Today, North Carolina native, singer-songwriter, musician, composer and record producer Ben Folds shared the partners for his “Keys For Kinds” initiative – which aims to give school-age kids access to piano keyboards and music lessons for little or no cost. The seven organizers were selected in cooperation with the North Carolina Arts Council and North Carolina Arts Foundation.

“’Keys for Kids’ enables talented young people to grow as musicians and, as important, develop the confidence they need to be successful in life. We salute Ben Folds for creating an arts education project that helps meet our aspirational goal of ‘arts for all people,’” said Wayne Martin, Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Foundation, in a statement.

All the seven partners are nonprofits and will receive financial grants and resources to incorporate into their existing music education outreach programs, and this year marks the first year that “Key For Kids” will go into action. Over the coming months, they’ll work closely with Folds, the Arts Council and the Arts Foundation to build the most sustainable and effective model to reach their goal.

“The goal of ‘Keys For Kids’ is to support nonprofits from across North Carolina that are providing music education opportunities to young people from economically disadvantaged households,” said Folds in a press release. “I see my role as an advocate for these existing organizations, raising awareness for what they do, and providing them with additional resources to support their mission.”  

The seven nonprofits now partnered with “Keys For Kids” are Arts+, Authoring Action, Kidznotes, Kinston Community Council for the Arts, McDowell Arts Council Association, Musical Empowerment and Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge Gallery.

According to the press release, Folds intends to expand his initiative to more nonprofits that are also involved in music education outreach. “This first year will be crucial in helping us better understand both the need and how best to address it through this kind of public-private partnership,” shared Folds. “I realize that most kids aren’t as lucky as I was to be exposed to a quality music education. That’s why I want to do what I can to help give all young people who have an interest in learning how to play the piano a chance to have the same opportunities I was afforded.”

Additionally, Folds shared he is planning a series of fundraising opportunities in the coming months to support the initiative and is hoping others who believe in the mission will contribute at well. All donations to “Keys For Kids”–financial and in-kind– will be tax-deductible. Make a financial or in-kind donation here.