Highlighted Grantee – The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

The mission of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is to lead by creating extraordinary music and experiences that build community, inspire activism, and foster compassion at home and around the world. In May of 2024, the Chorus asked us to help them to provide a program called RHYTHM (Reaching Youth Through Music). This in-school music and mentorship program for elementary, middle, and high school students, brings members of the Chorus to Bay Area schools for artistic programming about the topics of LGBTQIA+, allyship, anti-bullying, and living authentically. The workshops provided culminate in joint performances between the Choras and students.

When asked how the funding helped The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus expressed gratitude to be the recipient of a grant from the ACT Giving Program in support of RHYTHM (Reaching Youth Through Music). Funds from this grant went towards buying music supplies, such as sheet music and music licenses, for songs that were performed at assemblies in seven schools, reaching over 3,000 students this academic year. The Chorus tailors the musical programming to each school and prioritize reaching schools with underserved and low-income populations, and this year for the first time, performed two bilingual RHYTHM presentations. Forty percent of students surveyed expressed that after seeing RHYTHM, they felt more comfortable expressing their authentic self at school – a figure that we hope The Chorus can continue to increase through continued impactful engagement and programming. The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is proud to combat bullying, an often lethal situation for LGBTQIA+ youth, and to lend our voices to those students seeking to be heard and accepted for who they are. 

Quote from a RHYTHM school teacher: “To have the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus at our school has been impactful for our children and our community. At its most recent assembly this spring a middle school student who is non-binary was particularly moved by the experience. They said the singers were talking “with us instead of at us,” and said they felt affirmed that the performers shared so much of their life experience about coming out and living their authentic selves.”