Grants to K–12 Music Programs
The CE&O Council of the Women’s University Club Foundation offers funding for Seattle area public schools to support their music programs. The Music Counts! Grants Program offers grants up to $500 (occasionally more) annually, and the application form for these grants is available on the website at the beginning of each school year.
To download the application form, click here
Music Counts! Grants Program:
Twelve years ago, the founding mission of the Community Education & Outreach Council was to benefit the needs of the community. The first project the CE&O Council took up was to build a fund to assist struggling school music programs. The joyful sound of young people making good music is incomparable. Making music is exhilarating and is an integral part of every culture. Today’s school music programs, however, are being threatened by budget cuts, making it extremely difficult to provide good music experiences for the students. More recently, the effects of covid have taken a significant toll on the music programs in schools.
This Music Counts! program has grown from 5 grants awarded in 2011 to over 30 grants awarded annually. Grants for up to $500 (occasionally more for special projects) assist in supplying basic classroom needs such as sheet music, instrument repairs and accessories, educational materials, coaching, and purchase of instruments (xylophones, ukuleles, cajons, drums & percussion instruments, among others).
Each year in May, the CE&O Council hosts a Music Counts! Fundraiser to raise additional funds for this worthy cause. The CE&O Council thanks you for your support and urges you to think of music teachers you may know who could use financial help and encourage them to apply for a grant.
We have two rounds of giving per academic year. The first deadline is October 28, 2024 and the second is January 13, 2025. Complete and email the form as an attachment to CE&[email protected].
The Gendler Grants Program:
The Gendler Grants program was a 5-year program offering annual grants of $5,000- $20,000 and is currently completed. no further applications are being accepted. It was funded by a bequest from long-time Club member Natalie Gendler, focused on funding durable, significant improvements to a school’s music program.
A native New Yorker, Wellesley graduate, and Ph.D. psychologist, Natalie Gendler joined the Women's University Club in 1999. She became a founding member of Music Counts! where she was impressed by the needs and accomplishments of the students and schools. Music was always a part of her family's life, and it was her desire to support students and music. The Natalie Gendler Grants program is her legacy, which continues and extends the work of Music Counts!
The Natalie Gendler grants were directed to low-resourced schools with high diversity in the student body, high percentages of Free/Reduced Lunch, high incidence of homelessness among students, or other indications of significant challenges.
For information on the Gendler Grants recipients in earlier years, click here.