Band Together, a Triangle-based nonprofit, has selected Kidznotes, another nonprofit based in the Triangle, as its 2016 partner.
Having organized concert events since its inception in 2001, Band Together chooses a nonprofit partner yearly in order to raise awareness for that nonprofit’s cause. The process takes approximately a year to complete and has raised more than $3.5 million for the partner programs.
“The summer is planning, the fall is fundraising, the winter and spring is event planning, and then everything culminates in the spring with a large concert,” Band Together executive director Matt Strickland said.
The approach is collaborative and transparent, with both organizations involved in each step of the process.
“It is very open source, they open up their donor database to us, and we open up our donor database to them, and together we go in and make pitches to our donors and sponsors for their cause,” Strickland said.
Katie Wyatt, executive director of Kidznotes, believes the partnership will allow her organization to continue to provide music lessons as a means to catalyze social change.
“The goal is really to share the powerful news of the power of music for social change. That, together, we can really amplify our impact and push the movement of empowering young people everywhere, no matter what, that they can be successful through music,” she said.
The idea for Kidznotes came from the Venezuelan nonprofit El Sistema, which afforded impoverished children the opportunity to learn orchestral music.
“El Sistema is not just about exposure or demonstrating that music is fun, it’s really about empowering them to be the best musicians and people they can be,” Wyatt said.
