Funding Available for National Music and Arts Nonprofits
NEWS
FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR MUSIC AND ARTS NONPROFITS
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
The Music Man Foundation makes available up to $3 million in new grants
to national nonprofits with music and arts programs
The Music Man Foundation opened applications for the national Meredith Willson Awards, which will provide up to $3 million in new funding to nonprofits working to permanently change the way music is embedded in our schools, health care system, and communities. Interested nonprofits must submit a leadership letter by Friday, March 10, 2023.
Meredith Willson Awards are named for the creator of the musical “The Music Man,” in whose honor The Music Man Foundation was established. Two-year grants ranging from $100,000 to $1 million will provide significant general operating support to three to eight national programs working in music, learning, and well-being. This is the first time Meredith Willson Awards have been focused on national programs.
“Meredith Willson and his wife Rosemary believed in the transformative power of music,” said Sarah Lyding, executive director of The Music Man Foundation. “In that spirit, these new grants from The Music Man Foundation will support organizations with bold ideas about how music can improve lives and communities.”
There’s growing recognition of the importance of music for the health of communities and individuals. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health awarded $20 million for projects that bring together music therapy and neuroscience. Studies have shown that stronger social ties in our schools and communities, and increased tolerance for others, are among the benefits linked to participation in the arts. Children’s music education has been tied to improved reading and math skills, as well as stronger social skills and increased self-confidence.
About The Music Man Foundation
The Music Man Foundation is named after the Tony-winning musical written by Meredith Willson. Meredith’s widow, Rosemary, started the Foundation in 1998 as the Meredith and Rosemary Willson Charitable Foundation and substantially increased the Foundation’s endowment upon her death in 2010. The Foundation’s mission is to empower organizations using music to catalyze enduring change and to amplify our founders’ musical legacy. Over the last decade, the Foundation has awarded more than $22 million to 80 organizations. In addition to “The Music Man,” Meredith Willson wrote the musical, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” and beloved songs “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas” and the University of Iowa fight song.
