The NAMM Foundation Announces $675,000 in Music Making Grants to 25 Organizations

The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) has announced that the organization will benefit 25 music making organizations to a total sum of $675,000.

All the beneficiaries share in the Foundation’s mission of creating and supporting access to quality music education programs to inspire a life-long love of music making. 
 
“Through the transformative work of nonprofit music organizations, thousands of people will be served with the opportunity to discover their talents and experience the joy and benefits of making music,” shared Mary Luehrsen, executive director of The NAMM Foundation. “We are grateful for the generosity of many new and existing donors to The NAMM Foundation in helping us expand this grant program that will bring more music to the world.” 
 
Since its inception in 1994, the annual grant program has donated more than $17 million in support to domestic and international music education programs, scientific research, advocacy and public service programs related to music making.  The grants are funded by NAMM Show activities that are supported by NAMM’s 10,300-member global companies, and since 2015, with private donations to the NAMM Foundation. 
 
The 2018 NAMM Foundation Beneficiaries include the following organizations and projects: 
 
Anafima Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Instrumentos Musicais e Audio Ltda (ANAFIMA)
The Brazilian Musical Instruments and Audio Industry Association will expand Make Music Day Latin America in 2019 offering free lessons through a network of music stores and companies in countries that speak Spanish and Portuguese. The grant will also support promotional efforts through an expanded website and PR outreach effort to promote the benefits of making music and Make Music Day events and music learning opportunities. Previous grants supported the organization’s “Brazilian National Week of Music Teaching” June 19-25, 2017 with 600 events in 20 Brazilian cities.
 
Australian Music Association (AMA)
The Australian Music Association is the trade body for the music-products industry, representing wholesalers, manufacturers, retailers and associated services for musical instruments, pro audio, print music, lighting and computer music products. A grant to The Australian Music Association (AMA) will provide continued support to AMA’s Young Warriors program. This outreach and youth development effort organized in collaboration with regional mental health professionals and youth workers operates rock bands and hands-on music technology learning in storefronts and community centers; it has earned government support as a program that expands youth wellness, development and opportunity. A portion of the funds will also support AMA’s development of Make Music Day Australia and build a nation-wide alliance to grow Make Music Day to be a major event on Australia’s cultural calendar in 2019 following first year roll out in Brisbane, Queensland this June 21, 2018 with support of city government and cultural organizations.  
 
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
OrchKids is a year-round during and after-school music program designed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to create social change, provide quality music education, and nurture promising futures for youth in Baltimore City neighborhoods. Now in its 10th year, OrchKids is considered a leading music education and social initiative in the United States and offers a model for urban music education efforts developed in partnership with school and community cultural organizations. Grant funds will support both in-school and afterschool music education offerings by qualified music teachers supporting students in Baltimore’s West and East neighborhoods.  
 
Coalition for Music Education in Canada (CMEC)
The Coalition for Music Education in Canada’s (CMEC) mission is to raise the awareness and understanding of the role that music education plays in Canadian culture and to promote the benefits that music education brings to young people. CMEC will continue its national PR and music education campaign via nation-wide, music education promotion events on Music Monday, May 2. To date, this effort has engaged national media, politicians and artists in promoting the importance of music education for all children in Canada. CMEC will also expand its Youth4Music program, a network of teenagers and young adults who are developing as lead advocates promoting the benefits and importance of music education. 
 
Dallas Wind Symphony (DWS)
Dallas Wind Symphony’s mission is to bring extraordinary musicians and enthusiastic audiences together to celebrate the performance, promotion and preservation of the music and traditions of the American wind band. NAMM Foundation funding will support 700 low-income students to enroll in Summer Band Camp offered by Dallas Winds where beginning students learn from the top-tier professionals of this leading professional wind ensemble. 
 
EngAGE, Inc.
The EngAGE mission is to empower people- intellectually, creatively and emotionally- to do what they do best for the rest of their lives. EngAGE is a national service program that is an outgrowth of NAMM Foundation-funded research on the impact of rigorous music and art making on the health and well-being of seniors. A NAMM Foundation grant will support EngAGE in Music, an expansion of ongoing EngAGE in Creativity program, which transforms low-income senior apartment communities into vibrant centers for teaching and learning, artistic exploration, creativity and engagement. Funding support for EngAGE in Music will offer a variety of music programs (taiko drumming, ukulele, choir and other ensemble music opportunities) for seniors residing in Common Bond communities in Minneapolis, MN through a collaboration with the MacPhail Center for Music.  
 
Guitars and Accessories Marketing Association (GAMA)
Project: Teaching Guitar Workshops (This grant was made possible with a gift to the Bill Collings Memorial Fund) 
The Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association (GAMA) is a trade association comprising guitar products manufacturers and distributors with a mission to bring together and grow the guitar community by promoting greater access to learning and playing guitar. NAMM Foundation funding supports the training of 250-400 school music educators in the coming year through workshops that take place across the U.S. and provide tools to start school-based guitar and ukulele programs. As the lead funder of the program 23 years ago, NAMM Foundation funding has supported 4,000 teachers who have impacted over 1.5 million student guitarists. 
 
Guitars in the Classroom (GITC)
Guitars in the Classroom (GITC) trains and equips classroom teachers to integrate singing and playing guitar into children’s daily school experiences. By providing instruction, access to instruments, resource materials and program supervision, GITC empowers educators to transform classrooms into musical environments that bring out the best in all students by engaging them in studies across the curriculum. NAMM Foundation funding will support the “Triangle Training Approach” – workshops and teacher training to support teachers as they integrate guitar and ukulele into the elementary curriculum; a new program will be added that supports students with special needs.
 
Little Kids Rock (LKR)
Little Kids Rock’s mission is to restore and revitalize music education in U.S. public schools. It provides free musical instruments and music instruction to underserved schools across the country. NAMM Foundation funding will support Little Kids Rocks’ Modern Band Summit 2018 in Fort Collins, CO; its 6th annual national teacher training conference. This week-long teacher training event guides teachers and administrators in methods to continue to advance “modern band” programs – guitar, drums, keyboard – as part of school music education offerings. 
 
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF)
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation expands and boosts music education in schools by providing durable, high-quality musical instruments to deserving, under-funded music programs nationwide.  MHOP also helps schools advance best practices to ensure the longevity of these vital programs.  NAMM Foundation funds will assist MHOP with a new initiation called Music Education District Support Services, which will assist school districts with music education planning and implementation; grant funds will support a two-year music education expansion effort by Atlanta Public Schools.  
 
Music For All/UK
Music For All/UK is the charity attached to the UK musical instrument industry. The organization’s mission is “Making More Musicians!” The UK’s Music For All charity will use The NAMM Foundation grant to expand its Learn to Play Day in 2018 and the global Make Music Day UK. The Learn to Play Day, held in April, is an annual event that enables the public to have free lessons at UK music retail stores. Make Music Day UK is being developed with partners that include the BBC, musician unions and others. Music for All is also sharing its community event resources with MI organizations in Brazil, Germany, Italy and China as part of a global market expansion effort and a Make Music Day sharing effort via NAMM’s International Coalition.
 
Musical Futures International, Inc.
Musical Futures is an approach to the teaching and learning of music that promotes innovation, inclusion, diversity and lots and lots of music-making which is driven by the musical culture of the participants, rather than being limited to a specific musical style or genre. NAMM Foundation funding will support an expansion of Musical Futures Asia based on a “teacher training model” provides training to teachers in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Jakarta plus in the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Beijing.  In addition to these major cities, teachers from Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia will attend workshops. The grant supports teachers in Musical Futures concepts and methods that include recreational/community music making for young students who ultimately seek to address the barriers and impediments that restrict access to music making across school systems. 
 
National Guild for Community Arts Education
The National Guild for Community Arts Education strives to ensure all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential by developing leaders, strengthening organizations and advocating for community arts education. Nonprofit arts education organizations are uniquely positioned to play a leading role in providing innovative programming for an aging population that is living longer, healthier lives. A NAMM Foundation grant will support a full-day institute in fall 2018 and emerging national network efforts by the National Guild for Community Arts Education, the service organization for community-based arts education nonprofits. The Institute will expand a deeper understanding of current research and funding trends in creative aging, best practices for designing and implementing music and arts education programs for older adults, and strategies for recruiting and retaining older adult participation. 
 
National Piano Foundation (NPF)
The mission of the National Piano Foundation is to develop educational programs, activities and materials which (a) educate the general public, parents, and students about the value, benefit and enjoyment of playing the piano, (b) contribute to the professional well-being of the teaching community, (c) support the music study success of piano users, and (d) promote the productive interaction and cooperation of all segments of the music industry. NAMM Foundation funds will support the expansion of the National Piano Foundation’s (NPF) RMM training for piano teachers in collaboration with Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). The project trains experienced piano teachers in methods for group piano instruction that advances overall enjoyment and group participation in music making along with learning music’s elements. The grant also supports the expansion of Keyboards in the Classroom (KIC) with workshops in different locations around the U.S. 
 
National String Project Consortium (NSPC)
Project: Creating, Developing and Sustaining Five National String Project Sites
The National String Project Consortium (NSPC) is a coalition of String Project sites based at colleges and universities across the United States. The NSPC is dedicated to increasing the number of children playing stringed instruments and addressing the critical shortage of string teachers in the United States. NAMM Foundation funding will continue to support this 20-year teacher training program for string music educators and offer training to serve inner-city and other under-served communities; funding will support the emerging programs of four existing sites (Kennesaw State University, Southern Mississippi University, University of Texas at El Paso and Tennessee Tech University) and start a new site (San Jose State University). The funds will be matched by $50,000 from these five sites at $10,000 each. This program has led a national effort to prepare music teachers to meet the ever-changing learning needs of students today and to engage students, regardless of background or circumstance, in high-quality music education opportunities.
 
Notes for Change, Inc.
Notes for Change, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of empowering students through the experience of musical study and increasing access to music education. The organization’s goals are to promote life skills and community through musical training and advocate for music education. There are currently an estimated 390 El Sistema programs around the world, with over one million underserved children participating globally; these programs operate with an informal network that helps leaders share best practices for curriculum and sustainability. With NAMM Foundation funding, the hub for El Sistema network has evolved to be the Ensemble Newsletter that with a new grant, will be able to expand its outreach and readership. Support will also increase the youth membership, activating student musicians to participate in a global El Sistema community. 
 
Orchestre a’ L’Ecole
Orchestre A L’Ecole, a non-profit music trade association in France, aims to develop the musical abilities of young people in schools in disadvantaged areas. NAMM Foundation funding will support the continued expansion of new orchestras and provide instruments for students regardless of the personal financial resources of schools and students. Under France’s new government, federal ministries have signaled significant support for music education in France’s schools and the Orchestre a L’Ecole organization, now in its 10th year, is actively engaged with government ministries to fulfill this goal. The program is attracting significant mandates and funding under the new administration.
 
Percussion Marketing Council (PMC)
The Percussion Marketing Council’s (PMC) mission is to provide professional marketing and advertising campaigns, programs and activities that bring increased public awareness to drumming, thus increasing the number of people playing all types of drums. NAMM Foundation funding will support four key PMC program areas: 1) expansion of Drum Set in the Classroom (DSC) that offers in-school drum set workshops with a goal to create more drummers and familiarity with drum set music making; 2) expansion of Percussion in the Schools (PIS) to include in-school events and cultivate more professional facilitators; 3) expansion of Drums Across America based on PMC’s successful drum lesson lab tent at select Vans Warped Tour in the summer and increase the lesson lab activities in school and community settings and 4) International Drum Month, an annual promotion and percussion celebration effort.  
 
Percussive Arts Society (PAS)
Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a nonprofit, music service organization. Its mission is to promote percussion education, research, performance and appreciation throughout the world. Located in Indianapolis, IN, Rhythm! Discovery Center is a percussion museum and hands-on drumming learning and performance center. NAMM Foundation funding will continue to expand Find Your Rhythm! Community Outreach that serves K-12, Indianapolis-area school districts with tours and hands-on programs that also serves the general public with exposure to music education and percussion. 
 
San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS)
The San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory (SDYS) instills excellence in the musical and personal development of students through rigorous and inspiring musical-training experiences. The NAMM Foundation funding supports the continued expansion of SDYS’s successful Community Opus after-school programs in Chula Vista, CA (CVESD), supplementing and motivating the ongoing expansion of music education with core education funding by the district. The Opus after-school programs meets an instructional gap for students who do not yet have in-school music and are seeking a more advanced music ensemble experience. NAMM Foundation support for the SDYS Community Opus in Chula Vista has been a catalyst for the reinstatement of music education in the district that has grown to provide music education to all elementary schools with ongoing efforts to expand offerings in middle schools and high schools in the district.   
 
SongwritingWith: Soldiers (SWS)
SongwritingWith: Soldiers (SW:S)’s mission is to transform lives by using collaborative songwriting to expand creativity, connections and strengths. SW:S connects veterans with professional songwriters in retreat and workshop settings to craft songs about combat, the transition home and address issues of PTSD, connectedness and social isolation that can occur after military service. The program serves all branches of the military populations. Retreats are free to participants and their family/caregiver. The NAMM Foundation will continue to support two SongwritingWith: Soldiers retreats in fall/winter 2018/19. The first retreat, to be held at the Carey Institute for Global Good in New York, is an expansion of last year and will also train facilitators to lead songwriting sessions at the Heart-J Center, Loveland, CO.
 
The Sphinx Organization, Inc.
Founded in 1996, the Sphinx Organization is a Detroit-based national performing arts organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. NAMM Foundation funding will continue to support the organization’s Performance Academy (SPA) that will take place in the summer of 2018 in Philadelphia and Cincinnati providing intensive music training and a pathway to exemplary achievement in classical music for student musicians. 
 
Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME)
Project: Music Technology Leadership Academy
The Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist music educators in applying technology to improve teaching and learning in music. The NAMM Foundation grant will continue to support the TI:ME Technology Leadership Academy for pre-service music education teachers. Selected through a competitive, national application process, 20 participants who are in the final years of preparation to be music teachers, will attend the academy held in conjunction with the 2019 TI:ME National Conference. Participants will learn various methods for using music technology to reach nontraditional music students (NTMS).
 
VH1 Save the Music Foundation
Project: VH1 Save the Music Programs
The VH1 Save the Music Foundation develops long-term, sustainable instrumental music programs in high-need public schools. NAMM Foundation funding will support VH1’s ongoing programmatic goals and objectives that secure commitments by applicant school districts to support qualified music teachers and schedule music as part of the school day, restore or expand core band, string or mariachi instrumental music education programs and committed to music education as a strategy to increase academic, social, artistic and emotional performance of underserved students.
 
Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA)
A 2017 grant to Young Audiences, a national nonprofit that connects educators to community music and arts education resources, kicked off the inaugural NAMM Foundation Management Institute at The 2018 NAMM Show with five study areas that included board governance, fundraising, promotion and program evaluation and implementation that includes alignment with national fine arts standards. Funding will continue to support this effort at The 2019 NAMM Show with expanded content to strengthen the effectiveness of over 100 music making nonprofit organizations, their leadership and staff that attend the NAMM Show.