Over $235,000 has been designated through the MusiCounts TD Community Fund program to support musical experiences across the country. Right now, the call is out to Central Alberta to apply for the grants.
MusiCounts manager Mike Hurley said the goal of the program is to,” Provide funding that will be transformational for the programs that are benefitting from that money.” The application deadline is May 8th and organizations throughout Central Alberta are urged to apply.
Funding applications are being accepted online at www.musicounts.ca. Organizations have the chance to secure up to $25,000 of funding per program.
“Basically, what we’re looking for is community centres, youth drop-in centres, recreation centres, after school programs, summer camps – essentially any kind of program that is operating and engaging members of the local community and providing a musical experience that doesn’t exist within classroom walls during school hours,” Hurley said.
“What this funding goes towards is the purchase of musical equipment and instruments that are required for providing musical experiences programs, either educational or recreational.”
Hurley said the funding could be used for traditional instruments or for more contemporary music production tools such as beat software and engineering equipment. He said the MusiCounts TD Community Fund could even be used for recording and production software.
“I may be stating the obvious, but I think it’s important to remind people that ultimately, we can only provide funding to people who reach out to us and apply for the program,” Hurley said.
“The biggest challenge we are having is that there are literally hundreds of programs across the country that could benefit from this program but have no idea the opportunity exists, so they don’t apply. But the funding we provide goes right up to $25,000 allotments.”
Hurley also said since the program’s inception two years ago, less than five groups from Central Alberta had applied for funding, and that he really hopes that number increases in 2015.
“We want the number of applicants increased because we see a lot of potential for this and want to grow this program. It’s very complimentary to what we’re already doing with the schools because it’s giving us one more method of getting instruments into the hands of kids who need it most and might not otherwise have that opportunity,” he said.
The school program Hurley referred to operates with the title of ‘Band-Aid Grants’. These grants are used in schools across the country to purchase musical instruments and educational equipment.
Application forms and submission to the MusiCounts TD Community Fund Program can take place on the www.musicounts.ca web site, or by contacting Mike Hurley directly at mike@musicounts.ca.
kmedonsa@reddeerexpress.com
