a person working on a document

Changing applications and reports

By Abby Rolland As part of The Presser Foundation’s goal to best serve our partners, we review and adapt our applications and reports every year based on current circumstances and trends. Research and best practice in the foundation space recommends that applications and reports are simple and straightforward so that nonprofits spend less time answering…

Developing as an artist and a scholar

The Presser Foundation thanks Cameron Barton of Washington State University for writing this letter to us in the spring of 2021.   By Cameron Barton, 2020-2021 Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award Recipient I am incredibly proud to be the recipient of a 2020-2021 WSU Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award in Music this year. My name is Cameron Barton,…

a crowd of diverse people

Taking Steps to Center Equity

By Abby Rolland “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That phrase resonates with The Presser Foundation as we seek to center equity and end systemic inequities. We began our equity journey in 2019 and accelerated it after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020. You can learn more about the “why”…

An Archival Summer with The Presser Foundation

By Julia (Maurer) Gregory   Toward the end of the Spring 2022 semester at Arcadia University, The Presser Foundation staff graciously extended an internship offer to me for the role of the Special Projects Intern for this summer. My time here has provided me with rewarding experiences like creating an archive from scratch. As I…

The Presser Home For Retired Music Teachers: Part 1

By Joseph Richards Designed by Henry E. Baton, The Presser Home for Retired Teachers was built in 1914, next to Theodore Presser’s personal home. The two properties were then altered, into the three story, H-shaped building seen in many photographs. That building still stands today. Casa di Riposo per Musicisti Inspiration in Creating a Home…

Introducing our new committee members

Pictured, from top left clockwise: Terell Stafford, Lei X. Ouyang, Marietta Simpson, Eric Owens, Nicole Robinson   By Abby Rolland At its annual Board of Trustees meeting in June, The Presser Foundation was pleased to welcome five new committee members to its ranks. These individuals, who will each serve on one committee, will share their…

colorful, raised hands demonstrate a centering equity approach

Centering Equity

By Abby Rolland On May 25, 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, George Floyd was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While this was not the first (nor unfortunately, the last) brutal murder of an unarmed BIPOC man or woman, it began a national reckoning with systemic racial injustices that have…

The Presser Foundation’s Summer 2022 Interns

By Abby Rolland The Presser Foundation is pleased to welcome two interns this summer – Julia Gregory and Joseph Richards. Julia and Joseph are both local undergraduate students who will be assisting the Foundation as we begin to prepare for the 100th anniversary of founder Theodore Presser’s passing (1925). Julia Gregory Julia is a rising…

Adapting during COVID-19

By Abby Rolland Two plus years later, and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be ebbing into an endemic. No doubt has the pandemic been devastating to nonprofits in many ways; yet there are many lessons that funders can learn. The Presser Foundation adapted its own practices and requirements during the pandemic and continues to assess…