Mockingbird Grant

The Mockingbird Foundation "is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 (incorporated March 1997) to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community." They offer grants for a variety of musical purposes, but they most focus on creative musical expression, unusual genres or styles of music, educational projects, and programs that target children. Ben Lomond High School Bagpipe Corps qualifies under all points, and so we considered this grant to be an excellent target for our efforts.

Unlike the Mr. Holland's Opus Grant, the Mockingbird Grant's pre-qualification stage was significantly more open and offered a greater chance to show our writing and to plead our case. We went over their website and modified our template specifically to address them. In addition, we followed Leslie Trottier's advice and mimicked their voice and composition in our responses. Each of us tackled different sections of the grant at different times, using our research to craft each paragraph. We went through multiple stages where we gave feedback and revised the  document until we were happy with the result.

Below you can read the full text. Changes from the template are highlighted, with minor changes in blue and major changes in green. Minor changes include rewording, minor modifications, and details specific to the grant, and major changes are meant to reflect our direct responses to their website and use of their language.

"Please describe the project, program, and/or organization for which your are seeking funding. Please be as specific as possible about how funds would be used, and what role a grant would play in the overall budget of the project, program, and/or organization."

Purpose:

Ben Lomond High School music department Bagpipe Corps is seeking a $3500 grant from the Mockingbird Foundation to purchase additional sets of bagpipes, needed supplies to keep them in working order, and components of the traditional Scottish uniform to better serve the Ogden/Salt Lake Utah communities. Our program is growing as more students become interested in the bagpipes and we would like to create a better program for the future.

Organization Information:

The Ben Lomond Bagpipe Corps has been an integral part of the school and community for years.  Since the 1980’s we have been entertaining audiences in and around the Ogden Utah area.  However, with the state of the economy, the bagpipe band has not received any funding from the school, or the school district, for the last four years. We have been using fundraisers to keep the band functioning but have not been able to purchase many of the supplies needed to sound our best.

We work hard to perform when needed for community events, charity fundraisers, funerals, schools, and government events. We appreciate every opportunity we have to represent the school through these events, and look forward to each one. By participating in these events it is not uncommon for a student to accumulate 50 hours or more of community service throughout a school year.

In addition to performing for community events, we also work very hard to compete with other bagpipe bands. This hard work has led to some wonderful experiences and great successes. In 2010 we were the recipients of the Best of State Award for Arts In Education in Utah and were named the WUSPBA (Western United States Pipe Band Association) Juvenile Champions.

One of our favorite challenges is adding our own flair to traditional Scottish music. Every year, we find ourselves arranging new music for concerts and other performances. Our bagpipe corps performs at all of our home football games and our students have arranged many popular songs for the bagpipes to get the crowd going. (“We Will Rock You” from Queen is a frequent request.)

We  also don’t hesitate to say that we are doing things with Scottish music that have never been done before. Every year for our St. Patrick’s day concert, our students are encouraged to put together their own small piece of the performance and we are always surprised at what they come up with. We have seen glow-in-the-dark paint and black lights, sword fighting, and the Can-Can dance to name a few of the unique acts that our students have come up with.

One of the most unique aspects of the Ben Lomond Bagpipe Corps is the student leadership. The Bagpipes Corps is currently led by Pipe Major Becca Windley, Pipe Sergeant Austin Cluster, and Drum Sergeant Bethany Gulbransen. These student leaders are responsible for directing the band during performances and for the instruction of the band outside of performances. They are also responsible for the management and maintenance of our instruments. They teach other students proper techniques, proper musical phrasing, and how to tune and take care of their instruments.

Service provided:

The Ben Lomond Bagpipe Corps play at school and community events, charity fundraisers, funerals, and hold public concerts. As previously mentioned, we participate and consistently do well in sanctioned competitions with other bagpipe bands and many of our students continue on to play with other bagpipe bands in the area. Our students work hard to be able to share this unique music with the community and have earned a reputation of being great performers.

We love to watch our students progress from beginning musicians to accomplished performers. As they perform and learn how valuable they are to the community, our students invariably experience an upswing in confidence and self esteem. They are excited to represent our school to the community through performance and they love to hear the audience ask for an encore. Upon returning to the school, our students often insist on wearing their uniforms throughout the day. They want everyone to know where they have been and what they have accomplished.

Over the years we have been invited back to events that are now part of our annual concert list. These events range from parades to memorials, and have been received very well. The students bring a certain level of professionalism to these events that isn’t normally seen in their age group.  We have really enjoyed the opportunity to perform at events such as the Combined Federal Campaign for Utah Charities, the September 11th Firefighter Memorial, and various Independence Day Parades.

Use of funds:

Bagpipes require proper maintenance in order to be playable. The student bagpipes used at Ben Lomond have been passed down for many years and are in dire need of repair. The most common items that need to be replaced are chanters and drone reeds. The quality of a chanter reed is critical to the timbre of the bagpipe and these reeds become progressively more difficult to tune and play as they age. These cost about $15 and should be replaced at least every 4 months.

Stable drone reeds are especially important for new students and for the overall tonal quality for a band. A set of drone reeds costs about $100 dollars and last for many years before they need to be replaced. These reeds are critical for public performance, as low-quality instruments greatly impact the sound of the music. Without these supplies, our students have trouble gaining confidence in their playing abilities and are less likely to enjoy performing.

In addition to reeds, we are also experiencing an exciting time of expansion in the Ben Lomond Bagpipes Corps. Our class has a total of 54 students registered for the following year. Many of these new students have seen us perform and truly wish to learn and participate. With only 10 working sets of bagpipes available, we have an urgent need to acquire more sets of bagpipes for our students to play. A set of bagpipes can cost as little as $700 and each one would greatly improve our ability to teach more students.

This grant would allow us to dramatically improve the quality of instruments available to our students. With this improved quality, we will sound better, more students will be able to participate in our corps, and we will be able to perform in more public settings. This in turn, will help us to secure more funding on our own.

Why Support Us:

As we have mentioned before, our students are wonderful musicians and involved community members. These students and this great program can benefit with your support. Ben Lomond High School is a Title 1 school with over 70% of students receiving free or reduced school lunch and it is understandable that most of our students do not have money to go out and buy these supplies for themselves. With limited funds, some students even worry about practicing because of the difficulty of purchasing new reeds. With your help we can keep this unique, in-school program alive. Through the music we create we can continue touching the lives of students and enable them to touch the lives of those around them.

Thanks:

The Ben Lomond Music Department appreciates the time you have taken to consider this inquiry. We have seen the impact our music has made on the community and hopefully we have conveyed this to you. In light of tough economic times for everyone, this grant will go a long way to teaching a new generation of young minds the joy that music brings into the lives of others.