Capital Support Grant

From The Presser Foundation

The Presser Foundation provides philanthropic support for music and music education, in keeping with the Will of its founder, Theodore Presser. They work to fund the musical arts, while striving to serve a broad and diverse community of musicians, educators, and music lovers.

Type of Support

Overview

By providing capital support, The Presser Foundation hopes that music buildings and spaces become more functional, more accessible, more collaborative, and more innovative. The Foundation seeks to provide capital funding to music organizations in order to enhance the learning and performance experience for students, audiences, and/or musicians.

Capital projects include the construction of new facilities and renovation, repair, or expansion of existing facilities. The Committee will also consider proposals for capital needs including (but are not limited to) hardware, software, and equipment. It does not include grants to cover general operating expenses, musical instruments, or supplies.

Eligibility

Organization's Location
USA
Program Location
Organizations that are in PA (including Harrisburg), NJ, DE or MD and are within a 75-mile radius of Philadelphia are eligible to apply, Organizations in the New York and Baltimore metropolitan areas will not be considered for funding.
Organization Type
Pre-collegiate, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) music performance, music presenting or music education organizations (including after school music programs, community music schools, music preparatory divisions, and youth instrumental and vocal programs)
Fiscally sponsored organizations/programs
Supporting organizations
Other

Legacy institutions (organizations having a music building previously supported by Theodore Presser, The Presser Foundation, or bearing the name “Presser”, regardless of location) are eligible for support for significant capital projects.

Ineligibility

Individual artists/musicians, non-retired music educators, schools of all levels, high school bands, museums, organizations that do not have music as their primary focus, and arts organizations that only offer music as a small component of their programming
Theater, commercial music theater, dance, or other non-music focused venues
Organizations requesting grants for general operating expenses, musical instruments, or supplies
10k – 100k

Submission

You may submit applications every year.
Contact info
Teresa Rodgers
trodgers@presserfoundation.org
Review Criteria

Considering the Foundation’s Social Justice Statement and Values, applications will be judged on all of the following:

  • The strengths and accomplishments of the applicant organization
  • The relationship between the music programming of the applicant organization and the needs of the community(ies) served
  • The applicant organization’s history and stability, as well as its long-term impact on the community
  • How a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, anti-racism, and anti-bigotry is reflected in the applicant organization
  • The value and feasibility of the applicant organization’s programs
  • The contribution of the applicant organization to the overall music community