The Seed Grant Committee was thrilled to receive 21 Seed Grant applications for the 2020 round of funding! We selected the following ten applicants for follow-up interviews from this group of excellent applicants. For more information on each applicant, click the link on their project name below.

We were thrilled with the diversity of applicants and caliber of projects. All of the applications submitted represented innovative, exciting and worthwhile projects.  While we were not able to support every project, we are pleased to announce we will be funding four grantees for this funding round. 

Congratulations to our 2019-2020 Grantees!

Milk with Dignity Standards CouncilGrace Weber's Music Lab

and The Back to Bach Project 

Please read below to learn more about each organization 

2020 Seed Grant Finalists

 Lauren E Faraino (2009, AL)
Community Justice Foundation
The Community Justice Foundation will convene a small group of volunteers (the “Community Justice Liaisons” or “Liaisons”) to work alongside the Alabama Department of Corrections to generate community-driven solutions to the State’s prison crisis.

Tom Fritzsche (1999, ME)
Milk with Dignity Standards Council
The Milk with Dignity Standards Council is a non-profit organization based in Burlington, Vermont, dedicated to implementation, monitoring and enforcement in the Milk with Dignity Program. The Milk with Dignity Program brings together farmworkers, farmers, buyers and consumers to secure dignified working conditions in dairy supply chains.

Hunter Guru (2018, NE)
Bookstack
When you are studying for an exam, it can be really hard to keep track of all the materials. Course videos. Guides. Images. Charts. 3-D models. Interactive websites. Audio. There are so many mediums, and they're everywhere! Bookstack was created to be an innovative platform for learning that offers customized learning applications that make learning everything from human biology to mechanical engineering an intuitive and personalized experience.

Leslie Holt (1987, MD)
Neuro Blooms
The Neuro Blooms project began with my mixed media art series called Brain Stains which incorporates imagery based on brain PET scans of people experiencing different mental health conditions. I am compelled by the visual beauty of PET scans, as well as their power to convey the brain’s role in mental illness.

Sydney Jenna Lee (2015, NJ and YoungArts Winner in Classical Music)
The Back to Bach Project Charitable Foundation, LTD
The Back to Bach Project is a nonprofit organization seeking to inspire young children through our love of the arts! Whether we are at schools presenting works of art to an audience consisting of K-grade 5 students, playing side-by-side with young budding musicians, or performing a live virtual presentation, we believe that the arts has the potential to excite, motivate, and transform.

Lara Rice Bergen (1986, VA)
Students Disrupting
Students Disrupting is a nonprofit organization with the mission of bringing student newspapers to every high school (and ideally every school) in New York City, where only 1 in 10 public schools currently has one.

Lauren Rose Williams (2010, IL and YoungArts Winner in Classical Music)
Living Voices for Young Musicians
Living Voices for Young Musicians aims to create a collection of short pieces for intermediate musicians by diverse living composers. There exists a belief in the classical music world that playing works by living composers is reserved for the most advanced players. This is strengthened by the reality that new pieces commissioned are primarily by and for professional musicians.

Yaelle Shaked (2014, PR)
Hogar Esperanza
My project aims to help Hogar Esperanza, a boys home in Puerto Rico, in their efforts to reintegrating the boys into their community.

Grace Weber (2006, WI and YoungArts Winner in Voice)
Grace Weber’s Music Lab
The Music Lab is a FREE monthly music and arts education program and talent accelerator for Greater Milwaukee area high school students! At the Music Lab, students have the opportunity to learn about the music and entertainment industries through featured guests. They are also given the opportunity to collaborate, perform, and build relationships with their peers.

Akhila Yalvigi (2019, PA)
New Voters
New Voters is a non-partisan campaign with the mission of achieving 100% high-school voter registration and engagement in Massachusetts and beyond.