FIG. 1: Created by fans of the rock band Phish, the Mockingbird Foundation grants awards that range from $500 to $5,000 and go to innovative programs that promote music creation.

Locating funds to support music-technology programs can be an arduous task. Sifting through Web sites, reference books, and foundation profiles for protocols of organizations that fit your program needs is time-consuming and tedious work that doesn't always yield fruitful results. Nevertheless, it must be done.

In the February/March 2006 issue of MET, I described seven Web sites that can help you locate and successfully apply for music-technology grants. In this article, I'll continue with where I left off.

www.mockingbirdfoundation.org
The Mockingbird Foundation's mission is to generate charitable proceeds that have been donated by the popular improvisational rock jam band Phish and its fans. People are encouraged to apply for funding of innovative programs that lie in any aspect of music creation (for example, composition and improvisation), and in diverse and unusual musical styles, genres, and philosophies (see Fig. 1).

Awards range from $500 to $5,000. The Mockingbird Foundation funds programs throughout the United States.

www.computers.fed.gov/public/general1.asp
Federal agencies often donate their used hardware, including computers, printers, modems, routers, servers, and telecommunications equipment. This is a great resource for music teachers with budgetary constraints and for schools in financially challenged districts. Public, private, parochial, and home schools from preschool through grade 12 are eligible to receive used computers. Most grants are for Windows PCs, but Apple Macintosh computers may also be available.

Schools in federal empowerment zones and enterprise communities are given special consideration. The grants are designed to create self-sustaining, long-term economic development in areas of pervasive poverty and unemployment. Just register your school, and hopefully you will be on your way to developing a technology program.

To determine whether a school or educational nonprofit organization is located within an empowerment zone or enterprise community and is eligible for this special consideration, go to the EZ/EC Web site at www.ezec.gov.

www.sabine.k12.la.us/vrschool/grants.htm
While many Web sites contain links to foundations and resources that fund technology programs, this link is one you should definitely bookmark. It contains a listing of major national foundations that support technology in the schools (for example, Merrill Lynch Foundation and Levi Strauss Foundation). An assortment of government and education sites are also listed, such as the National Music Foundation, PBS Teacher Grant Source Opportunities, and Teacher Innovation Challenge Grants — all worth investigating.

www.musicalonline.com/foundation_grants.htm
At Musical Online, you can view lots of foundations, associations, grant opportunities, organizations, and societies, including the George Lucas Foundation, Pathways to School Improvement, and the Distance Learning Funding Source Book. Sample articles such as “Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom” and “Technology Standards” are also of interest.

Unit lessons about music technology can be very useful. An example is identifying cities located on the Mississippi River that have a rich musical tradition. The musical style and the musicians in the region are carefully studied, using technology as a resource to gather data, including sound, photographs, and text. Measurement and evaluation are determined partially through student presentations.

www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/resources/grants.html
Children's Music Workshop's Music Education Online site includes a dedicated page for music grants and scholarships, which offers an immense variety of interesting and diversified links. Categories include Non-Specific, Federal, Regionally Specific, and Private funding streams, with sources that donate instruments and equipment to schools.

Every school and district is different. Demographics, target population, economic conditions, and curricular needs are a few variables that determine which foundations' and corporations' areas of interest best suit your program's needs. The more links a site has, the more information you can gather. Despite the time-consuming process of researching organizations and areas of interest, doing so is the most productive way to find a site that is compatible with your curricular goals.

www.ed.gov/programs/techinnov/index.html
The process of applying, writing, and managing a collaborative or challenge grant can be taxing, but it is often rewarding, both educationally and personally. If the resources are available, and your school or district meets the guidelines, you should seriously consider applying for a grant of this type.

FIG. 2: The U.S. Department of Education offers five-year challenge grants to develop new applications of technology for education, including music technology.

The U.S. Department of Education offers challenge grants to promote technology in the schools and improve the quality of education (see Fig. 2). Music technology is considered to be an innovative area involving computers, which coincides with the USDE's focus for this grant award.

A consortium must be formed between schools, businesses, and community organizations to match the grant and to commit to providing technical support, teacher training, and other resources that increase student achievement, while working toward meeting national and state educational standards. The consortium must also include at least one local educational agency that has a high percentage of financially challenged students and families.

This challenge grant is a five-year award. Grant recipients must adhere to specific implementation, guidelines, and expectations throughout the time frame to assure that students receive real-life learning experiences that will benefit them throughout their educational journey.

Stephen Wilensky is the chair of the Music Department at Central High School in Philadelphia, and is a Temple University faculty member and Fulbright Award recipient. You can email him with comments, questions, and suggestions for future “Finding Funds” columns at swchs@earthlink.net.