrated extraordinary commitment to contemporary American music may exceed these amounts at the discretion of the panel. Please note that the awarding of a grant for general operating support in one year does not imply continuation of that support in subsequent years. Project support grants are for that project only, and no more than one grant will be awarded for a single project.

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.