Bedford Patrons of Music Students (POMS), the music booster organization for Bedford’s public schools, is looking for patrons as we launch our Annual Appeal.
In a typical year, POMS supports classroom and extracurricular learning by providing annual teacher stipends, scholarships for graduating seniors, and wish-list items for curricular needs and extracurricular activities. Like any nonprofit, our budget also includes a small amount for operating expenses, such as bank fees and accounting services, but the bulk of POMS’s income goes directly to students and teachers.
[A note on private lessons: While registrations for private lessons are robust this fall, with more than 130 students remotely enjoying private music lessons with local professionals, our private lesson program is wholly financially independent from POMS’s regular operating budget. The money paid for lessons goes directly to our instructors; it is not part of the funds that support our classroom teachers and students.]
POMS traditionally derives our funding by selling concessions at events, direct appeals at concerts, and our Annual Appeal. With events canceled since March 2020, POMS has a significant budgetary shortfall. Our summer Pop-Up Music fundraiser was a bright spot in a challenging year: it gave our student musicians an opportunity to perform, while raising enough funds to cover teacher stipends and a couple of early wish-list items for JGMS and BHS. But there’s still much more to raise.
Now POMS is reaching out to the community to be our partners in continuing to support meaningful music education in Bedford. If you have helped POMS in prior years by purchasing a hot dog at Bedford Day or dropping some money in the jar at a Vertical Concert, we encourage you to translate that support into an equivalent gift to our Annual Appeal.
What type of patron will you be this year?
Are you a
- Shack Patron? If you treat your family to cheeseburgers, candy, popcorn, and hot chocolate at two BHS football games a year, that’s a $50 donation to POMS.
- Concert Patron? If you faithfully drop $20 in the jar at every one of your kid’s concerts, that adds up to $60 a year.
- Bedford Day Patron? For those who like to treat their kids to a $25 feast at the POMS booth.
- Musical Patron? Consider donating $20 if you typically purchase two candy bars and a “star for your star” at each performance of the JGMS musical.
- Virtuoso Patron? If 100 families each gave $100, we could fund all our activities for the school year, and help carry us through another potentially lean spring.
- Perhaps a New Patron? If you want to make a difference in music education, we welcome your support in any amount!
You can donate online at https://www.bedfordpoms.org/donate-to-poms/. We also accept checks by mail (c/o BHS, 9 Mudge Way, Bedford MA 01730), but as access to our mailbox at BHS is limited this year, an online gift via credit card or PayPal lets your money get to work faster. All donations are acknowledged, and you can even make a donation in honor of someone special. Donations to POMS may be tax-deductible, as we are a 501(c)(3) organization.
We are fortunate to be part of a community that values music and the arts as much as Bedford does and helps our children develop their love for music and theater. Our schools—and you, our patrons—understand that music builds community. Music supports academic development. And music feeds our souls. POMS is grateful for Bedford’s continued support.
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