Can Austin Music Foundation Continue to Serve Our Local Musicians?

Austin Music Foundation changes the lives of Austin musicians with free consulting and events

Every person in Austin should be familiar with the Austin Music Foundation. This amazing non-profit provides free consulting and resources to local musicians who are trying to earn a living pursuing their talents.

I’m not talking about shallow, generic advice given over a couple of sessions together. You’d be shocked and impressed by the lengths that Austin Music Foundation goes to for their (non-paying) clients, and the years of proven experience their team members bring to the organization. You can learn more in an article we published on Austin Music Foundation over the summer.

When Austin Music Foundation asked the Austinot to help spread the word about their building campaign that’s going on through December 19th, I didn’t hesitate. With nine days to go, they’re getting extremely close to their $20,000 “tipping point” goal. Everything helps at this point.

So What Is This Money For?

Up until now, the good people at Austin Music Foundation have been sharing a small office space with no room dividers. As you might imagine, this makes it difficult to serve multiple musicians at the same time (and they’ve helped 2,000 Austin musicians in the last year alone!). In order to expand, Austin Music Foundation secured a new space for their Creative Media Center off of Riverside for 15 years – rent free!

Austin Music Foundation is raising funds to complete their new Creative Media Center at the South Shore District off Riverside (Photo credit: SouthShoreDistrict.com)

But now they need to take a dirt floor and four concrete walls and create an inviting space. That’s where the fundraising campaign comes in.

To donate before the December 19th deadline, visit Austin Music Foundation’s fundraising page. You can track their progress toward the $20,000 tipping point goal, and the ultimate goal of $60,000.

Similar to Kickstarter, donors receive perks as a thank you, including things like t-shirts, swag bags, free marimba classes (yes, please!), SXSW wristbands and more. The rewards are seriously awesome, so take a look. As if investing in Austin’s musicians isn’t enough of a reward in itself, you get even more in return for donating.

So many respected agencies and companies have partnered with Austin Music Foundation because they know a good thing when they see one. I’m talking about the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, Fender and Austin Studios. Local guitar company Moniker Guitars organized a unique and memorable event this past weekend as a fundraiser for Austin Music Foundation. In preparation for the event, 12 Austin artists were asked to design a guitar that was capable of being played. Moniker took those designs and made them into real guitars like this one:

Guitar designed for Moniker’s Austin Music Foundation fundraiser (Photo credit: Moniker Guitars)

The 12 guitars were auctioned on Saturday with proceeds going to Austin Music Foundation!

All that to say that Austin Music Foundation has a proven track record, changing the lives of Austin musicians. The respect they’ve garnered cannot be overstated. So if you are a fan of Austin’s local music, and you want to continue to see the quality of local music increase, there is no better non-profit to support.

@QuasiBrit asks:

Had you heard of Austin Music Foundation before reading this article?