In May 2025, the DeKalb County Community Foundation awarded $110,500 in Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grants to support music education. The grants benefited 21 nonprofit and public sector organizations in DeKalb County and the greater Chicagoland area. (Pictured: The sound of learning—DeKalb Public Library hosts a live concert with support from a 2025 Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grant for music education.)

“The DeKalb Public Library is grateful to receive $3,000 to cover the cost of hosting and promoting Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole in a free, after-hours concert in our main lobby on Saturday, August 16, 2025,” explained DeKalb Public Library Head of Public Relations and Events, Samantha Hathaway. “We are excited to bring this prestigious band to the community.”

DeKalb County recipients:

• Arcomusical NFP – $3,000 to provide music and movement courses to complement programs for the young adult inmates of the PEACE center
• Children’s Community Theatre – $4,000 to support a low-cost musical theatre summer camp
• DeKalb Public Library – $3,000 to cover costs associated with promoting and presenting a free concert
• DeKalb High School -$15,000 to support the purchase of a grand piano for the DeKalb High School orchestra program
• Hinckley-Big Rock School District – $15,000 to support the renovation of school performance space
• James R. Wood Elementary School – $13,000 to purchase new risers for use in this Somonauk elementary school’s student performances
• Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra – $12,500 to support special performances, instrument donation/repair efforts, and music programs in area public schools
• Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts – $2,500 to provide need-based scholarships for local students participating in music and art programs
• Sycamore Music Boosters – $12,000 to purchase instruments for Sycamore Middle and High Schools

Greater Chicagoland area recipients:  

• Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education – $5,000 to support music education programs in low-income schools
• Chicago Center for Music Education – $3,000 to support weekly music instruction to students in public schools
• Wheaton College Community School of the Arts – $2,000 to support early childhood music education for under-resourced students
• Elgin Symphony Orchestra – $2,000 to support staffing costs for in-school programming for elementary students
• Lawrence Hall – $2,000 for music therapy programs for youth impacted by trauma and mental health issues
• Music of the Baroque – $3,500 to support a choral program for underserved high school students
• OPUS (Orchestra Parents/Patrons United Support) – $2,500 to support the recruitment of program participants from underserved populations
• Special Gifts Theater – $2,000 to support a therapeutic and educational music theatre program serving youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Spirito! Singers – $2,500 to support expansion of music programs for youth
• Walther Christian Academy – $2,000 to fund repair and replacement of instruments and equipment
• William Ferris Chorale – $3,000 to support a program for high school students to foster choral music composition and performance
• Youth Crossroads, Inc. – $1,000 to support an 8-week course on traditional Mexican and Venezuelan music.

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, it remains an important part of the Foundation’s grantmaking efforts in support of music education.

Applications for the next round of Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grants open July 1. Full details include eligibility and guidelines.

For questions or additional information, please contact grants@dekalbccf.org. Please direct questions or inquiries about the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund Grant to the Fund’s Board of Advisors Chairperson George Buck at george@dekalbccf.org.