DeKalb County Community Foundation awards $127,506 in support of music education

SYCAMORE – This spring, the DeKalb County Community Foundation awarded $127,506 in Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund grants to support music education. Funding benefited 28 nonprofit and public sector organizations in DeKalb County and throughout the greater Chicago area.

“The impact of this grant funding is extremely significant. Without this support, Cor Cantiamo could not achieve our educational outreach mission,” Cor Cantiamo founder Eric Johnson said in a news release.

The Wurlitzer Co. was one of the largest musical instrument companies in the U.S., with a primary manufacturing location in DeKalb. The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation was established in the 1940s and became a fund of the community foundation in 2012. Today, the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund grant is one of several grant-making programs the foundation offers.

DeKalb County recipients:

• Cor Cantiamo – $4,500

• DeKalb High School Band – $16,386

• Hinckley Historical Society – $5,000

• Just Make It Happen – $7,500

• Northern Illinois University – College of Visual and Performing Arts – $1,500

• Northern Illinois University – School of Music – $4,800

• Northern Public Radio – $5,000

• Sandwich Opera House (ARCH) – $5,000

• Sycamore Library – $2,000

• Sycamore Music Boosters – $5,820

• Sycamore Park District – $1,000

Greater Chicago-area recipients:

• Bravo Waukegan – $2,500

• Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education – $7,500

• Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras – $5,000

• Child’s Voice – $1,500

• Wheaton College – Community School of the Arts – $5,000

• Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc. – $3,000

• Holy Family Ministries – $3,000

• Lawrence Hall Youth Services – $6,000

• Little Kids Rock – $2,500

• Murphy Roche Irish Music Club and School of Irish Music – $4,000

• Music of the Baroque – $4,000

• Orion Ensemble – $5,000

• Special Gifts Theater – $2,500

• Suzuki-Orff School of Music – $5,000

• The People’s Music School – $5,000

• VanderCook College – $5,000

• Youth Crossroads Inc. – $2,500

Donations to any fund at the Community Foundation can be made online at dekalbccf.org/donate or by mail to the DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, IL 60178.

For questions or information, contact grants@dekalbccf.org. Questions or inquiries specifically about the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund grant can be directed to the fund’s Board of Advisors Chairperson, George Buck, at george@dekalbccf.org.