The Saint Croix Valley Foundation (SCVF) has opened registration for music program grants across Washington County and the St. Croix Valley. Private and public schools in the area have applied for the grants since the beginning of September.

The SCVF has made a mark in the music programs. About $34 thousand total are being released this year to help the music programs in multiple  schools, which is a larger sum of money for grants this year.

“Your thought process is trying to be clear and concise in the writing. . . So making sure that we are representing ourselves well and explaining why we deserve these funds more than someone else,”  orchestra director Zack Sawyer said.

Private and public schools in Washington County and other counties are being allowed to apply for the competitive music grant again. The SCVF has selected the school in the past for grants.  They continue to help tremendously by  bringing in professional guest speakers, new instruments and helping choral programs.

“We always send pictures of videos after the event is over back to the Saint Croix Valley Foundation to show what we use the grant money for,” choral teacher Katelyn Larson said.

Applying for the grants takes several hours to fill out paperwork and come up with a precise reason for why they need the money. The process includes answering a few questions and then writing a one to two page, fully documented essay explaining why the school deserves the grant. It is nerve wracking because it is a competition and many directors want to better their students with opportunities.

“I usually do not talk about grants until they are received. I think that is bad form,” band director Dennis Lindsay said.

Around 500 to 5,000 dollars of grant money is available for any music programs. Extraordinary amount of effort goes into every bit of work the directors do. In the end, it is appreciated for being able to help with funds for the music program. The impact of the grants directly help the students in these programs progress their skills with professionals and become better at what they are passionate about.

¨But it helped us tremendously. Grants in general have helped us with all right the intentions,” junior Abbey Rademacher said.