GIVING CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT

With great joy and gratitude, we commemorate a remarkable milestone – the upcoming 20th anniversary of our leadership giving program, President’s Council, launched by Harmony Foundation in 2004. This remarkable occasion provides us with the opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of our dedicated President’s Council donors who have played an integral role in the journey of barbershop harmony over the past two decades.

To honor this achievement, we are thrilled to announce an initiative that underscores our commitment to the growth and sustainability of Harmony Foundation and our invaluable program partners. M.B. Lumbard, a champion of enriching lives through singing, has generously pledged a $150,000 giving challenge to HFI. All new, reinstated, and increased Ambassador of Song and President’s Council gifts will be counted toward the Lumbard Family Challenge. This extraordinary endeavor has the potential to raise over $300,000 in new support of our mission!

At this time, we also recognize that program costs have risen steadily over time. In light of this reality, we are taking measured steps to ensure that our giving thresholds are aligned with the changing times. While $1,000 has served as an entry point for President’s Council membership, we acknowledge that its impact has diminished in the last twenty years of economic context. In order to maintain parity with inflation, and to meet the escalating needs of our communities, we will be adjusting the President’s Council entry level to $1,200 annually, effective January 1, 2024. For our valued monthly contributors, this equates to a modest increase of less than $17 per month. Moreover, thanks to the Lumbard Family Challenge, an additional $200 contribution will effectively be doubled!

Additionally, in celebration of our President’s Council anniversary, donors will have the opportunity to receive a limited-edition gift – a token of our gratitude that will be delivered straight to your doorstep. Plus, we are always honored that the Barbershop Harmony Society offers our donors VIP seating options at International and Midwinter conventions.

By supporting Harmony Foundation, you are enabling singing programs – like BHS’s Harmony University and Next Generation Barbershop Choruses and Quartets, as well as the AIC Outreach program, and our own Power of Harmony project – to flourish. It is important to highlight that your support also creates regular grants for your designated Districts, Chapters, and Brigades through our Donor’s Choice program.

We hope you will join us in celebrating two decades of President’s Council! Your partnership remains integral to the fabric of Harmony Foundation's success. In closing, we extend a heartfelt, “Thank you!” to our Charter President’s Council donors, whose unwavering support has been the cornerstone of Harmony Foundation's journey over these past 20 years.