Sing Me a Story

What Sing Me a Story does

Sing Me a Story Foundation is a US-registered 501(c)-style nonprofit, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, that transforms written stories submitted by children facing medical or life challenges into original songs. The organization operates a three-sided model: partner nonprofits and hospitals (including Children's Hospital Colorado, the Cure Starts Now Foundation, the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation, the New York Writers' Coalition, and Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels) supply children's stories; a network of professional and volunteer songwriters, including named artists such as Less Than Jake, Anberlin, The Dear Hunter, and a prolific in-house contributor RossO (72+ songs), compose and record the music; and donors fund each song through a per-song "jukebox" donation campaign with goals ranging from $25 to $1,000. Donations are split between the originating partner organization and the foundation, and a $1 minimum donation yields a digital MP3 of the completed song.

The core platform is a web-based marketplace (singmeastory.org) for story submission, song streaming, and donation processing; the foundation does not claim any proprietary technology. Beyond the original Story-to-Song and Song Jukebox products, a newer Composition Program coordinates orchestral arrangements and live performances with schools, youth symphonies (Albuquerque Youth Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Dallas Symphony), and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, generating both tangible output and earned-media coverage.

Revenue mechanics rely entirely on donations and corporate sponsorships, with a sponsor roster spanning pharmaceutical companies (Amgen RAREis, Eisai, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Horizon Therapeutics, Catalyst Pharma, Ipsen), food/CPG (Baskin-Robbins' Joy in Childhood Foundation, Hormel), and arts funders (National Endowment for the Arts). Operating with a 1-10 person staff and no disclosed financials, the organization distributes program activity across the US and a growing set of international geographies including Uganda, Vietnam, India, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom.

Name

Sing Me a Story

Legal name

The Sing Me a Story Foundation

Website

https://singmeastory.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sing Me a Story Foundation is a US nonprofit, founded in 2011, that transforms written stories from children facing medical challenges into original songs via a network of partner nonprofits, professional songwriters, and donor-funded per-song campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Creative Arts Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Musical Groups and Artists (711130), Child and Youth Services (62411)

akta.pro primary industry

Songwriting & Composition (Topliners, Co-writers, Camps) (MPAIABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Writing Retreats & Intensive Bootcamps (EDAMAMAK), Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK)

Keywords

• Children's music nonprofit
• Story-to-song platform
• Charitable music program
• Donation-funded songwriting
• Pediatric creative arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Song Jukebox Campaigns: Donors contribute to specific song campaigns (jukeboxes) to fund the creation of songs. Donations to a song's jukebox are split between the partner organization that submitted the story and Sing Me a Story Foundation. Minimum $1 donation receives an MP3 of the song.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sing Me a Story Foundation transforms stories written by children facing medical challenges and other life difficulties into original songs. Partner organizations submit children's stories, professional and volunteer songwriters create songs from those stories, and donors fund individual song campaigns through a 'Song Jukebox' donation system. Songs are distributed digitally via the website and performed live at school concerts and symphony events.

Product overview

Sing Me a Story is a nonprofit platform that transforms children's stories into original songs. The core offering consists of a Story-to-Song Platform where children facing challenges submit stories through partner organizations, songwriters create songs from those stories, and donors fund production via the Song Jukebox system. The Composition Program extends this by coordinating orchestral collaborations with schools and professional musicians. All songs are available for streaming on the platform with optional MP3 downloads for donors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Story-to-Song Platform A platform that takes stories submitted by children (through partner organizations) and matches them with songwriters who compose and record original songs based on the children's words and imagination. Intended for children facing medical or life challenges, with donor funding via the jukebox system.
• Song Jukebox A donation-based funding system where donors contribute to individual song campaigns with goal amounts between $25 and $1,000. Donations are split between the partner organization that submitted the story and Sing Me a Story Foundation; donors receive an MP3 download of the completed song for any contribution (minimum $1).
• Composition Program A program coordinating with schools, orchestras, and youth symphonies to create orchestral and choral arrangements of children's stories for live concert performances. Recent collaborations include the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, Medina Chorus, Los Gatos High School musicians, and St. Ann School, with recordings produced via the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

Quantifiable outcome

• Songs have raised from $0 to over $1,000 per campaign, with some exceeding 500% of funding goals
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Children's Hospital ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization that submits stories from pediatric patients. Stories like 'The Minions and the Black Cat' by Paul (age 12) came from this hospital.
• The Cure Starts Now FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCancer research foundation that submits children's stories. Stories like 'Wyatt and Braxton's Story' came from this organization.
• New York Writer's CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides free creative writing workshops and submits stories from youth facing challenges. Multiple stories including 'Big Brother' and 'Effervescent' came from NYWC.
• The Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation representing children with primary hyperoxaluria. Story 'The Curse of Oxaluria' by Matthew, Patrick, and Carswell came from this organization.
• Albuquerque Youth SymphonyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth orchestra that performed orchestral arrangements of children's stories in a 'Sing Me a Story' concert featuring Hunter Rael's story.
• Medina ChorusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity chorus that premiered original song 'On the Lexi Line' based on a child's story, in collaboration with Sing Me a Story.
• John Lennon Educational Tour BusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMobile recording studio that has recorded multiple songs for the foundation including 'Big Brother' by Anberlin and 'Warm Chicken' by Less Than Jake.
• RossO (Ross Orenstein)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning children's songwriter who has written over 72 songs for the foundation. Most prolific contributing songwriter.
• AnberlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecording artist band that created 'Big Brother' based on Iniko's story. Recorded on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Little Kids Rock: Nonprofit that brings music education and instruments to underserved K-12 students, partnering with schools and recruiting professional musicians. Comparable as a children-focused, donor-funded music nonprofit that depends on artist volunteers and school partnerships — closely aligned with SMAS's 'children + music + partners' model.
• Playing for Change Foundation: A global nonprofit that produces and distributes original songs and videos featuring musicians collaborating across borders for social impact. Directly comparable mission (music-as-service), donor-supported model, and artist-network approach for SMAS.
• Music Heals International: Nonprofit supporting music therapy and music-based healing programs for children in hospitals and underserved communities. Comparable as a children's-health-meets-music nonprofit operating through partner institutions and artists, closely matching SMAS's hospital/medical-partner model.
• Musicians Without Borders: International nonprofit that trains local musicians to deliver music programs for children affected by war and trauma. Comparable as a small-scale, mission-driven nonprofit that uses original or curated music to serve children in difficult circumstances, much like SMAS.
• Sounding Joy Foundation: Small nonprofit that distributes musical instruments and supports music programs in children's hospitals and underserved communities. Comparably sized mission-driven nonprofit where musical instruments and songs are provided to children in medical/educational settings.

Emerging players

• SongAid: Nonprofit that engages songwriters and musicians to create original works benefiting children's health causes. Closely comparable niche: songwriter-volunteer-driven, original-music-for-pediatric-cause model that mirrors the SMAS story-to-song format.
• Notes for Education: Nonprofit where songwriters donate proceeds of original songs to fund education for children in need. Comparable peer on the 'songwriter-driven, song-as-product, cause-funded' model that makes SMAS distinctive.

Broad incumbents

• VH1 Save The Music Foundation: A larger, celebrity-backed music nonprofit that funds music education in schools and has a recognizable brand. Operates in a broader space (school-based music access, instrument grants) but shares the donor-funding-plus-partner-network DNA that underpins SMAS.
• Starlight Children's Foundation: Established nonprofit delivering programs (including music, art, and entertainment) to seriously ill children in hospitals. Overlapping partner base (Children's Hospital Colorado-style hospitals) and children's-medical-challenges mission, though broader scope than SMAS.

Regional players

• Midori & Friends: New York-based nonprofit that brings free music education and performances to underserved children through partnerships with schools and professional musicians. Comparable donor-funded, partner-networked music nonprofit serving children, with overlap on school-concert distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smasfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/singmeastoryofficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/singmeastoryofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-sing-me-a-story-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Sing Me a Story