2011-2012

Give A Note Foundation (GAN) 501(c)(3) is established with investments from 20th Century Fox, Glee, and Ryan Murphy, in partnership with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), to restore music education in schools affected by budget cuts.

GAN awarded 73 schools across the country with grants to support their music programs through the GLEE Give A Note competition in partnership with 20th Century Fox.

2014

Radio Disney partners with Give A Note and sponsors a “drop in” surprise visit from Justin Bieber to Central High School in Tulsa, Ok and Justin donates $10,000 to their music program!

 “The Voice” winner Danielle Bradbery helps Give A Note Foundation launch its first cross-country national bus tour in partnership with Big Machine Label Group, Disney Performing Arts, and NAfME to put the spotlight on music education and the benefits music educators bring to their students and school communities.

Danielle Bradbery, winner of NBC’s The Voice in 2013, is interviewed by Tye Arnold, a Walt Disney World Ambassador, during the Music In Our Schools Tour on Tuesday, March 4, at Cypress Ranch High School in Houston. (Story on Chron)

Cypress Ranch Principal Bob Hull holds a check worth $1,000 granted by the Music In Our Schools Tour on Tuesday, March 4, at Cypress Ranch High School in Houston. The one thousand dollars was doubled by another one thousand dollar donation by Danielle Bradbery’s family.

Photo credits: Michael Minasi

2017

Give A Note partners with the CMA Foundation for year 4 of the national bus tour and grants 6 schools $5000 each for their music programs with special performances at the schools by CMA Vocal Group of the Year, Little Big Town. The honored music educators were also recognized at the CMA Music Teachers of Excellence Awards banquet in Nashville, TN.

"Empowering music educators through financial support for innovative and sustainable music programs creates positive impact for students, schools and communities."

  – Beth Slusher, CEO, Give A Note Foundation

2018 MEIA recipient - K. Michelle Lewis, Bloom Elementary, Louisville, KY

Winner Vivian Gonzalez and her Miami Arts School Orchestra with Principal Dr. Miguel Balsera and Give A Note Board Chair, Sean Smith.

2019 MEIA recipient - Dr. Andy Edwards, Peachtree High School, Suwanee, GA

2018 MEIA recipient - Brad Collins, Enrique S. Camarena Elementary School, Chula Vista, CA

2018 MEIA recipient - Sarah Minette, Minneapolis South High School, Minneapolis, MN

2020 MEIA recipient - Rosa Robinawich, Sunny Isles Beach K-8 School, Sunny Isles Beach, FL

MEET THE 2020 MEIA RECIPIENTS

Ashleigh Spatz

Burgess-Peterson Academy | Atlanta, Georgia

Composing for Community

Composing for Community is an innovative elementary music project that focuses on the important and useful 21st century skill of composing digital music. 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students engage in composing digital music with three technology programs: Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music, Chrome Music Lab, and Incredibox. Students work with music production industry experts from the local community and share their work at community concerts.

Cale Patton

Dawes Elementary | Chicago, Illinois

Community Parade Project

Everyone loves a parade. Parades and processions are part of many cultures around the world. Costumes, parades, and culturally responsive music have invigorated our elementary school band program, making band a fun and dynamic experience for our entire community. When we parade in the neighborhood, we create music in an exciting way that celebrates diverse cultures, reclaims public space, and ignites the imaginations of all ages.

Courtney Powers

South Philadelphia High | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Merging Latin and Hip-Hop: The South Philly Story

Bridging the gap between Latin and Hip-Hop music at South Philadelphia High School helps curb the cultural and musical mode of our school. Our three studios allow student groups to collaborate and work on their music in a safe, social-emotional project-based learning environment. Visiting community artists lead masterclasses and work with students on the styles of Hip-Hop and Latin music, developing a learning culture where students become proud leaders that feel confident to share with the community, growing South Philly together.

David Greenbaum

Visitacion Valley Middle | San Francisco, California

Rhythm of Life Project

The Rhythm of Life Project (ROLP) provides an opportunity for students to create a working percussion art piece/expression out of recycled materials. Reflections and conversations are inspired by the artist/musicians to bring about awareness and action to aid in the healing of the planet/environment. Blending the ROLP with a Korg drum clipkit, percussion beats are created to accompany original compositions of varying forms.

David Milnes

Egg Harbor Township High | Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey

Eagle Records

Eagle Records is EHTHS record label that was founded in 2017. The goal of Eagle Records is to provide an avenue for students to create and produce their own original music in a program other than band or chorus.

Jordan Lee

Western Guilford High | Greensboro, North Carolina

Shaping the “U” in Music

Shaping the “U” in Music is dedicated to cultivating honest, openminded, intellectual and respectful people. Through the use of practical and culturally responsive music education, all students have the ability to create music in eclectic ways that bring them joy and promote growth. Students should know that music is for all, so let us all make music.

Liesl Purviance

Waltersville School | Bridgeport, Connecticut

Future GRAMMY® Winners

Future GRAMMY Winners is heavily based in student choice and independence and structured to support students in selecting, arranging, writing, rehearsing, and performing their own musical selections. Students will graduate the program with the skills and desire to continue creating, recording, and performing music in the local and global community well beyond their 8th grade year.

Logan Caywood

Jardine STEM & Career Explorations Academy | Wichita, Kansas

Culturally Relevant & World Music Pedagogy in the Choir Classroom

Incorporating music of our students’ & others’ cultures allows for a small insight into the lives, celebrations & stories from children outside of our city, country & continent.

Nick Popovich

Shea Middle | Phoenix, Arizona

Music Technology

Students are making music in a style they prefer while learning about creating, recording, mixing, performing and producing. They explore development and production of sound in a progressive, rigorous curriculum to gain music making skills. They explore and experience this through engaging classes that involve field trips to fine art staples and Guest Artists from the fine arts community, providing presentations, workshops and master classes.

Rosa Rabinovich

Norman S. Edelcup Sunny Isles Beach K-8 School | Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

Norman S. Edelcup Sunny Isles Beach K-8 Middle School Music Technology Program

The NSE SIB K-8 Music Technology Program is a part of our school’s STEAM program and a collaborative effort of the faculty to develop students’ technology skills and musical abilities. Learning music through coding helps students not just improve their musical skills, but develops their critical thinking skills, computer literacy and opens up possibilities to explore careers in music that requires a strong technology background.

Ryan William Mack

P.S. 52K Sheepshead Bay | Brooklyn, New York

Bars & Beats

Bars & Beats started as an extension of P.S. 52’s Black History Month Celebration, but has since grown to explore hip-hop on a deeper level through learning the history, function, and culture of hip-hop. Of the other music programs offered at P.S. 52, it provides the most room for the students’ independent voices and encourages creativity, collaboration, and celebration of oneself.

Suzanne Spencer

Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mental Health Awareness, Social Justice and Building Community through Music

The Vocal and Modern Band program at Rush focuses on using music to create a safe environment for students of all levels of ability to express their feelings and use music as a creative outlet. We use music as a vehicle to look at and discuss social justice issues, specifically: civil rights, LGBTQ issues, women’s rights, sexual abuse and trauma, depression and anxiety, race related issues, and the current political climate.

Thomas Insall

Newburg High | Newburg, Missouri

Audio Engineering

Newburg High School’s Audio Engineering program provides students a holistic immersion into a STEM-oriented field that marries arts, science, and business skills. From learning how to operate or repair vintage recording equipment to scheduling recording sessions or even practicing instruments and developing their musical ear, students develop habits that not only serve them in the arts, but in becoming a productive member of society.

Tiffany Cox

Lake Worth High | Lake Worth, Florida

Sound Engineering in the Instrumental Music Classroom

High school students today are surrounded by technology in their everyday lives. Lake Worth High School’s Sound Engineering program supports the technological growth of our band students. Through this program, students learn how to design and manage professional-level audio recording and amplification equipment for real-life performance applications.

Zachary May

White Plains High | White Plains, New York

Mariachi Juvenil Los Tigres

Mariachi Juvenil Los Tigres is the only public high school mariachi program in New York State. Our mission is to reflect the culture of our community, enrich our students’ musical lives through varied performance opportunities, and provide a model for mariachi education in the Northeastern U.S.A.

Cassadee Pope Event!

Give A Note and Gibson Gives teamed up for a special event with Cassadee Pope, raising funds and awareness for underserved music programs​.

Give A Note and Gibson Gives partner to supply guitars for the recently formed Maplewood High School guitar class in Nashville, TN

2021

Students at John Overton High School play guitars donated by Gibson Gives at a Let’s Play Music Fund outdoor event to celebrate a $50,000 donation to Metro Nashville Schools.

2022

Huber Engineered Materials partners with Give A Note to donat $16,500 of percussion equipment and Let’s Play Music Fund masks and bell covers to band students in 4 Atlanta public schools, impacting more than 150 students.

2023

GAN leverages partnership with Artist For Artist leaders, Matthew Reich and Neal Saini to help reorganize its leadership team and refine its North Star. The partnership also sees the 2nd annual SXSW Official Showcase, Music Unites Us, featuring music education champions Robby Krieger of The Doors, Talib Kweli, Dennis Quaid, Bartees Strange with partners including Netflix, American Songwriter, Gibson and more.

2024

Give A Note hires Dendy Jarrett, former Executive Director of Gibson Gives as the new CEO and Beth Slusher, former CEO stays on with the organization as COO.

Give A Note hosts large SXSW presence in 2024 as they Take Action for Music Education.

Take Action x SXSW Music Summit kicks off at Mohawk with a panel on social impact through music led by Dendy Jarrett.

L-R (Mark Barden, Co-CEO Sandy Hook Promise + Co-Founder Sandy Hook Promise / Artist For Action; Stacy Huston, Executive Director SixDegrees.org; Lucille Wenegieme, Executive Director, HeadCount; Austin Atteberry, Executive Director & Co-Founder Sing Me A Story Foundation; Dendy Jarrett, CEO Give A Note Foundation)

Dendy leads a panel on tech in music with participants from AUDIX, Bootsy Collins' Metaverse and Marshall Amplification.

Over 35 artists perform across 2 stages at the famed Mohawk nightclub during Give A Note + Artist For Artist presents Take Action x SXSW

American Songwriter Take Action x SXSW winners, Grandmaster, get awarded by the grand funkateer himself, Bootsy Collins.

Bootsy Collins himself joins a panel moderated by Billboard's CBO Dana Droppo.

Mark Barden & Friends take the outdoor stage in a performance that united Give A Note Foundation and Sandy Hook Promise organizations.

Rap Icon, Slick Rick takes the stage for Give A Note to a packed house!

You can help us make an impact for the future by donating today! Your generosity helps us place music technology classrooms in schools across the United States! Please Support our efforts to create better humans through music! Give A Future ... Give A Note! Donate Now!