The sources for music grants widely vary between small, private foundations, large institutional foundations and even government programs. The goals of each entity are as varied as the field of music itself. Some focus on specific genres of music, while others concentrate on helping a particular geographical area. Regardless of these details, one aspect is fairly consistent: foundations want to make an impact on a community or field that extends beyond any one individual project.
Computers have dramatically broadened the possibilities for individual artists to produce, mix, and distribute their own music from the comfort of a home studio. This has significantly increased the number of active musicians, and consequently the number of grant seekers. However, rarely are funds awarded for individualized activity. Most grants involve ensembles, musical casts, or educational programs based on a large collaborative process. For example, both the Grammy Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts award projects that spread cultural awareness of music, as opposed to the production of a recording.
Most grants awarded to create specific products of music require live performance. Recordings, when awarded, are usually also of live productions. Grants for studio recordings are scarce. The Puffin Foundation showcases its award to Passage Theatre Company for an opera production as the quintessential project it seeks to fund. The Cary New Music Fund applies exclusively to performances of music by contemporary composers.
The chances for success in grant funding are elevated when your project or organization has a strong educational component. While many musical projects will not focus on this, foundations know that the more people they touch with their funding, the more effective and prominent they will become. Individual grants to music teachers are as common as those to large institutions.
Foundations love artists who are introducing or emboldening a solid musical presence in a city or area that lacks this cultural identity. One recipient, Rhythmix Cultural Works, was an easy pick for the Rex Foundation after it built a new space to serve the musical community in Alameda, California. Prior to the achievements of Rhythmix, Alameda had no central, organized source for live music production, and this made an impression on the grant process. Foundations want to see the effects of their funding resonate long after the money is spent.