Songs for Good, fiscally sponsored by Social Good Fund

I am applying for the Elevate Prize because I am inspired by and grateful for the vision to support catalyzers for good.

The Elevate Prize funding and support would enable Songs for Good to rapidly advance its mission to amplify civic engagement movements that are tackling the biggest policy challenges within the United States, and with global implications: climate change, corrupted democracy, racial injustice and gun violence.

Specifically, we would immediately launch a new Song Power fellowship: funding and supporting 5-10 songwriters and song leaders to co-create and disseminate movement music, embedded within our national partner organizations: Sunrise Movement, ZeroHour, March for Our Lives, RepresentUs, National Children's Campaign, PolicyLink, Access the Polls and BridgeUSA. The fellowship would include stipends, trainings, on-going support, culminating in public performances of the new movement music in support of urgent public policy changes. Support from the Elevate Prize would also enable enhanced video production, social media campaigns and academic research, as well as expanded partnerships to other music organizations and a broader artist community.

 Music is an essential ingredient for movement-building. As Dr. King said “Songs are the soul of a movement.”

“A movement without a song is like a bird without wings.” - John Lewis

When I was 10, my friends put me on trial for caring too much. My eighth grade class voted me most likely to save the planet. How we thrive together on Earth has consumed me. So has music. 

In 2019, after three decades of music-making and a decade of advancing energy policy, I merged these two spheres to cultivate purpose-driven music that matches the urgency and magnitude of the challenges we face. 

It started with the idea of a competition to create a new soundtrack for democracy, a 2020 Challenge. In hundreds of conversations with organizations, musicians and regular folks, there was clear consensus: "yes, we need this." 

Songs for Good is building narrative, people and electoral power by catalyzing a coalition of organizations through the power of song. We are growing the wings of movements, capitalizing on the growing number of youth-led change-making organizations with the timely intersection of technology, arts and politics. We are working with the end in mind: universal, inspiring anthems that we will march to arm-in-arm, for the passage of big, bold policies to create the future we want to see.

Songs for Good addresses multiple problems at several scales. 

First, our partner organizations represent thousands of everyday Americans and are working on separate segments of policy reform addressing climate change, political corruption, gun violence, and racial inequity.

Second, all of these groups are ultimately faced with the same, enormous challenge: an imbalance of representation in writing the rules of society as a result of corporate power. Whether it’s the fossil fuel industry, the gun-lobby or the prison-industrial complex, they are all fighting the same fight across separate fields. Building intersectional coalitions is imperative to win the fight for progress and we need to be singing from the same song book. 

Third, our partner movements need new movement-building songs, of this time and era.

Fourth, group singing has been scientifically proven to lower stress, relieve anxiety, and elevate endorphins (Horn 2013), undoubtedly building community.  

In 2020 we ran a songwriting contest - 2020 Challenge - and our partner organizations used the top songs for their mobilization events. These songs were leveraged across social media, reaching over half a million young potential voters to inspire them to vote. Our next planned initiative is a Song Power fellowship to further amplify the movements. 

As organizations fight across a wide range of issues, we must be intersectional wherever possible; the universal language of song has proven time and time again to be a catalyst for building bridges. By intentionally linking youth-led movement organizations, the music community and the public, Songs for Good is playing the unique role of catalyzer not just through coalition building, but movement expansion.

A clear opportunity exists to elevate the process by which we create and disseminate changemaking music to match the fierce urgency of now. We are seeking to gain traction to reach 3.5% of the population, the tipping point for political change (Chenoweth 2013), using music as an influencer, motivator, and power builder. 

Music has historically played a pivotal role in social and political change throughout the world. In the United States, the Civil-rights era demonstrated this power. But due to a number of factors, including cultural and music fragmentation, music industry commercialization, and technology advancements, songs that are by design structured for singing together with the purpose of mass mobilization have waned. We are reinvigorating this art form, essential for social and political change.

In broad terms, we are achieving our planned impacts by 1) holding to our organizational values, 2) staying in service to our partner organizations, 3) focusing on national movements for scale, and 4) regular quantitative and qualitative assessments to ensure we’re on track.

Collectively these strategies have responded to the demand for new songs from our partner movements and the public-at-large. Our team’s values of openness, inclusion and collaboration and being in service to our partner organizations make us well positioned for long-term engagement. 

A few quotes from our partners:

“We've yet to match or even approximate the musical portfolio that elevated the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. We have an opportunity to change that today with Songs for Good.” - Renaldo Pearson, Director of External Affairs, RepresentUs 

"Artivism—the intersection of art and activism—is an extremely powerful tool for inspiring and connecting with others, yet its potential reach remains largely untapped. That's why March For Our Lives is thrilled to partner with Songs For Good for the 2020 Challenge. Together, we're encouraging our network to use their voices in more ways than one!" - Brendan Duff, Co-founder March for Our Lives.