Grants for performing arts schools

220 performing arts schools received at least $7.2 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 573 grants made from 453 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,800. Of these 453 foundations, 89% made just a single grant to music schools, and 2% made grants to four or more music schools. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$7,188,283
Total grant dollars given to performing arts schools
573
Number of grants made annually to performing arts schools
453
Number of grantmakers funding performing arts schools
$1,800
Median grant size to performing arts schools

Foundations that support performing arts schools

Out of all grants made to performing arts schools, 72% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 84% of the dollar-value of grants to music schools. Foundations funding music schools also made grants to art museums, music festivals and events, theaters, universities, and symphony orchestras.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
327
Medium
 
65
Large
 
61
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
14
Private
 
396
Corporate
 
27
Other
 
16

Grants made

Grants made to music schoolsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
407
2-3
 
35
4-10
 
9
11+
 
2

Top 10 foundations supporting performing arts schools

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to music schoolsNumber of grants made to music schoolsMedian grant size
D'addario FoundationNYNational8.8%20$2,107
Community Foundation of North Central WiWIMetro0.3%13$500
Greater Worcester Community FoundationMAMetro0.3%10$1,250
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%8$310
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.0%7$1,000
Gannett FoundationVANational0.1%6$100
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%6$312
Community Foundation of North Texas (NTXCF)TXState0.1%5$2,500
Baird FoundationWINational0.2%4$1,250
Cambridge Savings Charitable FoundationMAMetro0.6%4$1,675

Performing arts schools grantees

Performing arts schools with more than $5 million in total revenues received 88% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 31% of all music schools.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
571
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
2

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$5,000
$100k-$500k
 
$2,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,875
>$5M
 
$2,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
106
California
 
72
Illinois
 
60
Massachusetts
 
55
Other
 
280

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
100
Chicago
 
61
Philadelphia
 
35
San Francisco
 
31
Other
 
269

Top 25 grants made to performing arts schools

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Colburn School$3,056,000General SupportDunard Fund USA
California Jazz Conservatory (CJC)$2,855,000Endowment- California Jazz ConservatoryMarin Community Foundation
Make Music Nola$5,000Charitable - Adopt-An-Instrument Program in NolaThe Mary Freeman Wisdom Foundation
David Hochstein Memorial Music School$5,000Tuition Assistance ProgramRobert G Boehmler Community Foundation
Merit School of Music$5,000GeneralChang Family Foundation
Omaha Conservatory of Music (OCM)$5,000CharitableJavitch Karen Sokolof Char FND-CSH
Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS)$5,000ScholarshipThe Denver Foundation
Music Institute of Chicago (MIC)$5,000Public CharityRobert W Galvin Foundation
Brevard Music Center Incorporated (BMC)$5,000GeneralThe Gable Foundation
Curtis Institute of Music$5,000Student Education ProgramCharlotte and William Hinson Charitable Foundation Trust
Settlement Music School$5,000General Operating SupportJP Morgan Chase Foundation
Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS)$5,000General SupportThe Clinton Family Fund
Ali Akbar College of Music$5,000For General Operating SupportWilliam and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Bender JCC of Greater Washington$5,000GeneralMelvin & Estelle Gelman Foundation
Curtis Institute of Music$5,000General OperatingLindback CR and MF Foundation TW Main
Curtis Institute of Music$5,000General FundsHonickman Foundation
Armstrong Community Music School (ACMS)$5,000General Operating SupportThe Community Foundation
Community Music Center of Boston (CMCB)$5,000EducationEdward Payson George Charitable Trust
Bender JCC of Greater Washington$5,000Patient EducationParkinsons Disease Foundation Incorporated (PDF)
Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center$5,000General SupportDavid Geffen Foundation
Paul Schenley$5,000Organization's ExemptLaurence W Levine Foundation 141008400
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (BCM)$5,000General SupportThe Nathan Cummings Foundation
The School of American Ballet (SAB)$5,000Trustee Grant - General Operating SupportThe Howard Gilman Foundation
Suzuki School of Newton$5,000Program SupportRockland Trust Charitable Foundation
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (BCM)$5,000General OperatingCredit Suisse Americas Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Performing arts schools" category for this page is determined by the "A6E: Performing Arts Schools" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.