D'Addario Foundation Launches Fund for Music Education in Black Communities

The D'Addario Foundation, a New York-based non-profit that has been funding a range of music initiatives for the last forty years, has recently announced the creation of its new Bridge Fund, which will provide vital grants to organizations that advance music education in Black communities.

Some of the programs that will receive grants from the Bridge Fund include the Sphinx Academy in Detroit, the Cleveland Institute's Musical Pathway Fellowship, Buffalo String Works in New York, and a range of other organizations.

One of the most recent grantees is the Urban Music Makers program at Chicago's West Point School of Music, which provides programs such as Calypso drumming for children in culturally isolated neighborhoods of Chicago.

One of the foundation's points of difference is that 100% of each donation made goes to the cause itself. Since the foundation is an offshoot of D'Addario & Co., all its administrative costs can be absorbed by its parent company. You can make a donation to the Bridge Fund here.

While the Bridge Fund was conceived because of a general need for greater funding of Black-led music programs, its purpose has become even more clearly defined in light of the pandemic, which has caused a great deal of funding to be diverted away from music education.

"The damaging consequences of COVID have only exacerbated the need to address the enormous gap in educational resources and opportunities,” said D’Addario Foundation Executive Director Suzanne D’Addario Brouder.

"We honor the values and needs of communities by launching the Bridge Fund that very intentionally identifies and supports innovative, immersive, and accessible music programs in Black communities."

"In particular, we seek programs that take place after-school and are available multiple days per week — elements that very clearly contribute to higher levels of engagement and academic achievement as an actionable solution to 'bridging' this gap and giving every student a chance to reach their highest potential," she added.