Deadline: 15-Jan-24
The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. (“Mockingbird”) is offering competitive grants to schools and nonprofit organizations that effect improvements in areas of importance to the Phish fan community.
Program Areas
- The programmatic focus is music education for children, defined as follows:
- Music: They 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. They 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: They primarily fund programs serving children eighteen years of age or younger, but will consider projects which benefit college students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. They 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.
Funding Information
- Grants range in size from $100 to $10,000, are made on a one-time basis, and are non-renewable and non-transferable.
Geographic Focus
- U.S., with an interest in geographic diversity throughout the U.S. (They cannot fund organizations outside the U.S., but have funded programs in all 50 U.S. States and Washington, D.C.)
Eligibility Criteria
- They are particularly interested in organizations with low overhead, innovative approaches, and/or collaborative elements to their work, but these are not restrictive.
- Grants are made only to nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code, or which have a sponsoring agency with this status, or which are government entities, such as a public elementary school. (Public schools are tax-exempt and thus eligible for funding, although school-based grantees cannot be independent of the school, must take place at the school, and must be supervised by the applicable municipality.)
- Organizations selected to submit a full proposal will be required to submit documentation of their status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt institution, a sponsored institution, or a public school.
- They do not normally consider grants to individuals or to fund research, fundraising organizations or events, programs that promote or engage in religious or political doctrine, or organizations outside the United States.
- It is expected that nonprofit organizations who apply for support are operated and organized without discrimination in hiring staff or providing services on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.
For more information, visit The Mockingbird Foundation.