Save the Music Foundation looks to expand its school education support by going independent

With a launch party that included Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, the VH1 Save the Music Foundation never had any problem getting attention in the late ‘90s. “It was pretty clear, from a Save the Music perspective, that it would be helpful for us to be viewed as a music industry initiative as opposed to a corporate social responsibility initiative for just one player in the industry,” said Henry Donahue, the foundation’s executive director. So any artist, label, streaming service, talent agency, festival, concert promoter who thought about engaging the community around music education — we wanted to be the go-to for that.” “Going indie” has been a long process for the foundation, one that has already been supported by billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott with a $2 million grant in 2021. It just builds onto our whole child education program where they feel like they belong and they’re more committed to their education.” As much as Hulin enjoys DJing in the high school cafeteria, mixing R&B tracks like Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” and Jill Scott’s “Golden” together to create a vibe for other students, his dream is to create music for videogame soundtracks, maybe bringing neo-soul to the Persona series. In the early days with VH1, we actually went to right-wing conservative governors who, when they saw the power and impact of music education on test scores, they jumped on board because they understood that this was really a cornerstone of the learning process.” _____ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.