Professional Musicians Financial Assistance Grants

All professional musicians, regardless of their genre or instrument, can apply for themselves or a family member if they meet the qualifications listed below. Applications may also (but not additionally) be submitted by a friend or family member on behalf of a musician in need.

Musicians Foundation gives grants for medical and dental bills, living expenses, and other essentials in cases of emergency. This is not a COVID-19 assistance or unemployment grant. To qualify, you must be applying for reasons other than lost or cancelled work. If you received a CV19 Emergency Grant from Musicians Foundation in the past year, you can still receive a traditional grant, if eligible.

The Foundation does not give grants for scholarships, loans or private unemployment benefits.

Please note that all grants are sent as vendorized checks in order to provide immediate assistance. For example, if you receive an aid grant to pay for a medical bill, you will receive a check made out to the medical professional or institution directly from Musicians Foundation. You will be responsible for delivering the check to the biller.

Applications can be submitted if you are in one (1) of three (3) qualifying situations:

1. A professional musician applying individually
2. A professional musician applying for a family member
3. A family member or friend applying for a professional musician

To be eligible, the musician involved in the application must:

• Have worked as a professional musician for five (5) or more years in the United States. We define “professional musician” as someone whose primary source of income was or is derived from work as a performer, composer/arranger, or music educator.
• Have tax documents (1040 listing occupation as any type of musician or music educator OR Schedule C listing any type of musician or music educator status) to prove professional experience as a musician or music educator.
• Be applying due to an unexpected hardship (NOT only due to unemployment or loss of work). For example, if you request a grant to help pay rent because you have an expensive medical bill, that would be a qualifying situation. OR, If you request a grant to help pay for dental surgery that forced you to stop playing or cancel musical work, that would be a qualifying situation. If you are applying solely due to loss of work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, you are not eligible for a grant.

The Musicians Foundation Grant Application is in two parts. The Pre-Application (here) collects basic information about you and your situation. If you qualify based on your Pre-Application, you will be sent an additional form, Part 2, to complete. Part 2 is more in-depth and requires documentation uploads.

If you have received a Musicians Foundation grant (not including the COVID-19 relief grant) two years in a row, you must wait two years before reapplying. Due to the high demand for our grants, we are only able to provide grants to eligible musicians in two-consecutive-year periods.

If you have any questions about the application or the application process, call or email us at: (212) 239-9138 or applications@musiciansfoundation.org

For more details and to apply, visit: https://musiciansfoundation.submittable.com/submit