My Nonprofit Reviews

In 2020, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation Inc. created a grant called Fueling Musicians Program to aid professional (blues) musicians whose income had been seriously impacted by the pandemic. I heard about the program, and was encouraged to apply for the grant of $1500 and a $500 gasoline credit card by my friend and fellow blues musician Hawkeye Herman. The application process required detailed information about my professional experience, a record of work in 2019 and proof of the loss of work in 2020. Since I am both a performer and educator, I was impacted by cancellation of club dates, concerts, summer festivals and guitar workshops, as well as private students. I was able to continue online with a few students, small guitar workshops and a small number of streaming performances. Otherwise, work was on hold for the foreseeable future. I was surprised and grateful to received the grant from the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation in 2020. Besides programs such as Fueling Musicians, the Foundation actively promotes this unique American art form in educational institutions, with the goal of keeping the spirit of this music intact into the future.