About

PYO Music Institute/Photo Credit: Peter Blaikie, Bachrach Photography

Our Mission

The Presser Foundation provides philanthropic support for music and music education, in keeping with the Will of its founder, Theodore Presser. We work to fund the musical arts in their many dimensions and manifestations, while striving to serve a broad and diverse community of musicians, educators, and music lovers.

About Us

Passionate about music, Theodore Presser wanted to give back to it. When he died in 1925, he had been widowed twice without any children. The bulk of his fortune was left to The Presser Foundation, which was formally established 14 years after his death. From 1995 to June 2021, The Presser Foundation gave more than $80 million to music organizations, undergraduate and graduate music students, and retired music teachers.

Originally, the Foundation sought to promote the causes of musical education and musical philanthropy by providing scholarships for promising students, supporting the construction of buildings for music organizations, and directing aid to retired music teachers.

Over time, the Foundation has evolved to support a broad array of music genres, expand its grantmaking areas, convene its nonprofit partners at special events, and collaborate with fellow funders, while continuing to follow the original intent and wishes of Theodore Presser.

Xavier Foley, double bass; Christine Lambrea, cello; Astral & WRTI Block Party, 2018

Settlement Music School/Photo Credit: Music Education Pathways program

Our Values

We pledge to serve as responsible stewards advancing the art of music and continuing the legacy of Theodore Presser with passion, integrity, and respect.

Passion For Music

Music is our purpose. We are committed to supporting the future of music and its excellence.

Integrity In Every Endeavor

We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards to earn trust in all we do.

Respect At All Times

We acknowledge the value and dignity of the people we serve and with whom we work. We embrace the diversity of our music community.

Our Commitments

Our Grantmaking Commitments

Broadly, The Presser Foundation provides grants from three areas (Advancement of Music, Capital Support, and Special Projects) to music organizations within a 75-mile radius of Center City Philadelphia. Eligible music organizations can apply for more than one grantmaking area to best support their visions and missions. Of these three programs, Advancement of Music, which provides general operating support, is the Foundation’s biggest commitment. This type of support allows nonprofit partners to use grant funds as they see fit to reach their goals.

The Foundation has two grantmaking programs (Undergraduate Scholar Award and Graduate Music Award) that provide awards to outstanding music undergraduate and graduate students. The Foundation also has an Assistance to Music Teachers program that provides stipends to retired music teachers with demonstrated financial need. Theodore Presser was deeply committed to providing support for both music students and retired teachers, and the Foundation is committed to continuing to provide funding for those individuals.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, Anti-Racism, & Anti-Bigotry

The Presser Foundation is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, pro-active anti-racism, and anti-bigotry in all areas of music. We reject racism and bigotry in all their manifestations and seek to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in our processes, practices, and decisions.

Knowing that the power of music transcends words and speaks directly to the human experience, we understand how vitally important it is to renounce social and cultural injustices, to fight for social justice, and to work vigorously for a more humane and inclusive future. Music provides one of the strongest and most fertile platforms for accomplishing this mission, and we encourage everyone, including our grantees, their audiences, and their beneficiaries, to join us in this essential effort.

Our Commitment to recognizing who was here first, how they were moved, and why it matters

We acknowledge and recognize that we gather and support music efforts on people’s land that was colonized. Philadelphia was the traditional homeland of the Lenni-Lenape people, and the Susquehannock and Nanticoke tribes also had their homes on land that The Presser Foundation operates and grants to.

The Presser Foundation recognizes and celebrates how we all benefit from indigenous wisdom and culture. The Foundation realizes that we play a role in embracing, including, and amplifying, but not tokenizing, Indigenous American voices and music. While the Foundation strives to incorporate equity in all forms in our values, our work, and our practices, we realize that we fall short. The Presser Foundation is committed to learn more, be accountable, and grow from the history and pain of this land.

What is a land acknowledgement?

The act of performing a land acknowledgement is a basic and fundamental step towards reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and colonizers who occupy the land. To learn more, visit our Resources page.

Wildflower Composers