Photo Caption: Through support from LVCF’s CORE Fellowship Fund, CMS is pleased to announce that free group classes are now available to Allentown School District students who qualify. Current group classes include Modern Band, Kindermusik, Intro to Piano, and Intro to Music Production.
Allentown, PA (October 24, 2025) – Community Music School – Lehigh Valley & Berks (CMS) has been awarded a $15,000 capacity-building grant through the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation CORE Fellowship to support the 2025-2026 Allentown School District Community Music Scholarship Program at CMS.
Along with other Lehigh Valley nonprofit leaders from organizations such as ArtsQuest, Fine Feather Foundation, and Valley Youth House, CMS Executive Director Jeff Reed and former Assistant Director, Operations & People Laura Burcaw represented CMS as Fellows in LVCF’s CORE Fellowship Program.
LVCF’s CORE Fellowship is a two-year capacity-building program designed to bring Lehigh Valley nonprofit leaders together to center equity in themselves, their relationships, their organizations, and the Lehigh Valley nonprofit sector. The program consists of peer-to-peer learning, individual coaching, consultant pairing for an organization equity discovery process, and funding to support organizational capacity-building. The fellowship is designed for both nonprofit leaders and their organizations to support equitable change in delivering on their personal and professional mission. The program also provides a $15,000 grant for an equity-centered capacity-building project in its second year. This project is selected with guidance from the host organization and the Fellows, focusing on equity-centered capacity building. Participating organizations receive the funding, and Fellows receive leadership development, guidance from consultants, and access to a network of other nonprofit leaders.
Through support from LVCF’s CORE Fellowship Fund, CMS is pleased to announce that free group classes are now available to Allentown School District students who qualify. Current group classes include Modern Band, Kindermusik, Intro to Piano, and Intro to Music Production. To be eligible for the 2025-2026 Allentown School District Community Music Scholarship Program, students must be 18 or younger or completing their senior year of high school, attend a K-12 school in the Allentown School District, not be currently enrolled at Community Music School, and come from a low-to-moderate-income family that qualifies for CMS financial aid. Eligible ASD students and their families can learn more and apply here: https://cmslv.org/asd-community-music-scholarship-program/.
This grant is awarded through the LVCF and is made possible by the generosity of fund holders who contribute to foundation-directed grantmaking.
We thank the LVCF for supporting these opportunities for ASD students at CMS!
About CMS: Community Music School (CMS) – Lehigh Valley & Berks is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides the inspiration and opportunity for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music. Our professional teachers provide private lessons, group classes, and summer camps to students of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, in piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, voice, and recording technology; both in-person and online. Thanks to support from our philanthropic community for over 43 years, CMS has provided students in the Lehigh Valley with the life-long benefits of a quality music education and free performance opportunities. Our main office and studios are located in the former Lehigh Valley Social Club at historic 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA where we offer 14 lesson rooms of varying sizes, a unique parent lounge, early childhood room, music library, administrative offices, state-of-the-art recording studio, and a 150-seat recital hall. Our CMS Berks satellite studio is located in Reading, PA at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. Learn more at http://cmslv.org/.
About LVCF: The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation promotes philanthropy in order to improve the quality of life in our region, encourage collaboration among area philanthropists, and serve as a source of information and expertise regarding charitable giving. Established in 1967 as the Bethlehem Area Foundation, the Foundation was regionalized and re-named in 1992 in order to serve the entire Lehigh Valley. Fortunately, the locals preserved the true spirit of the Community Foundation throughout this transition, and it remains today. The Bethlehem Area Foundation began as part of the City’s 225th anniversary celebration. The community used the funds remaining from that celebration to create a permanent community endowment, the Bethlehem Area Foundation. Schoolchildren, steelworkers, retailers, college professors, homemakers, and business leaders contributed this funding. It was a true community beginning for a community foundation, and that community spirit is at the heart of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. John Heske, Robert Holland, Esq., Frank Marcon, Donald Taylor, Robert Taylor, Jr., Esq., and the Rev. Lyle Thomas served as the first people on the Foundation’s Board of Governors. Rolland Adams, businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist was chairman of The Board. It was Mr. Adams who had envisioned a community endowment as a natural outcome of the 225th anniversary celebration. Mr. Adams added his personal endorsement with a generous gift of one million dollars to the Foundation. Today, the Foundation manages more than 300 charitable funds representing approximately $100 million in assets. Learn more at https://www.lehighvalleyfoundation.org/.
Information provided to TVL by:
Lisa Hopstock Kulp
