The Joseph Wolph Foundation
for Music Education
GRANTS FROM THE JOSEPH WOLPH FOUNDATION
Please review this page carefully before completing the application form below. Proposals in other forms will not be reviewed. Contact us with any questions.
The Joseph Wolph Foundation for Music Education (JWF) currently awards a total of at least $1,000 each annual calendar quarter, starting on January 1 of each year, to one or more public or private schools with music programs, or other non-profit entities or individuals with a mission to support music education.
The amount offered for each quarter may change at the Foundation’s discretion and such changes will be stated at jwolphfoundation.org.
Applications must be made through jwolphfoundation.org. Inquiries via email are welcome, but no application may be made by other means.
For Quarter Two of 2024, The Joseph Wolph Foundation will award a maximum of $1,000 to a chosen grant applicant or applicants. 2024 Quarter Two begins on Monday, April 1, 2024, and concludes on Friday, May 31, 2024. Applications for a Quarter Two 2024 grant must be made before June 1, 2024. Grant requests of less than $1,000 or of $1,000 are welcome.
JWF also welcomes special requests (up to $500) on an urgent basis, aside from our quarterly grant cycle. An example of ‘urgent need’ would be the sudden breakage of an instrument or unanticipated marching band trip that is to occur within the next 30 days of the application.
For Quarter 2 of 2024, The Joseph Wolph Foundation will award a maximum of $1,000 to a chosen grant applicant or applicants. 2024 Quarter 2 begins on Monday, April 1, 2024, and concludes on Friday, May 31, 2024. Applications for a Quarter Two 2024 grant must be made before June 1, 2024. Grant requests of less than $1,000 or of $1,000 are welcome.
For Quarter 2 of 2024, The Joseph Wolph Foundation will award a maximum of $1,000 to a chosen grant applicant or applicants. 2024 Quarter 2 begins on Monday, April 1, 2024, and concludes on Friday, May 31, 2024. Applications for a Quarter Two 2024 grant must be made before June 1, 2024. Grant requests of less than $1,000 or of $1,000 are welcome.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT?
JWF currently focuses its support on the Northwest Ohio area. Applicant schools, persons, or organizations must be located within the Ohio counties of:
Allen
Auglaize
Crawford
Defiance
Erie
Fulton
Hancock
Hardin
Henry
Huron
Lucas
Marion
Mercer
Ottawa
Paulding
Putnam
Sandusky
Seneca
Van Wert
Williams
Williams
Wood
Wyandot
This area matches the Northwest Region of the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), but application is in no way restricted to members of that group or any other association. Grants will be awarded on the merit of the application and the participating parties represented by the application. During the award selection process, no preference will be shown to any organization, person, or school system.
Applicant schools must be fully accredited. Individuals who apply must have the support of a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization or a public or parochial school, college, or university. The supporting institution will be the grant recipient and administrator of all funds received from the Foundation.
WHAT KINDS OF NEEDS ARE SUPPORTED?
Successful applicants will have demonstrated a compelling need for funding to support:
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Music education projects
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Marching or concert band expenses related to specific events or a series of events
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Permanent or temporary facilities dedicated to music education
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Band or instructional instruments
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Other related needs or projects
Applications must be in service of music education, as defined by the Foundation. Projects or needs which may be deemed to serve other causes or are seen by the Foundation board as chiefly beneficial to any religious, political, or exclusive/special interest group are not eligible for JWF support.
Awards are only presented for specific needs, and awarded funds must serve only the need that is presented in the application. Applications in aid of “general funds” will not be recognized or eligible for a Joseph Wolph Foundation award.
Successful applicants will have met initial JWF requirements for administration of the award and will be expected to provide proper documentation of actions taken or purchases made with grant funds and will proceed with actions or purchases in a timely manner.
The Foundation’s mission is to meet small and often incidental needs. Applicants are encouraged to make conservative financial requests. If a project or need can be met for $800, please do not request $900 as a matter of contingency. The difference of $100 may be enough to meet the needs of another applicant who is facing an unexpected challenge.
QUARTERLY FUNDING CONTINUATION
If an annual quarter passes without a qualifying request, the available funds for the subsequent quarter may increase by the amount available for the year to date. For example, should no grant be made in the second quarter (Q2) of a particular year when $1,000 was allocated by the Foundation, as much as $2,000 may be available in Q3. Should no grants be made in Q2 and Q3 combined, at least $3,000 may be available for Q4. Should Q4 of any year pass without a grant being made (or if an amount less than $1,000 is granted), the cumulative remaining amount of that calendar year may be available in Q1 of the following year.
MATCHING AND COMPLETION FUNDS
Preference may be given to applications that can show previous support by other parties for the proposed need or project. For example, an applicant may have been formally promised 50% of their total need by another party, but only if the remaining needed funds are obtained elsewhere. This circumstance would help prove the validity and likely completion of the proposed project or need, and this may be seen favorably by the JWF board.
And if a project or need has been supported by others and is underway but is being prevented from completion by unforeseen circumstances or expenses, the Foundation may choose to promote the related application ahead of others.
In these cases, additional documentation (beyond the requirements of the standard grant application) may be requested.
IF A GRANT IS AWARDED
Applicants will be notified by email if they are awarded a grant. The Foundation will provide a letter outlining the terms of the award to the recipient’s appointed grant administrator. After these terms are agreed by signature, The Foundation will provide the recipient’s administrator with a check for the awarded amount within 30 days, or on a schedule to suit the nature of the application.
Successful applicants will provide documentation as to the use of the awarded funds as is appropriate to the nature of the grant. For example, if an applicant is awarded $1,000 to purchase instruments for a high school band, the recipient will provide JWF with a written description of the instruments purchased, their cumulative cost, the approximate date of the purchase and the name and location of the vendor who sold the instruments to the recipient. If, in this example, the purchased instruments accounted for only about $900 of the awarded $1,000, the recipient would be requested to provide JWF with a written account of how the remaining funds will be used. The Foundation will approve this use or recommend another. The grant administrator will then ensure the Foundation that the excess funds were used as agreed.
Awarded funds are expected to be used in a reasonably expedient frame of time. Failure to use awarded funds as expected or within a specific agreed time span will be seen as a violation of the grant agreement. In such case, the Foundation will suspend the recipient from any further applications and may seek a return of the awarded funds through civil action.
IF A GRANT APPLICATION IS NOT APPROVED
Applicants will be notified by email if they are not awarded a grant, or if their application is incomplete or ineligible for consideration.
Grant applicants who are notified that their application was not successful may request a detailed explanation of the reasons for denial if one is not provided by JWF on notification of denial.
An initial denial of an application should not be viewed by the applicant as a final judgement of the need or idea. The resources of the Joseph Wolph Foundation are limited, and not all worthwhile applications can be funded simultaneously.
All applicants whose application has been denied are welcome to re-submit the same request or a similar request during subsequent application windows.
TO APPLY FOR A JOSEPH WOLPH FOUNDATION GRANT
Interested parties must apply for a grant through jwolphfoundation.org, using only our online application form. Applications presented by other means will not be recognized as eligible for any award.
Applications must be filed by the deadlines presented here. The application must be completed or reviewed by a currently employed instructor or administrator, either of an accredited school system or a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located within the region stated above. Other parties for this role (such as a school principal) may be acceptable to the Foundation and approved on request.
A letter of acknowledgement from the school system’s board or superintendent is also required and must accompany the application as an uploaded document that includes letterhead and address of the proposed administrator. The letter must state that the administrating school system or organization listed in the application is aware of the application, is willing to administer the grant funds, and will report their actions to JWF as requested in the award agreement as described above.
APPLICATION FORM
All parts of this form must be completed (*)
Complete the left column of the form first
