Support Play Me Again Pianos today
/At Play Me Again Pianos, we are on a mission to install beautifully decorated public pianos all around the Atlanta metro (and possibly beyond)! As a matter of fact, we held the ribbon cutting for our first one in March. It’s at the newly remodeled Chastain Park Playground in Atlanta. Here’s a video of my son, Nico playing a Bach Gigue while the artist, Sergey Cherep, looks on.
There are a few other organizations around the world that install “street pianos,” for the public to enjoy, but those are typically temporary installations conducted as a short term project.
Our project is much more ambitious. We want to infuse Atlanta with “permanent” street pianos and public pianos. Our dream is for piano music to fill this city, and the surrounding suburbs, every day of the year.
We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback so far, too. Multiple community organizations have already reached out and asked us to help them get a piano in place! Individual donors are lining up to offer older pianos as gifts for the project.
But even when a piano is donated to us, we estimate that it’s going to cost about $2500 to place and maintain one for 2 years. And that’s why we’re forming Play Me Again Pianos. We are forming a 501(c)3 charity to manage the pianos and accept tax deductible donations to support the pianos.
So—What do you think? Is this a pretty cool idea? I’d really like to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
I’d also like to ask for your help. Would you support Play Me Again Pianos? There are a few ways you can support the project:
- Support us financially
We’ve already formed an organization and are in the process of applying for non-profit status with the IRS. But ironically, this is a fairly expensive process. So we’ve created a fundraising campaign at Crowdrise and are working to raise $5000 to get Play Me Again Pianos off the ground. The money we raise will help to pay our fees and costs associated with obtaining 501(c)3 status, as well as maintaining “Janssen” the Chastain Park piano. We also have two more pianos coming soon to Woodruff Arts Center, and a fourth that we'll announce very soon! Later this year, once we’ve obtained 501(c)3 status, we’ll be able to issue you a receipt and your gift should become tax deductible, retroactively. (Speak with your tax professional for details). Donate Here: https://www.crowdrise.com/SupportthePlayMeAgainPianosVision/fundraiser/PlayMeAgainPianos
- Subscribe to our newsletter
We want to keep you up to date with our activities and build a strong, active mailing list. Most of you know that I work in marketing software. What you may not know is that simply having a large mailing list of supporters who open and read our emails about once a month has a MASSIVE impact on our ability to raise awareness. Seriously! Just subscribing to and reading our newsletter is a big help even if you NEVER do anything else! Subscribe Here: http://eepurl.com/bUMHh1
- Spread the word
We really want to get the word out about Play Me Again Pianos. You could just forward this post via email along with a personal note and encourage everyone you know in the Atlanta area to check us out and support us. You can also share this post with your friends on Facebook!
- Suggest locations for pianos
Know a great spot that could use some music? Tell us about it. If you know someone who can advocate for a piano in that area, please introduce us. Once again, just forward this post along with a personal note (and copy jason@playmeagainpianos.org when you do)
- Introduce us to people who can help!
We do hope you’ll give Play Me Again Pianos your support. After we installed the Chastain Park piano, we didn’t step more than 15 feet away before children and adults alike were swarming the piano to play it and hear it. The excitement and glitter in their eyes confirmed for us that this project is well worth the work and commitment. So come be a part of this exciting new adventure!