Project Grant

Our main goal was to provide assistance for financially needy families so they could afford music lessons for their children. One of the steps needed in order to achieve that end was to raise awareness to increase the amount of applicants. In the 2015-16 school year we had 15 families apply and 12 were approved for a discount on their lessons. In the 2016-17 school year we had 43 families apply and 24 were approved for a discount on their lessons. Our advertising and promotions clearly helped get the word out, encouraging more families to apply and pursue lessons in the performing arts. The project grant allowed us to double the amount of families that we could serve, from 12 students in the '15-16 year, to 24 students in the '16-17 school year. We conducted a written survey at the end of the school year to determine how critical the assistance was to the families who received it, and 80% of the families answered that they would not have taken lessons or they would have taken considerably fewer lessons without the assistance from this project grant. There was a clearly established need and this project played a large role in helping 2 dozen local children receive music instruction in the past year. Another goal was to ensure Minnesota artists were paid a livable wage in exchange for the education which they provide. Because of the project grant funding, we were able to pay the teachers a fair wage for their education, enabling local musicians to earn a living from the pursuit of their art. Many of the families also expressed how they were more likely to attend music concerts because of their new understanding and appreciation for music, and also that appreciated learning new styles of music on their instrument. We are glad that more Central Minnesotans have an understanding and appreciation for the arts as a result of the work that we do here at the Wirth Center.