NONPROFITS TAP INTO FUNDING FOR MUSIC

By Meghan Pipe

Music has the power to strengthen community; and so, too, do the nonprofits of Northern Colorado. Bohemian Foundation’s Music Programs aims to support both through Muse, a grant program that has awarded more than $235,000 to nonprofits since launching in 2017. Muse grant recipients each have popular contemporary music at the core of their organization or program.

One recent Muse grantee, Lineage Music Studio in Fort Collins, is focused on the professional development of young artists. Their Muse grant provided support for a new Professional Performance and Sound Technician Youth Mentorship Program. This pilot program cultivates young musicians’ skills in performance and audio engineering. It engages young artists in all aspects of the creative process as well as preparing them for the professional music industry.

“The creative process is all about getting dirty and playing in the sand,” said Lineage Music Studio President and Artistic Director Chad Fisher. “I think it is easy to forget a music lesson is just one part of instruction which requires ongoing support and practical experience.”

Lineage Music Studio is an educational and performance driven music lab that uses various musical styles to improve community access to the arts, preserve traditional music genres and develop young musicians.

Foundation Music School, a Muse grantee

“Our events engage many parts of our community and bring people together that would most likely not cross paths otherwise,” said Fisher. “We love diversity and strive to provide an accessible as well as neutral place for folks to meet up and learn.”

Another grantee, Foundation Music School, is eager to spread the word about the organization’s programs using their recent award from Muse. The award will fund marketing resources.

“As a nonprofit, we have never before had a budget line for marketing,” said Foundation Music School Executive Director Karen Parsell. “We’re excited to have more visibility in the community.”

Foundation Music School, a Muse grantee

Among its many offerings, the organization provides music therapy programs for students with developmental disabilities and at-risk teens; adaptive lessons so students of all abilities can engage with music; and scholarships that increase access to the organization’s music programming.

“Music is such a powerful tool to assist children, teens and adults, allowing them to express themselves, and to feel relief and peace through that expression,” said Parsell. She said the organization is very passionate about reaching the community, and dedicated to meeting the needs of all students, no matter their developmental age or ability.

Muse grants are one of the ways Bohemian Foundation supports music, and the three goals of the grant program mirror the goals of all of the foundation’s music-related work: to provide youth with opportunities to express themselves through music; to help musicians and music-related businesses grow and develop; and to increase performances of live contemporary music.

Bohemian Foundation will begin accepting Muse applications for the next grant cycle on April 3. In preparation, nonprofits can attend any one of three workshops hosted by Bohemian Foundation’s Music Programs staff. During these hands-on sessions, Bohemian staff and potential applicants will discuss Muse program requirements and ways to tell meaningful stories about music-related work. For more information and to register for a workshop in Fort Collins or Loveland, visit bohemianfoundation.org/music-programs/muse/application-assistance.

LEARN MORE AT MUSE WORKSHOPS

March 12, 4-5:30 p.m.

The Music District

639 S. College Ave.

Fort Collins

March 19, 4-5:30 p.m.

Rialto Theater Center

228 E. 4th St.

Loveland

March 27, 5-6:30 p.m.

Bohemian Foundation

240 E. Mountain Ave.

Fort Collins

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