Year-End Report 2022
501(c)3 – FEIN 46-4000828
Our Vision:
Grassroots and nation-wide support of instrument-based music education available for all children in the United States, beginning at the earliest age possible, offered in schools or as after-school programs for a significant length of time (minimum two years and four hours per week), so all children experience the measurable social, biological, economic, and academic benefits of music education.
The Spirit of Harmony Foundation engages in Music Education advocacy by:
- Providing children’s music programs with information, ideas, and resources to help them address their needs.
- Providing music education advocates with referrals and connections within their own communities so they are able to support local music programs in meaningful and impactful ways.
2022 Recap:
Continuing on the Music Education Advocacy journey in a world recovering from pandemic-era disruptions, elimination of many instrument-based music programs is being experienced across the country. There is a great deal of personnel turnover in schools and organizations, with teacher shortages and budget cuts. All the while, children need and deserve a well-rounded education that includes Music and the Arts, and the Spirit of Harmony has continued to work on matching music programs with the local and national resources they need to be the best they can be.
Accomplishments – ADMINISTRATIVE:
Board of Directors.
- Per the Bylaws, election was held for half of the Board members in June and half of the Board members in December. No changes have been made to the roster of Board members.
- Maintained password-protected Board Portal for 2022.
- Frequent Zoom, Telephone, and Email Board interactions throughout the year as needed.
Business Practices.
- All reports and official forms filed on time.
- All donations accurately logged and acknowledged.
- 2022 Year-end tax letters for donors sent to all donors in January 2023.
- 2022 Year-end reports submitted to pro-bono accountant Chris Detzer in January 2023.
- Ongoing efficient responsiveness to general and specific inquiries and opportunities via email, telephone, and social media.
- Where required by law, SOHF maintains state-by-state non-profit registrations and filings by Michael Baird.
- The Foundation has earned a PLATINUM Seal of Transparency from CANDID (formerly Guidestar) which is the highest rating level and a TOP NON-PROFIT designation from Great NonProfits, also the highest rating level.
Fundraising:
- Individual donations: Ongoing donations and relationship-building with individual donors.
- Increase in “In honor of” and “In memory of” and “recurring monthly” gifts.
- Two online auctions completed with all items promptly packed and shipped.
- Sought out opportunities for matching grants, challenge grants, donor-designated funds, and cause-related marketing.
- Merchandise: Hello It’s Tea mugs, The Magistris Project, Toddstock Re-Issue, imprinted items (Zazzle), and Someone/Anyone? CD.
- Todd donated nearly all of the AWATS costumes to the Foundation after the 2021 AWATS/Individualist tour. Also, John Siegler presented the Foundation with the historic 1959 Longhorn bass that has now been professionally restored. The costumes and bass are currently in secure storage and it is hoped that a live auction event can be organized in 2023 to maximize bidding potential for these treasures.
Accomplishments – PROGRAM:
Community Building: Information tables at Todd’s major concert tours give the Spirit of Harmony an opportunity to engage supporters around the country and also shine a light on local music programs.
- For the Fall 2022 Celebrating David Bowie tour, SOHF had CELEBRATING MUSIC EDUCATION information tables at every show of the tour, staffed by about 200 volunteers. Thanks to a close working relationship with the Celebrating David Bowie promoters, it was an opportunity to reach a whole new audience of Bowie fans, Adrian Belew fans, Fishbone fans, etc.
Partnerships. Functioning as an advocate for music programs around the country, the Foundation worked one-on-one with programs nationwide, helping connect the programs with the resources they need to be the best they can be. To accomplish this mission, partnerships are established and nurtured. Current active partnerships include: music manufacturers, instrument repair, businesses and corporations, school systems, academic institutions, service clubs, a wide variety of nonprofits, community leaders, music groups and artist fan bases, etc.
Advocacy.
SOHF has continued to actively assist programs with:
- Technological and logistic issues related to online music education and socially distanced music education.
- Information on available resources and support. Many of the organizations in our network have been offering students summer music camps, many of them for the first time since 2019, and SOHF has assisted them with accessing resources and programming ideas.
- Updating our Instrument Network database to reflect many changes in staffing and programming in school districts and organizations. The purpose of the database is to facilitate placing instruments that are being donated all across the country.
- Social media posts share the latest information from NAMM, NAfME, CDC, US Department of Health, White House Partnerships Office, etc.
- Our Advocacy Toolkit is website-based and continually updated information to assist individuals and organizations for grassroots efforts to support music education. We strive to keep the Advocacy Toolkit and the foundation’s social media postings as supportive, current, and content-rich as possible.
- SOHF is involved with advocacy among elected officials, professional associations, and organizations, as appropriate.
- Jean serves as a program evaluator/judge for two music education award/recognition programs: Music For All Advocacy in Action, and the City of Chicago’s Creative Schools Fund program.
Ongoing Musical Instrument Collections and Placements.
The primary and most universal need of music programs is musical instruments, and one of the best methods of engaging supporters is getting them involved in donating instruments, whether a one-off donation of something they own or participating in a larger-scale instrument drive. We strive to make as many matches as possible with instrument donors and instrument recipients. Since instrument drives require pick-up/drop off sites, evaluation, repair/reconditioning, and redistribution, we have developed a continually updated database of organizations in every state. Also, the Foundation maintains a close working relationship with national and regional instrument donation organizations.
Research and Development Initiatives for Nontraditional Music Education Advocacy:
- 3D Instrument Printing Project. Recognizing that the expense of musical instruments is often an impediment to music education, SOHF is working to test the concept of a pilot program for 3D Instrument Printing with at least one children’s music program with a school or university that has a 3D Printing/engineering program that wants to participate.
- SoundArts (Electronic Music Education). Numerous meetings to explore the music education potential of electronic music. Working on presenting SoundArts as a viable and valuable method of promoting music education, particularly among youth who are not particularly interested in learning how to play an instrument and/or schools that do not have the resources for a traditional music program.
Public Information/Engagement:
- Emails: emails sent out through Constant Contact as needed.
- Inquiries from the general public, on a vast range of topics.
- Social Media: Through daily posts on Facebook and Twitter, the Foundation continually spreads awareness about the importance of Music Education in particular and music in general. The Foundation’s goal with social media is to provide high quality academic, inspirational, and fun content that will be liked and shared by our networks, and to build a strong sense of community around our Mission. The “hook” of all posts is always music education advocacy. Full social media report follows.
Social Media Report
|
|
December 31, 2022 |
December 31, 2021 |
|
Facebook Group Members |
8,267 |
6,569 |
|
Facebook Page Followers |
10,143 |
9,935 |
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Twitter followers |
1,215 |
1,227 |
|
YouTube Channel subscribers |
846 |
755 |
|
Email List (Constant Contact) |
11,714 |
11,410 |
For additional information:
Please don’t hesitate to email the foundation at [email protected] to request any additional information.
Past Reports: