The Georgia Music Foundation announces it has awarded more than $230,000 in Georgia Music Grants for 2023. Fifty-six schools and non-profits across the state from Dahlonega to Donalsonville have received grants to support their music programs.
“We’re not music educators ourselves,” says Georgia Music Foundation Chair Russell Bennett, a Walton County real estate developer and partner in Athens’ Kindercore Vinyl. “Our mission is to support the deserving programs that already exist at schools, after-schools, summer camps and non-profits statewide.”
Paraprofessional Martrez Reynolds and students from Delta Innovative School in Quitman, GA, with Djembe drums purchased from a Georgia Music Grant.
Special consideration is given to grant applications from rural Georgia and underserved communities. Janie Jones, Fine Arts Coordinator for Brooks County Schools, says, “We were fortunate enough to receive Georgia Music Foundation grants for five of our Brooks County Schools in 2020. These funds allowed us to purchase world percussion instruments and instruction, a set of ukuleles and tuners, technology, sound systems, sheet music and music downloads for our bands and chorus. The GMF grants definitely increased the accessibility of music resources at our schools.” Delta Innovative School, Brooks County Middle and High Schools, Quitman Elementary School and North Brooks Elementary all received grants in 2023, as well.
Funding for this round of Georgia Music Grants, which were $5,000 or less, was provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund II, Mrs. G’s Foundation of Pooler, GA, proceeds from the annual “Georgia On My Mind” benefit concert and individual and corporate donors.
Amy Ray and Brent Cobb host the 9th Annual Gretsch Presents “Georgia On My Mind” benefit concert on May 10, 2022. (Photo by Emma Delevante)
The Georgia Music Foundation also acknowledges the generous support of the state’s homegrown artists. “Amy Ray and Brent Cobb have been hosting fundraising concerts for us since 2020, online and in-person, graciously bringing their friends onboard to celebrate Georgia’s music influence and promote the value of music education,” says Foundation Director Lisa Love.
In another creative show of artist support, acclaimed producer Butch Walker, a native of Cartersville, joined fellow singer/songwriters Elizabeth Cook and Katie Pruitt—all of whom participated in music while attending high school in Georgia—to record and release the Jim Croce song, “Walkin’ Back to Georgia,” to benefit the Georgia Music Foundation. “Music education in school shaped my future,” Walker says. “Music was my therapy and my saving grace.” The single, released on New West Records, is available to stream on most music platforms.
The Georgia Music Foundation’s mission is to support programs of music education, preservation and outreach. It has awarded more than $800,000 in Georgia Music Grants since 2015 as well as provided Georgia Music Relief Fund grants to more than 150 Georgia musicians and crew members during Covid. Information on the next round of Georgia Music Grants will be available in August 2023 at georgiamusicfoundation.org.
The 2023 Georgia Music Grant recipients include:
| Amped Kids Foundation Inc | Gainesville | Musical Instruments Acquisition | |||
| Artz for the Harp Corporation | Powder Springs | AFTH Group Harp Youth Programs | |||
| Atlanta Music Project | Atlanta | AMP After-School Band & Orchestra | |||
| Augusta Mini Theatre Inc. | Augusta | After-School Piano Program | |||
| Banks County Middle School | Homer | Performing Arts Program/Instruments | |||
| Battlefield Elementary | Fort Oglethorpe | Purchase of Ukuleles | |||
| Bethesda Academy | Savannah | Learning and Loving the Uke! | |||
| Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valle | Columbus | After-School Group Music Lessons | |||
| Brooks County High School | Quitman | Instruments, Equipment & Software | |||
| Brooks County Middle School | Quitman | Band and Chorus Instruments & Repair | |||
| Club Xhell Incorporated | Riverdale | Music Matters After-School Program | |||
| Columbus Symphony Orchestra | Columbus | Making Music Matters After-School Program | |||
| Cross Creek Elementary | Thomasville | Cross Creek Strings Program | |||
| Cumming Elementary School | Cumming | Orff Instruments & Repair | |||
| Delta Innovative School | Quitman | Music Production Equipment | |||
| Eddie White Middle Academy | Hampton | Purchase of Orchetra Instruments | |||
| ESP – Extra Special People, Inc. | Watkinsville | Afternoon Music Therapy Program | |||
| Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts | Savannah | Garrison Tropical Steel Drum Band | |||
| Fitzgerald High School College and Career Ac | Fitzgerald | Encore Unlimited Show Choir | |||
| GA Pick & Bow Traditional Music School | Dahlonega | After-School & Summer Camp Instruction | |||
| Georgia Humanities | Decatur | Blues Documentary Project | |||
| Gladden Middle School Band | Chatsworth | Gladden Middle School Warrior Band | |||
| Glynn Middle School | Brunswick | Instrument Cases & Supplies | |||
| Greater Augusta Area Orff Chapter | Grovetown | Greater Augusta Area Orff Workshop Series | |||
| Hamilton Holmes Elementary | East Point | Beatin’ Path School Assembly Program | |||
| Haven Elementary | Savannah | Hornet Band Program | |||
| Heard Elementary School | Savannah | Modern Band Program | |||
| Heart Music | Athens | Hilsman Middle School Outreach | |||
| Hertitage Academy Elementary School | Atlanta | Instrument Purchase | |||
| I Am Arts Foundation | East Point | After-School Drums at Stonewall Tell | |||
| Jacob G. Smith Elementary School | Savannah | Modern Band Program | |||
| Jarrard Burch Foundation | Gainesville | Jarrard Burch Songwriting Outreach | |||
| Largo-Tibet Elementary School | Savannah | Orff Program and 5th Grade Band | |||
| Lovin Elementary School | Lawrenceville | Outdoor Musical STEAM Garden | |||
| May Howard Elementary | Savannah | Modern Band Program for 5th Grade | |||
| McDonough High School | McDonough | Mighty Marching Warhawk Band | |||
| New Horizons New Directions Preparatory Ac | Griffin | Musical Instruments for Orchestra | |||
| New Manchester High School | Douglasville | NMHS Mighty Marching Jaguars | |||
| North Brooks Elementary School | Morven | Music Program/Drum Clinic | |||
| North Metro Academy of Performing Arts | Peachtree Corne | Songwriting and Performance Program | |||
| North Tattnall Middle School | Reidsville | North Tattnall Middle School Band | |||
| Nuçi’s Space | Athens | Camp Amped & Pre-Amped Sessions | |||
| Otis Redding Foundation | Macon | Lesson Scholarships | |||
| Pelham High School | Pelham | Pelham High School Band | |||
| Perry Middle School | Perry | Perry Panthers Percussive Arts Program | |||
| Powers Ferry Elementary School | Marietta | Ukulele for You – 4th and 5th Grade | |||
| Quitman Elementary School | Quitman | Ukuleles & Instructional Resources | |||
| Sarah Mills Hodge Elementary School | Savannah | Hands on with Orff | |||
| Savannah Music Festival, Inc. | Savannah | SMF Musical Explorers Pogram | |||
| Seminole County Elementary School | Donalsonville | Broadway Jr. Beauty and the Beast | |||
| Shiloh Elementary School | Snellville | Spring Musical Program | |||
| South Tattnall Elementary School | Glennville | Instrument Purchases | |||
| Washington Street Community Center | Covington | WSCC Children Choir | |||
| Windsor Forest High School | Savannah | Windsor Forest High School Band | |||
| Worth County Primary School | Sylvester | World Music Drumming Program | |||
| Youth Villages Inner Harbour | Douglasville | West African Therapeutic Drumming Program | |||
