Buzz Blog

If this post-Thanksgiving season you are in particular need of some personal redemption after a weekend of in-person or online shopping (hopefully at local businesses!), or have simply refrained from all shopping because the pandemic has you pinching pennies (here!), Giving Tuesday can be the chaser to your over-consumption, or the one day you pay it forward with what you do have. For the music-lover, there are many local and non-local nonprofits and organizations that need a helping hand during these trying times.

Support local youth in music by donating to any of these local programs that seek to make all aspects of music accessible to youth, no matter their background. Salt Lake Academy of Music offers sliding scale “free-to-fee” classes, so that students from all socioeconomic circumstances have a chance to learn the ins and outs of music, from working as a band to music production. Now is a great time to give especially, since the SLC Arts Council is matching donations up to $4,400 via their Arts Learning Grant. SpyHop is similar to SLAM in that they work to make their programming accessible to all, and a mere donation of $100 this Giving Tuesday can pay for one student’s entire year of tuition—which can cover anything from music courses to courses in film, production, design and audio media. There’s also Mundi Project, which similarly focuses on dismantling the limitations of its students’ socioeconomic or generational backgrounds, and also combines different age groups in classes for a more communal, intergenerational learning experience for all.

One can also support community radio! KUER, our regional offshoot of NPR, is offering a Giving Tuesday special via a punnily-named gift to contributors of over $72 or more. There’s also the obvious choice of KRCL, a pillar and key supporter of our local arts and music community—and let’s be honest, the community in general—who still need their own sustaining help as a non-profit. KRCL always offers the best swag for their donors, this year including hand-thrown pots from Red Kiln Pottery for sustainers of a certain tier, and KRCL-branded masks for others on top of their usual lineup of tees and hoodies. Then there’s the new kid on the block, KUAA, the brainchild of Bad Brad Wheeler and the Utah Arts Alliance. The station prides itself on its multi-lingual focus, and brings the best of music from all over the world to the listeners of SLC and beyond.

And if it’s venues you miss most of all and want to throw your support at your favorite few, there’s one good way to support them all, and that’s by donating to the National Independent Venue Association, which has been spearheading the #SaveOurStages movement for the past year. Just like the rest of us, and other businesses, different venues have handled the pandemic differently—some have re-opened, some have stayed closed, some have re-opened and re-closed—but they all share the fear of being left behind without aid. Donating To the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund is one way to help those venues in the most dire need, and to ensure that shows have stages to return to another, brighter day.