Thomas J. West Music

This past Monday night, the topic of the weekly #musedchat on Twitter was "How can schools with no funding for the arts incorporate music?" One of the tips suggested by several band directors on the chat was putting an ad in the local paper to get community members to donate unused instruments, a practice I have done before myself with some success. Band Director David Ahrens made a suggestion on this topic that was pure gold - something I had never thought of and thought worthy of sharing.

Instrument Angels Program

Traditionally, just putting an ad in the local paper asking for old instrument donations usually gets you a few instruments. Lots of people "used to play in their school band/orchestra" and have their old instrument in an attic somewhere collecting dust. Ahrens has taken it one step further by having his band parent support organization create a formalized Instrument Angels program. This program is an ongoing effort that they can continue to promote with benefits to the donors, as their band boosters organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so the donation is tax-deductible.

Instrument Triage and Resale

The truly briliant part of the program, however, is what Ahrens does with the donated instruments once they come in. Because they are donated to his band boosters and not to the school district, the non-profit organization can do as they please with them. Most donated instruments have been sitting around for years unused and require at least some refurbishment in order to be servicable. The boosters organization pays for instruments that need simple repairs (like a repadding job for a clarinet). Instruments that need extensive repairs are sold at auction on eBay!

Who would buy an instrument that needs extensive repairs? You'd be surprised. More and more music retailers are finding online sales and exchanges to be a cost-effective way to put used instruments into their inventory. Musical Instruments are an entire category to themselves on eBay, and music retailers can make some good acquisitons there.

Hats off to Dave Ahrens and the Bear River Band Program for some innovative ideas!

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