The National Endowment for the Arts recently awarded San Diego State University’s Heartpower Performances a $10,000 grant to fund its unique combination of music performances, classes and clinics for at-risk audiences throughout Southern California.
Led by SDSU music professor Marian Liebowitz, Heartpower Peformances is a career-training program for music majors who serve as performers, teachers and role models to at-risk populations including youth, veterans, individuals with mental illness and those in drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
The program underscores the importance of music as a vehicle to redirect energy toward positive change.
Investing in community and creativity
Through its grant-making to thousands of nonprofits each year, the NEA promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.
“Receiving an NEA grant is a wonderful recognition that so few organizations succeed in securing,” said Joyce Gattas, dean of SDSU’s College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. “I'm pleased that the NEA has acknowledged and appreciates the importance of Heartpower Performances.”
In this funding round, the NEA made 1,023 awards totaling $74.3 million nationwide.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “the NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States. Funding these new projects, like the one from Heartpower Performances, represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”
Ongoing support
Heartpower Performances has won successive NEA grants for SDSU even as the grant title and specifications have evolved each year.
Award amounts have ranged from $10,000 to $15,000 and have served as a match to other important grants and donations.
For more information, follow Heartpower Performances on Facebook.