I've been trying to wrap my head around the problem of how I could make a difference using the reach of this store. This is my solution. Join me. No tricks. Just buy stuff. Read on!
MusicStoreUSA donates 2% of every sale to the musical charity of your choice.
My philosophy about giving
I am not asking you to make a donation. I am NOT raising the prices to make up loss of income. I am not donating “after profit”, which would mean after deducting costs of doing business. I give a portion of the actual price of whatever you buy. Companies who donate percentages of “profits’ are probably only donating a fraction of a percent of what you pay!
Who gets money?
Being a performing & teaching musician, I like organizations that give money for free instruments, free music camp scholarships, free lessons & and free membership in musical groups that give valuable performance & learning experiences. I will only give donations to organizations that have completed their 501c3 tax-free status, which means I can trust that they are legitimate, ongoing charitable organizations. I am looking at the percentage that our charities actually give to people’s needs, versus spending on high paid administrators. I am researching our charities to make sure they are delivering real products & services to people who need them.
A little history…
I originally wanted to give away instruments and sheet music. As a small start-up company, I couldn’t afford to give away much of value. I don’t have a big staff to collect instruments & distribute them to children & provide other services & things that musicians need. But there are great non-profits that already do these things, so we can support them and strengthen their programs!
The future…
I’m starting with just 5 organizations, but we can add some more to our list of charities that meet our requirements. If you have a charity I don’t know about that is legit & relevant, let us know who they are (email me at violin@shilakowskyarts.com). After we collect the names or 2 or 3 new charities, we’ll vote via poll on which one(s) should become official recipients of MusicStoreUSA donations.
Here are the first four organizations that I am donating to.
Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc.Boston Massachusetts Usa
https://www.bysoweb.org/programs/intensive-community-program/
New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation
New Orleans Louisiana Usa
https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/about-us/
Tarumi Violin Children's Foundation For The Arts
Douglaston New York USA
https://tarumiviolinists.com/about/
The Harmony Project
Los Angeles California USA
https://www.harmony-project.org/news
Musicians Foundation
New York, NY USA
http://www.musiciansfoundation.org/