A For-Profit Mind, A Non-Profit Heart

Founded in 1994 expressly to bring the power of music and celebrity to the aid of charitable and educational endeavors, every program Songmasters delivers benefits non-profits. Songmasters was one of the earliest pioneers of cause-related marketing.  For our first 15 years, we achieved this by earmarking non-profits to receive direct support through our corporate clients’ programs or by contributing financial support directly through a portion of Songmasters profits annually to charity. Songmasters’ Executives also do considerable pro-bono work.  It is why or motto is Where Doing Good is Good for Business®

Non-Profits Are Businesses, Too

In 2010, Songmasters expanded its own operations to serve non-profits directly.  Our work with corporate clients and the charities related to their targeted audiences showed us that non-profits often need more than donations.  They, too, can benefit directly from integrated marketing, brand communications, and business development assistance in their own right.   To help nonprofit organizations thrive, operate and sustain their programs over the long term,  Songmasters has for many years provided the same types of service we offer to our corporate clients, but scaled in cost and approach to match non-profits’ resources and values.

How Songmasters Serves Non-Profits

  • As Direct Clients

Songmasters has  provided direct services to dozens of charitable and educational organizations.  Recent examples include  Excelencia in Education, POBA | Where The Arts Live® (and its parent, the James Kirk Bernard Foundation), Coalition for the Homeless, Komen Race for the Cure,  Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill,  and W.H.A.T., among many others.  These services cover a broad spectrum, ranging from donor advisement to re-granting programs, from program design to oversight of existing program services; from capital campaign advisement to strategic planning; from product development to website design. We effectively link the operational and financial aims of our non-profits clients with the expert skills and resources of our partners and associates.

  • As Beneficiaries of Corporate Clients’ Programs

Songmasters has developed programs and initiatives for our corporate clients that substantially benefited many charitable and educational organizations such as HelpUSA, MentoringUSA, Communities in Schools, the New York City Public Schools, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation,  the Smooth Jazz Foundation, and many more. Songmasters coordinates all associated relationships and philanthropic programs with partnered for-profits and benefiting non-profits.

  • As Beneficiaries of Songmasters’ Programs

Songmasters has made a practice of donating a portion of our annual profits to charitable causes.  Additionally, Songmasters’ own program, Listen To Me® has benefited PBS, the GRAMMY® Foundations’ Grammy Camps, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Scholarship Programs (endowing the annual Holly Prize since 2009, juried and announced annually by The Songwriters Hall of Fame), and web-based technical resources provided by Artists’ House Music.

  • As Pro-Bono Clients

Songmasters has also provided pro-bono assistance on a limited basis to numerous charitable and educational organizations. Examples include the The Girl Scouts of Greater New York, The Innovation Network, Outer Cape Health Services, Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, Think Quest, The V-Day Project, and Wild Care, among many others.

  • As Direct Providers of Non-Profit Services

Songmasters has designed, developed and delivered non-profit programs for our non-profit clients.  A recent example is  POBA | Where The Arts Live®, a program of a private foundation which Songmasters developed and implemented from concept to fulfillment.  This exceptional program took five years to develop from initial concept, through logo design and development of a stunning website; from Shop services to tangible Concierge Services for heirs, estates, collectors, arts institutions and working artists; from Google Ad campaigns to PR coverage in many major media, both print and recorded, and much more.  When we transitioned the program back to the private foundation, POBA was fully operational, widely recognized, and successful in fulfilling its mission.

  • In Collaboration with Other Non-Profits

Songmasters has also been the recipient of two Ford Foundation grants for its own educational programming, The American Road®, a collective vision of a landmark alliance of  more than 70 leading organizations and individuals from educational institutions and professional organizations, business, civic and community organizations,  and entertainment that joined together to develop a carefully integrated educational and  community program with significant entertainment overlays that will reach millions of middle and high school students and their families.

The American Road® capitalizes on young people’s love of music, their affinity for contemporary recording artists, and the ever-expanding penetration and power of media to bring modern American social history and related disciplines to life in the classroom while inspiring young people to become more engaged in their communities.  The American Road® is now moving to an official launch in mid 2021 and is seeking support and partnerships to join with us.

Songmasters’ offers these forms of direct service to our non-profit clients so that they are in the best possible position to continue to do good works:

  • Integrated Marketing and Brand Communications
  • Business Development
  • Music Services