Playing For Change Foundation

What Playing For Change Foundation does

Playing For Change Foundation (PFCF) is a global nonprofit organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in West Hollywood, California. It delivers free music and arts education to marginalized youth across 37 programs in 26 countries and territories, reaching 60,000+ annual beneficiaries and providing 80,000+ hours of music instruction per year. Programs are organized through local partnerships and a community-led model in which PFCF identifies and empowers on-the-ground leaders with resources and strategies to drive sustainable change; areas of impact explicitly span refugee crisis response, gender equity, food security, climate change, gang violence, child marriage, indigenous rights, emergency response, and cultural preservation. Core programs include the École de Musique de Kirina in Mali (now housing the solar-powered Toumani Diabaté Recording Studio), the Dream Day Studio inside Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, the Tintale Education Foundation school in Nepal (reporting a 100% graduation rate), the Sound Space on Wheels mobile music classroom in Mumbai, and the Joudour Sahara environmental and cultural preservation program in Morocco.

The foundation's underlying production capability rests on mobile recording studios, solar-powered recording facilities, and documentary-style music video production that records musicians from different continents in street settings. Content is distributed primarily through YouTube (cumulative 2 billion views), supplemented by Facebook, Instagram, email newsletters, blogs, and live concerts via the Playing For Change Band (400+ concerts across 25+ countries). The organization monetizes through four revenue streams disclosed for 2024: Grants & Foundations ($1,304,110, ~43%), Individual Donations ($785,893, ~26%), Corporate Sponsorships including Bacardi and Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood ($736,626, ~24%), and Special Events such as the annual Impact Awards Gala ($226,599, ~7%), totaling $3,053,228 in 2024 revenue against $3,630,160 in expenses. The Impact Awards Gala offers premium table sponsorships ranging from $25,000 to $1,000,000, with naming rights for programs, schools, or recording studios tied to top tiers. Foundation leadership comprises Founder/Board President Whitney Kroenke Silverstein, CEO Jake Groshong, COO Jessica Reed, CDO Stacey Glassman Mizener, and CPO Thomas Duncan, supported by a Board of Directors and a network of 300+ ground staff and 1,000+ annual collaborators across 20+ countries.

Name

Playing For Change Foundation

Legal name

Playing For Change Foundation

Website

https://playingforchange.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Playing For Change Foundation is a global nonprofit founded in 2007 that delivers free music and arts education to marginalized youth across 37 programs in 26 countries, reaching 60,000+ beneficiaries annually through community-led local partnerships and documentary-style music video production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music and Arts Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Music education
• Arts education
• Community development
• Nonprofit organization
• Cultural preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

West Hollywood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Donations from individual supporters; $785,893 revenue in 2024
2. Special Events: Revenue from Impact Awards gala and other fundraising events; $226,599 revenue in 2024
3. Grants & Foundations: Funding from grant-making organizations and foundations; $1,304,110 revenue in 2024
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships and partnerships; $736,626 revenue in 2024. Includes sponsors like Bacardi and Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Playing For Change Foundation (PFCF) provides free, hands-on music and arts education programs to marginalized youth and their communities across 26 countries, with locally rooted curricula that preserve traditional music cultures and produce cross-cultural artistic collaborations. Programming is delivered through physical schools, in-country community programs, mobile recording studios (Sound Space on Wheels), and dedicated facilities such as the Toumani Diabaté Recording Studio in Mali and Dream Day Studio at the Zaatari refugee camp. These activities are funded by individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and the annual Impact Awards gala.

Product overview

Playing For Change Foundation operates a portfolio of music education and community development programs designed for marginalized youth globally. The core offering consists of free music schools across 26 countries and territories, providing instruction in vocals, dance, instruments, and music theory. The portfolio includes flagship programs like the École de Musique de Kirina in Mali (featuring the Toumani Diabaté Recording Studio), the Dream Day Studio in Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, the Tintale Education Foundation school in Nepal, and the Joudour Sahara environmental program in Morocco. Additional offerings include the Sound Space on Wheels mobile classroom in India, the Tintale Mother's Society women's empowerment initiative, the Sina Loketa Agrofarm in Uganda, and the annual Impact Awards gala. Programs serve as primary access points for cultural and creative activities in underserved communities, extending beyond music to address food security, gender equity, and environmental sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Playing For Change Band: A tangible, traveling representation of the mission, featuring musicians from different continents that has played over 400 concerts in more than 25 countries
• Dream Day Studio
• Joudour Sahara
• Toumani Diabaté Recording Studio

Products and services

• Global Music Education Programs Core free, hands-on music and arts education programs delivered to marginalized youth in 26 countries (Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United States, West Bank, Zimbabwe), with local curricula that preserve regional music traditions and produce cross-cultural collaborations.
• Tintale Education Foundation (TEF) School-based music and arts education program in Nepal delivered in partnership with the Tintale Education Foundation, accompanied by the Tintale Mother's Society community-support component.
• Joudour Sahara Environmental Program Music program founded in 2014 in the M'hamid El Ghizlane region of Morocco that combines music education with environmental preservation in a remote Sahara location.
• Sina Loketa Agrofarm Sustainable-agriculture and agro-tourism training program in Sierra Leone that teaches agricultural techniques to teens alongside PFCF's music programming.
• Dream Day Studio (Zaatari) Music education facility and recording studio based inside the world's second-largest refugee camp (Zaatari), serving refugee youth with hands-on music training.
• Toumani Diabaté Recording Studio Permanent recording studio opened in Bamako, Mali in June 2023 and named after legendary kora player Toumani Diabaté, supporting PFCF's Mali music education program.
• Sound Space on Wheels Mobile recording classroom that brings recording-studio capabilities into underserved program communities, serving as a portable extension of PFCF's permanent studio facilities.
• Impact Awards Annual fundraising gala held at Paramount Pictures Studios, Hollywood, CA, sold via tiered table sponsorships ($10,000 table of 10; $8,000 table of 8) and individual tickets ($500), with a "make a gift in lieu of tickets" option for remote supporters.
• "Amal" (Hope) Album Music album released by Playing For Change that was produced at Dream Day Studio (Zaatari refugee camp) and across six continents over a two-year period, distributed via major music platforms alongside the foundation's Song Around the World catalog.
• PFCF Shop Online merchandise store linked from playingforchange.org that sells foundation-branded apparel and accessories to supporters as a donation-adjacent revenue channel.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60,000+ annual beneficiaries across 26 countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key supporter, honored, supporter and major.

• Whitney Kroenke (Co-founder)coreOthers · 1 January 2007Whitney Kroenke co-founded the Playing For Change Foundation alongside Mark Johnson, providing strategic leadership and support for the organization's mission to create positive change through music.
• Sina LoketacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal NGO partner in Uganda leading agro farming initiative in Bidibidi refugee settlement, addressing food insecurity through creative farming cooperative employing local farmers
• First Peoples FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Native cultural organization partnering on Wicahpi Olowan Music Program & Studio at Oglala Lakota Artspace on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota
• QuestcopecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization collaborating on Zaatari Music Program in Jordan refugee camp, providing music education to Syrian refugee youth
• Dream Day FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Zaatari Music Program initiative; Dream Day Studio inaugurated by Ellie Goulding has produced several hundred songs
• Fundación Piés DescalzoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerColombian foundation partnership for Programa Musical Bogando in Quibdó, using music as catalyst for integral growth and positive change in the community
• UNFPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Population Fund partnership for Cahuita Music Program in Costa Rica, investing in cultural wealth to balance economic, social, and educational disparities
• Young Musicians Unite (YMU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiami-based organization partnered with PFCF to widen access to music activities for youth across Wynwood and Citrus Grove communities
• Overtown Youth CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to bring music to youth in Overtown area of Miami; coalition includes DJ Khaled's We The Best Foundation and Guitars Over Guns
• Surtaal Music AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Lahore, Pakistan to expand music education programming for underserved children and create professional music performance opportunities
• Glasswing InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to unlock musical and creative potential of youth in Guatemala through Glee Club, an extracurricular program implemented in 17 public schools
• La AlianzacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for comprehensive art program with formal music and art therapy, expanding music programming across ALA locations in Guatemala City
• Humanitarian Innovation Group (HIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUkrainian non-profit partnered to expand humanitarian work and bring music and art therapy to youth in Ternopil and Vinnytsia, Ukraine
• The Sound SpacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMumbai-based organization partnered with PFCF for mobile music classroom built inside a bus traveling across multiple communities in India
• CITTA InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew York-based non-profit partnership to address decline of ancestral music in Northwest India and empower marginalized girls through education and music in Rajasthan
• Dharmar Dakshini Welfare Society (DWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by Buddhist nuns in 1990, provides safe haven and education for over 1,000 girls; partnership to strengthen music and dance programs
• World Monuments Fund (WMF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading restoration of Old Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone for expansion of PFCF and Ballanta Academy programming
• Ballanta Academy of Music & Performing ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst music education institution established in Sierra Leone over 30 years ago, local partner for PFCF expansion in Freetown
• Damon Albarnkey supporterOthersGrammy-winning artist from Gorillaz and Blur who has supported Kirina music school for 9 years, helped provide clean water access for 2,000+ community members, and funded construction of Toumani Diabaté recording studio
• Toumani DiabatéhonoredOthersGrammy-award winning Malian musician whose legacy is honored through naming of the recording studio at École de Musique de Kirina
• TO.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for construction of Bidibidi Music and Arts Center in Uganda refugee settlement, a state-of-the-art performing arts center and recording facility
• Nina Simone FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting construction of cultural campus that will redefine cultural opportunities for youth and musicians across northern Ghana
• Sahara Roots FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetherlands-based foundation partnered for 10 years with Joudour Sahara to turn barren farmland into international model for environmental activism and cultural preservation
• Joudour SaharacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner managing music program in M'hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco; also fighting desertification and implementing environmental programming
• Gladys Palmerakey supporterOthersMusic lover and philanthropist who founded La Escuelita del Ritmo in Portobelo, Panama 12 years ago, dedicated to using music as tool for inclusion and social change
• Lee OskarsupporterOthersRenowned musician who partnered with PFC Diamante to provide harmonicas and harmonica lessons to local youth
• Ellie GouldingsupporterOthersSuperstar artist who inaugurated the Dream Day Studio at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan
• BacardimajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor of Playing For Change Foundation
• Seminole Hard Rock HollywoodmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor of Playing For Change Foundation

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation: Nonprofit donating musical instruments and supporting music programs in underserved schools. Comparable in targeting under-resourced communities with music access, though focused more on instrument grants than full school operations.
• Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock): US-based nonprofit providing free music education to underserved K-12 students. Comparable in mission (free music education for marginalized youth) and similar school- and community-based delivery model.
• Musicians Without Borders: International nonprofit using music education and community music-making to bridge divides in post-conflict regions. Most direct comparable to PFCF's refugee and conflict-zone music programs (Zaatari, Bidibidi, Ukraine).
• El Sistema USA: Network of music education programs for underserved youth inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema. Closest model peer in delivering intensive ensemble-based music instruction to marginalized children globally.
• Notes for Notes: Nonprofit building recording studios inside community centers and youth organizations. Direct comparable to PFCF's Dream Day Studio (Zaatari) and Toumani Diabaté Studio (Mali) — both deliver free studio access to underserved youth.
• VH1 Save The Music Foundation: Nonprofit restoring music education in US schools. Comparable as a music-education nonprofit leveraging brand/media partnerships (VH1) to drive fundraising — analogous to PFCF's YouTube-driven model.

Emerging players

• Global Citizen: Global advocacy organization using music concerts and celebrity partnerships to drive fundraising and policy change. Comparable in leveraging artist-driven content/events for donor mobilization and global development causes, though broader in scope than music education.

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie Hall — The Weill Music Institute: Education arm of Carnegie Hall running large-scale music education and social impact programs. Comparable mission and youth-development focus, but as part of a major established performing arts institution with broader resources.
• MusiCan (NAMM Foundation): NAMM Foundation's music advocacy and education nonprofit. Comparable as an industry-aligned nonprofit promoting music participation and education, but focused on advocacy and instrument donations rather than running schools.
• Berklee City Music Network: Berklee College of Music's pre-college music program for underserved youth. Comparable as a music education provider serving marginalized populations, but operates as a college-incubated initiative rather than independent global nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQDO81llDDm1eSnwGAJg3ZA?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlayingForChangeFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/playingforchangefoundation
• Xx.com/PFCFoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Playing For Change Foundation