INSTRUMENT GRANTS

The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation donates musical instruments to schools nationwide with a focus on increasing student access to music education programs in low-income communities. Since its founding, the Foundation has donated 39,000 instruments to more than 1,800 schools representing 49 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Grant Eligibility

To be considered for a grant from the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, schools must meet the following criteria:

  1. School Type: The school must be a public school (including public charter schools) located in the United States, Washington, D.C., or a U.S. Territory.
  2. Student Demographics: At least 65% of the student population must be economically disadvantaged.
  3. Music Program: The school must have an established instrumental, choral, or general music program that is part of the regular school day.
    • Note: All types of instrumental programs qualify, including but not limited to band, strings, mariachi, guitar labs, keyboard labs, jazz band, and modern band.
  4. Music Teacher: The school must employ a dedicated music teacher (instrumental, choral, or general music) who has taught at the applying school for at least two consecutive years.
  5. Instruments: The school must have an existing inventory of musical instruments.
  6. Music Classroom: The school must have a designated music classroom with secure storage for instruments and/or equipment.

Our Process

The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation employs a thorough vetting process to evaluate prospective grantees, gain insight into the school and program’s unique circumstances, assess potential needs, determine how a donation could directly enhance the musical experience and wellbeing of students, and ensure the sustainability of the donation for years to come.

We encourage music teachers at schools in need that meet the foundation’s grant guidelines to submit a pre-qualification form:

MUSIC TEACHERS: CLICK HERE TO START A PRE-QUALIFICATION!

Contact

For more information about Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation’s grants or application process, reach out to applications@mhopus.org.

frequently asked questions

Public charter schools are public schools operated by independent, non-profit governing bodies, and are authorized by either a local education agency or the state. By definition, charter schools are public and are eligible for MHOF grants.

At this time, MHOF only grants to public schools.

Economically disadvantaged students are defined based on their state’s criteria, which may include students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) support, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or are part of migrant education or foster care programs. This percentage may differ from the school’s free- or reduced-price lunch percentage. Your school or district administration can provide the economically disadvantaged percentage for your school.

The 65% threshold is calculated based on total school enrollment. The full application will also ask for the economically disadvantaged percentage specifically for students in the music program, but the eligibility threshold is based on the total school enrollment.

MHOF looks for programs that have been in place for at least two (2) years. These programs may be growing or well-established, but our grants are not intended to help start brand new music programs.

To be eligible, schools must offer music courses during the regular school day. Instruments and equipment for co-curricular programs offered after school (e.g., marching band, jazz band, mariachi, vocal ensembles, etc.) are eligible as long as they are part of the overall music program. However, if a school only offers after-school music programs and no in-school music courses, it is not eligible for a grant.

Yes, MHOF grants support all types of music programs, including less traditional or innovative programs. However, our grants do not cover computers, tablets, or subscription-based software.

It depends. MHOF will consider grants that help to expand an existing music program. For example, an elementary school has an existing general music program and the school wants to expand by offering an instrumental music course. While we support growing or established programs, our grants are not designed to help start new programs from scratch (i.e., at schools without a music program).

Part-time, shared, or flexible teaching arrangements do meet the requirement. The key is that the school must employ a teacher dedicated to teaching music.

Yes. Teachers teaching at multiple schools would need to submit an application for each school separately. MHOF grants are made to schools, not individual teachers. Further, instruments granted to one school may not be shared or transferred to another school.

All music teachers should collaborate to complete a single application representing the needs of all music programs at the school. One music teacher will need to enter and submit the application on behalf of the entire team of music teachers.

It depends. MHOF will consider grants that help to expand an existing music program. For example, an elementary school has an existing general music program but offers no instruments (Orff, Recorder, Ukulele, etc.). In this example, MHOF grants can support the addition of the instruments for the existing program.  While we support growing or established programs, our grants are not designed to help start new programs from scratch (i.e., at schools without a music program).

There are no specific safety or storage guidelines, but schools must have enough storage to safely house donated instruments and a way to secure them to prevent damage, theft, or loss.

Yes, schools with shared or multi-purpose spaces are eligible to apply. However, they must still provide adequate and secure storage for the program’s inventory.

Yes. MHOF administers Music Rising, which is a natural disaster reserve fund for schools that lose musical instruments that cannot be replaced via insurance or FEMA. For more information, email MusicRising@mhopus.org or call 818-762-4328.

No, only music teachers can submit the pre-qualification form and/or application. However, we encourage principals, district administrators, PTO/booster members, parents, and other community members to share information about MHOF’s grant programs with the music teacher.

The application requires basic information about your school, which MHOF may verify through publicly available data. You’ll also need to submit MHOF-provided worksheets detailing your music courses and enrollment, as well as information about your budget and inventory.

MHOF grants consist of musical instruments and equipment only; no cash grants are provided. Our team handles sourcing, ordering, and delivering the instruments. As part of the application process, we work with the teacher to assess the program’s needs to determine the appropriate instruments and equipment. Note that only student model instruments are provided, and the brand is at MHOF’s discretion.

No, MHOF’s grant programs are designed for individual schools. District administrators, including district-level fine arts or music supervisors, cannot submit applications on behalf of a school or multiple schools within a district. Additionally, MHOF works closely with school districts through our Music (and Arts) Education District Support Services (MEDSS™), which is a comprehensive arts (dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts) education assessment and consulting service that identifies challenges and barriers creating inequities for student access and participation in music and arts programming, identifies why these barriers exist, and helps districts find solutions can be implemented to remove them.