This spring, the DeKalb County Community Foundation awarded $127,506 in Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grants to support music education. Funding benefited 28 nonprofit and public sector organizations in DeKalb County and throughout the greater Chicagoland area.

“The impact of this grant funding is extremely significant. Without this support, Cor Cantiamo could not achieve our educational outreach mission,” said Cor Cantiamo founder Dr. Eric Johnson.

The Wurlitzer Company was one of the largest musical instrument companies in the United States, with a primary manufacturing location in DeKalb. The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation was established in the 1940s and became a Fund of the Community Foundation in 2012. Today, the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grant is one of several grantmaking programs at the Community Foundation.

“Thank you to all of the grantees for advancing music education in our region and for this opportunity to provide support for your work,” said Community Foundation Grants & DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership Director Ben Bingle. “It is an honor to continue the legacy of the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation by awarding grants from this Fund, and we appreciate the Fund’s Board of Advisors for making these impactful funding decisions.

Farny R. Wurlitzer

DeKalb County recipients:

• Cor Cantiamo – $4,500
• DeKalb High School Band – $16,386
• Hinckley Historical Society – $5,000
• Just Make It Happen – $7,500
• NIU – College of Visual and Performing Arts – $1,500
• NIU – School of Music – $4,800
• Northern Public Radio – $5,000
• Sandwich Opera House (ARCH) – $5,000
• Sycamore Library – $2,000
• Sycamore Music Boosters – $5,820
• Sycamore Park District – $1,000

Greater Chicagoland area recipients:

• Bravo Waukegan – $2,500
• Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education – $7,500
• Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras – $5,000
• Child’s Voice – $1,500
• Wheaton College – Community School of the Arts – $5,000
• Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc. – $3,000
• Holy Family Ministries – $3,000
• Lawrence Hall Youth Services – $6,000
• Little Kids Rock – $2,500
• Murphy Roche Irish Music Club and School of Irish Music – $4,000
• Music of the Baroque – $4,000
• Orion Ensemble – $5,000
• Special Gifts Theater – $2,500
• Suzuki-Orff School of Music – $5,000
• The People’s Music School – $5,000
• VanderCook College – $5,000
• Youth Crossroads, Inc. – $2,500

Learn more about Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grants >

Donations to any Fund at the Community Foundation can be made online or by mail to the DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Avenue, Sycamore, IL 60178. For questions or additional information, please contact grants@dekalbccf.org. Questions or inquiries specifically about the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grant can be directed to the Fund’s Board of Advisors Chairperson, George Buck, at george@dekalbccf.org. 

Pictured above: A recent Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grant to Cor Cantiamo provided support to ‘The Big Sing’ at the Egyptian Theatre.