By helping pay for college, we empower the brightest individuals to become who they were always destined to be.
The D'Addario Foundation's competitive grantmaking process employs a rubric scoring system and committee review to ensure fair and equitable practices.
Refer to the table on this page to determine the D'Addario Foundation grant pathway that best fits your organization.
| D'ADDARIO FOUNDATION GRANT CRITERIA | IMC Ecosystem Grants 2-Year Cash and In-Kind (Invitation Only) | Community Music Grants 1- and 2-Year Cash and In-Kind | In-Kind Grants Annual In-Kind (No Cash Award) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instrumentation | Guitar, winds, orchestral, keys, percussion, regional or indigenous instrument, voice | Guitar, winds, orchestral, keys, percussion, regional or indigenous instrument, voice, electronic music, sound engineering, and/or the teaching of instrument repair | Guitar, winds, orchestral, keys, percussion, regional or indigenous instrument, voice, electronic music, sound engineering, and/or instrument repair or instrument distribution |
| Average hours per week of instruction for one student | Minimum of 4 hours/week of in-person music instruction (instrumental and/or theory) or rehearsal for each participant | Minimum of 3 hours/week in-person instruction or rehearsal for each participant. For nonprofits whose primary audience is students with learning differences, those with physical/emotional challenges, incarcerated individuals, or individuals facing other extenuating circumstances, a minimum of 2 hours/week in-person instruction for each participant may be considered to accommodate nonprofits serving populations with unique needs | Minimum of 2 hours/week in-person instruction or rehearsal for each participant; N/A for instrument repair or distribution programs |
| % of students demonstrating financial or other special need | Minimum of 75% | Minimum of 50% | Minimum of 40% |
| Tuition or Fee Structure (budget submission must illustrate income and expenses) | Tuition or fees from students/families cannot represent more than 5% of total org revenue | Tuition or fees from students/families cannot represent more than 25% of total org revenue | Tuition or fees from students/families cannot represent more than 40% of total org revenue |
| Qualification to Apply | By invitation only; minimum of 2 prior years as D’Addario Foundation cash grant recipient; unsolicited requests not accepted | Must have receive a cash grant from the D’Addario Foundation within the past 2 years or successfully complete the eligibility quiz and receive a follow-up invitation to apply for a Community Music Grant | Must have received any grant from the D’Addario Foundation within the past 2 years or successfully complete the eligibility quiz and receive a follow-up invitation to apply for an In-Kind Grant |
| Duration | 2 years | 1- and 2-year grants awarded at the discretion of the review committee | Annual (expires at end of calendar year) |
| Timeline | Invitations to apply distributed in August of preceding year; applications due October of preceding year; award announcements in February | Portal opens in January of award year; applications due in February of award year; award announcements in August | Applications accepted January through October; awards made on a rolling basis; in-kind grant values expire December 31 of the year in which grant was awarded |
| Grant Frequency | IMC Ecosystem Grant recipients may be invited by the Foundation to re-apply following the end of their grant term; without invitation, they may apply for the Community Music Grant program during any time when they are not an IMC Ecosystem Grantee; consecutively recurring grants are not guaranteed | Community Music Grant recipients that are awarded cash grants may reapply after their grant term ends, however, consecutively recurring cash grants are not guaranteed. Organizations may only submit one proposal per year and may not apply for any other D’Addario Foundation grant programs during that year | In-Kind Grant recipients must reapply each year; organizations may only submit one proposal per year and may not apply for any other D’Addario Foundation grant programs during that year |
We do NOT provide funding for the following:
By helping pay for college, we empower the brightest individuals to become who they were always destined to be.
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