Health and Instrument Cleaning: The NFHS, NAfME and the NAMM Foundation recommend the following guidelines for handling musical instruments for the health and well-being of student musicians. These guidelines are designed for use by anyone collecting or handling instruments that have been donated. Music educators and educators may use these guidelines when teaching students and parents how to clean instruments. Please click here.
Do you have a used musical instrument you wish to donate to a child in need?
The Spirit of Harmony Foundation would be happy to help you find a good home for it. Please send us an email with the following information:
- What you want to donate
- Where you are located
- Details about the instrument(s) and several photos (approximate age, manufacturer/model). Please clearly indicate whether the instrument is in workable, functional condition or whether it needs extensive repairs.
- Is this donation time-sensitive?
- Does the recipient need to pick up this donation, or will it be delivered? (This is especially important for large instruments such as pianos or organs). If the recipient needs to pick up the instrument, then are there stairs or narrrow hallways that will make the move more difficult?
We will make every effort to arrange for a local children’s music program to accept your donation. We keep an extensive database of programs across the country that accept instrument donations, and we will do everything possible to find the perfect new home for your instrument(s).
Please know that full-sized keyboards (pianos and organs) are extremely difficult to place, particularly if the recipient must pick it up from your location themselves. We are happy to help with keyboards, but we do not have the success rate in placing pianos and organs as we have with smaller instruments. Piano donations are complicated and deserve their own page, so please click here if you are interested in donating a piano.
If you donate a used instrument to a local organization in the SPIRIT of the Spirit of Harmony, please let us know what you donated, who you donated it to, and send along some photos!