The Honors Endowment Plan offers donors the opportunity to endow and name a chair reflecting their particular interest in one or more of the performing groups of the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) State Honors Music Project. The donor may be an individual, family, or trust, and the gift may be designated to honor the memory or achievement of others.

An Endowed Chair provides an annual full-tuition grant to a student selected for participation in the WSMA State Honors Music Project. An Endowed Conductor Chair pays the entire cost for the designated conductor each year.

Earnings from the Honors Endowment will only be used for these purposes, thus providing continuous funding as designated by the donor.

WSMA brings people together to perpetuate the gift of music in our lives. When families come together to share the pride of their child's accomplishments in the WSMA State Honors Music Project, new conversations take place between child and parent. While this may not be the most obvious benefit of participating in the WSMA State Honors Music Project, we feel it's one of the most important.

With unprecedented cuts in school funding, quality programs like the WSMA State Honors Music Project now require endowed financial support to continue. Very few schools are able to pay the tuition for their students who qualify for the State Honors Music Project. Families requesting financial assistance tell stories of amazing tenacity throughout job losses, disabilities and other challenging circumstances. Please consider a donation to the Honors Endowment Plan. Your gift will touch thousands of students whose lives will be forever changed by your contribution. By endowing a chair or conductor in the WSMA State Honors Music Project, you will:

• Make a powerful impact on the lives of talented young people who end up selecting careers in medicine, music, engineering, teaching, research and more
• Receive permanent recognition in the printed WSMA State Honors Music Project fall concert programs

Donate online   or   Download pledge form 

Governance of the fund

The Honors Endowment Fund is governed by the Board of the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music. Implementation of policy decisions is the responsibility of the Executive Director of the Foundation.

Management of the funds

The Foundation Board is responsible for selection and monitoring of a trustee for the endowment funds. Investment plans and results are monitored each year. Earnings of the Honors Endowment are made available to WSMA annually to pay costs for endowed chairs or conductors.