Music Impact Coalition

08/21/2026

Back to school means a fresh start, and for kids in music class, it means so much more than learning notes.

Music class gives students a place to belong from day one, builds real confidence through performing, offers a creative outlet when words aren’t enough, and builds skills that carry into every other subject they take this year.

Here’s to a year full of music and arts 🎶🎭

Link in bio to learn more.

08/19/2026

Andrew MacPherson’s dad bought him a guitar at 16. His brother taught him “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young. He’s still not very good, and it still brings him a lot of joy.

Cayley Tull put it perfectly in response: you don’t have to be extremely skilled to reap the benefits of participating in music. That’s the whole point.

Music doesn’t require perfection. It requires access.

And that’s what Music Impact Coalition is fighting for, making sure every student has the chance to find out what music and arts can do for them.

08/17/2026

Music & arts education, by the numbers.

3.6 million U.S. students lack access to music education. 2 million have no access to any arts education at all. That’s not a gap. It’s a crisis, especially since research shows music and arts are some of the most valuable investments schools can make.

They also build exactly the skills the future demands: projected demand for social & emotional skills and creativity is set to grow through 2030, and music & arts help build both. That’s not enrichment. It’s preparation.

Music Impact Coalition unites funders, education & arts organizations, researchers, advocates, and community partners to make sure every young person has access to the creative learning experiences that help them thrive.

Follow us for more data, impact stories, and advocacy. Link in bio. 🔗

Sources: Arts Education Data Project (3.6M / 2M access figures); McKinsey Global Institute, 2024 (skills projections)

08/14/2026

Member Spotlight: D’Addario Foundation 🎸

For more than 40 years, the D’Addario Foundation has worked to expand access to music education around the world. Executive Director Karen Shelley shares how the Foundation partners with approximately 200 nonprofits providing free or affordable music instruction in high-needs communities, backing them with cash grants and in-kind product contributions.

Their support doesn’t stop at the classroom door. The Foundation also offers college scholarships to students who grow up in these programs and conducts original research evaluating how immersive music education impacts academic performance and social-emotional well-being.

As a public charity, D’Addario Foundation is always looking to grow its network of partners, especially those ready to invest in expanding access to music education.

When one organization builds a 200-partner ecosystem, entire communities of young musicians rise with it.

👉 Learn more at https://foundation.daddario.com/

08/12/2026

Sameer Gadhia of Young the Giant headlined The Forum, and a friend pointed out he may have been the first Indian American singer in a rock band to ever do it.

Nobody was talking about it. Because there wasn’t really a community of artists of color in that space to talk about it.

During a GRAMMY Week roundtable with Music Impact Coalition, Sameer opened up about what that moment meant, and why he thinks about all the young kids whose dreams were quietly discouraged at age 8. The ones who were told this wasn’t the path for them. The ones who never saw someone who looked like them on that stage.

Music education gives kids permission to find what they love and feel supported to pursue it. That’s what Music Impact Coalition is here to protect.

08/10/2026

Member Spotlight: The National Association for Music Education 🎶

NAfME is a collaborative community of music educators and advocates working at the local, state, and national level to secure equitable access to music education for every student. With 57,000+ members reaching millions of students nationwide, they offer resources for teachers, students, parents, and administrators while championing music education at every level of policy.

In this spotlight, Amanda Karhuse, Assistant Executive Director for Advocacy and Public Policy at NAfME, breaks down how the organization strengthens the profession by supporting educators, backing research and teacher preparation, and advocating year-round so every student has the chance to learn music in school.

Great organizations create impact. Connected organizations strengthen systems. This is what that looks like in action.

👉 Learn more at nafme.org

08/03/2026

07/30/2026

Member Spotlight: The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus

Since 1998, the Lennon Bus has been rolling into communities across the U.S. and Europe, giving hundreds of thousands of students free hands-on experience in music, video, podcasting, broadcasting, and emerging technologies, and opening doors to careers in the creative industries that many of them never knew were possible.

A mobile recording studio. A career launchpad. And a proud Music Impact Coalition partner.

07/16/2026

Introducing our Member Spotlight series, where we shine a light on the incredible organizations that make up the Music Impact Coalition.

First up: .

Born from the Tullman Family Office and a song written by John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting alongside students from Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Let Music Fill My World is on a mission to ensure every student in America has access to music education in school. They fund full-time music educators at schools where there aren’t any, because music isn’t an extra. It’s essential to youth thriving.

Proud to have them as a founding part of this coalition.