It’s beyond shadow of a doubt that America’s recorded musical legacy is considered as most important and irreplaceable national treasures. Therefore, the Grammy Foundation’s archiving and preservation initiatives were designed to cultivate awareness of the crucial need to preserve the nation’s recorded sound legacy. In order to promote preservation of nation’s vast recorded sound heritage, the Foundation is providing funds to entities engaged in preservation work, advocacy work on legislative issues, the development of information resources, and other projects.

The Grammy Foundation was authorized in the year 1989, with it’s headquarter in Santa Monica. The ultimate mission of the Foundation is, to enrich the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution accomplished by recorded music to American culture. The Foundation is liberally funded by The Recording Academy. The mission of the Foundation is accomplished through various programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community. The Foundation also admits the participation of the general public in the mission. In order to preserve the rich cultural heritage, the Foundation works in partnership with The Recording Academy. This partnership conveys the need of national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education.

The Foundation Program Funds The Following Areas:

Scientific Research Projects:

The Foundation presents grants to organizations or individuals, in order to support research on the impact of music on the human condition. Priority is given to the project which consists of strong methodological design, importantly addressing a research question. Examples which can be included are: the study of the effects of music on mood, cognition and healing, as well as the medical and occupational well-being of music professionals and the creative process underlying music.

Archiving And Preservation Projects

The Foundation Program awards grants to organizations or individuals, who put forth efforts in advancing the archiving and preservation of the music and recorded sound heritage of the Americas. The Archiving and Preservation area works on two funding categories, namely; i) Preservation Implementation and ii) Planning, Assessment and/or Consultation.

The Grammy Foundation Grants

Grants Awarded In 2004

Grammy Foundation Program partners with 7 UP in order to award grants to the top public high schools that have achieved ‘stand-out’ performance to music education during 2003-2004 (school year).

“The Grammy Signature Schools program is an exceptional way to recognize schools nationwide that support and maintain arts and music programs in the face of a challenging economy,” “We honor these schools for their recognition of the positive effects that the arts and music have on young people, and we wish them continues success. And we thank our terrific partner 7 UP for its philanthropic support of this program and of music education”, said Neil Portnow, Grammy Foundation and Recording Academy President.

Grants Awarded In 2005

In 2005, the Grammy Foundation Program distributed nearly $600,000 to 19 recipients of the country. The funds were given to the organizations that put an effort to preserve recordings of cultural events, such as Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Television and Radio, collections at the Library of Congress and also numerous colleges and universities. Research projects also combines studying a possible link between music studies and reading skills in learning-disabled second graders and detecting brain activity in order to better understand on how training in music changes the way the brain works.

Neil Portnow, President of the Grammy Foundation and The Recording Academy opines, “These important grants represent some of our most vital missions”. “Each year we strive to reach out to the archiving and preservation community, whether it is a large institution or a private collection of rare and culturally significant recordings that would otherwise be lost. The grants given to research lead us further down the road of defining the importance of music in education and its ability to enhance various therapies, as well as to manage the occupational challenges of music professional.”

The Grammy Foundation partnered with Shure Incorporated and launched ‘Grammy Camp’ on July 30, 2005, at Citrus College in Glendora. The Foundation picked out 60 high school students to be participants in this extensive learning experience. The purpose of the program was to explore careers in recording, performing, writing and other music fields.

Grants Awarded In 2009

In 2009, the Grammy Foundation announced the distribution of $150,000 in grants to 11 recipients of the country. These funds were awarded to facilitate a range of research, archiving and preservation project on a variety of subjects which included, improving access to culturally and historically significant Native American and Latin American sound recordings, and testing the impact of the music on critically-ill premature infants.

Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy on the occasion said, “Our Grammy Foundation Grant Program is now in its 22nd year,” “And the need for our support of projects that preserve our musical heritage and make new discoveries at the intersection of music and science is more critical than ever. The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation are proud of our commitment to sustain important work of our grantees for the benefit of future generations.”

A sum of $20,000 grant awarded to Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.

It was on April 16th 2009; the Grammy Foundation stepped up to the plate and supported this project. To forge ahead on digitization efforts, the Grammy Foundation has awarded a sum of $20,000 grant to UCSB’s Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. With the received grant amount, UCSB had plans to digitize at least 500 titles. This grant allowed UCSB’s to put a significant number of new cylinders online. With the support of the Grammys, UCSB’s have acquired lots of foreign and ethnic cylinders over the past 18 months. The grant has made significant changes in the progress of the project and is also expected to eliminate the backlog.