Berklee is the largest college of contemporary music in the world. Its enrollment is 3,800 students and over 25% of these are from countries other than the United States. In 1992 Berklee City Music was established for underserved students in the city of Boston.
The Foundation’s partnership with Berklee began in 2000. In that year the Foundation provided $200,000 for scholarships for City Music students. In 2001 the Foundation increased its scholarship support to $213,000 and began its support of other aspects of City Music. Since then, the Foundation has participated in every aspect of City Music and provided seed money to develop the mentoring program and the preparatory school, which are 2 key elements of the program.
Berklee City Music responds to the Foundation’s mission to assist financially disadvantaged students obtain education. What makes the City Music particularly effective is its use of contemporary music to connect with disadvantaged youth in their formative years. The various aspects of the program help prepare these youth for college. They develop the discipline and maturity that they need to succeed in college. The retention rate for scholarship recipients is 92%. Without City Music, many of these individuals would not have obtained a high school diploma, much less a college degree.
In October 2004, the Foundation entered into an agreement with Berklee which is designed to build a permanent endowment for college scholarships for City Music students. The Foundation made a commitment to Berklee of $450,000 per year for 5 years. Over that period, the Foundation’s level of scholarship support declined and the balance of the support was in the form of matching grants to the endowment. The ratio of Berklee funds required to obtain matching Foundation funds increased over the years. In 2008, Berklee must obtain 3 matching dollars to obtain 1 Foundation dollar. The end result will be a permanent endowment of over $5 million to fund scholarships for socially and economically disadvantaged students in the City Music Program.
The Scholarship Endowment Agreement with Berklee is another example of the Foundation’s strategy of concentrating its resources in order to make a difference, both at the student and institutional partner level.
Anyone seeking scholarship assistance at Berklee College of Music should contact Berklee College directly at www.berklee.edu.
