The Lewis Prize for Music:
Final Year Message
The Lewis Prize for Music, a five year, $20,000,000 philanthropic venture, will conclude on December 31, 2024. The Prize developed an innovative process to identify, select, fund, and advocate for Awardees in the Creative Youth Development (CYD) music field. This has resulted in more effective systems serving more young people's creativity and wellbeing.
Since 2020, The Prize has supported 18 outstanding CYD leaders and organizations in the United States with $500,000 Accelerator Awards, with an additional 60 organizations having received from $15,000 to $150,000. The Prize’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund granted over $2 million to 32 CYD organizations, addressing critical needs for young people and their families at the beginning of the pandemic.
The Prize’s research has brought visibility to the range of skill development CYD organizations offer, such as youth leadership, media arts, workforce development, community organizing/engagement, and cultural preservation, as well as providing young people with meaningful relationships, teamwork, tutoring, counseling, food, transportation, and a safe community environment to productively spend their time.
There is more to be learned from the information gathered from Awardees and the 665 organizations that have applied to The Prize’s Accelerator Award. We will share insights gleaned from the analysis of the data over the next few months.
We express gratitude to the hundreds of people who have contributed to The Lewis Prize for Music since a prize was first proposed in 2016: artists, administrators, academics, young adults, staff, board members, and the collaborative funders that have used The Prize as a resource to help guide their gift making.
Congratulations to The Prize’s awardees and grantees for their achievements. We celebrate you for putting music at the heart of trusted relationships with young people, strengthening communities, and transforming systems.
We are excited that in many communities, our Awardees and other CYD organizations collaborate to accomplish more than they can do alone. Each organization contributes their strengths, expertise and resources, driven by the shared priority of ensuring young people have the confidence, skills and self-determination to thrive.
Our belief is that youth development is the greatest societal impact opportunity in arts philanthropy. We will continue to work towards closing the immense gap between what exists today and what youth want and is in their best interests: effective creative youth development through the arts being accessible and affordable for all children, adolescents, and young adults.
Dalouge Smith, Co-Founder and CEO
Daniel R. Lewis, Co-Founder and Board Chair
Inquiries can be sent to LewisPrize@djmdcorp.com. There will be no future Lewis Prize funding cycles, so inquiries seeking funding will not receive a reply.