The Guitar Center Music Foundation
The Guitar Center Music Foundation is a public charity based in Westlake Village, California. Founded in 2005, it supports music education and therapy programs through financial and in-kind resources, including instruments and equipment.
The Guitar Center Music Foundation at a glance
- Total assets
- $338,564
- +4.5% vs 2024
- Revenue (2025)
- $1,998,759
- +132.1% vs 2024
- Net investment income (2025)
- $8,398
- +36.4% vs 2024
- Expenses (2025)
- $1,992,246
- +135.7% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to The Guitar Center Music Foundation
- Review Cycle
- There is no deadline to apply; applications are reviewed quarterly.
- Deadline
- There is no deadline to apply; applications are reviewed quarterly.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 6185, Westlake Village, CA 91359
Phone: (818) 706-8742
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from The Guitar Center Music Foundation
Who The Guitar Center Music Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
10 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 10 grants of 10 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation describes serving communities but does not specify a geographic area for its grants.
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
How The Guitar Center Music Foundation gives
- Giving grew 22% from 2019 to 2022. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $25K (2019) to $535K (2023). In 2023 it reported $535K in grants paid, as a total without an itemized list.
Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ed Brown Savannah, GA | Support | $10,000 |
| Fidelity Charitable Cincinatti, OH | Support | $10,000 |
| Frederick Foundation Bend, OR | Support | $10,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $338,564 | $1,998,759 | $1,992,246 | — | — | $8,398 |
| 2024 | $323,921 | $861,302 | $845,332 | — | — | $6,155 |
| 2023 | $307,951 | $665,919 | $803,436 | $534,896 | Total only | — |
| 2022 | $445,468 | $646,456 | $683,238 | $30,000 | 3 | — |
| 2021 | $482,250 | $603,327 | $487,479 | $65,192 | 7 | — |
| 2020 | $390,784 | $332,192 | $190,258 | $36,582 | 3 | — |
| 2019 | $238,872 | $256,574 | $225,182 | $24,586 | 1 | $2 |
"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s stated mission is to provide resources to music education and therapy programs, promote the importance of music through education and media initiatives, and collaborate with other organizations to make music available to people in the communities it serves.
The foundation reports making financial and equipment grants to schools, music academies, symphonies, and other programs with related goals. Its current grant program provides musical instruments and equipment in kind to public schools and music programs in need.
Grantmaking
The foundation’s 2025 filing lists zero grants. Its 2024 and 2023 filings also list zero grants. Separately, the foundation describes financial and equipment grants to various schools, music academies, symphonies, and other programs, without specifying the year or amounts for those grants.
The Guitar Center Music Foundation Grants program is listed as active. It provides $1,000–$5,000 in in-kind support, with awards based on need. Applications are reviewed by the grants committee quarterly: January–March, April–June, July–September, and October–December. Organizations may apply and receive an award once per year.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation’s 2025 filing lists Myka Miller as executive director; Curtis Heath as president; Tomi Oshita as secretary; and Camber Zamperini as CFO. It lists David Helfant, Michael Sammis, Anne Buchanan, Alison Ball, Herb Trawick, and Greg Glaser as directors.
The Guitar Center Music Foundation is led by Myka Miller, Executive Director on every filing since 2021; none of the 10 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Myka Miller
Executive Director
On filings since 2021
50 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Curtis Heath
President
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
David Helfant
Director
Chairman → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Anne Buchanan
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Michael Sammis
Director
Director → Treasurer, 2022
Treasurer → Director, 2024
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Alison Ball
Director
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Herb Trawick
Director
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Greg Glaser
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Camber Zamperini
CFO
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tomi Oshita
Secretary
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (15)
- Former: Don Lombardi (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Val Garay (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Sheila E. (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Jae Deal (2022–2024) — Director
- Former: Leslie Rosenthal (2022–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Fred Croshal (2024) — Director
- Former: Raul Carrega (2024) — CFO
- Former: Bruce Kuhlman (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Janie Hendrix (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Ron Japinga (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Wayne Colwell (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Paul Gimenez (2020–2021) — Secretary
- Former: Lynn Robison (2019–2020) — Executive Director
- Former: Jeannine D'addario (2019) — Secretary
- Former: Sheila Escovedo (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about The Guitar Center Music Foundation
How large is The Guitar Center Music Foundation?
The Guitar Center Music Foundation reported $339K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $2.0M.
What does The Guitar Center Music Foundation fund?
The foundation’s stated mission is to provide resources to music education and therapy programs, promote the importance of music through education and media initiatives, and collaborate with other organizations to make music available to people in the communities it serves. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Guitar Center Music Foundation?
The Guitar Center Music Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
Where does The Guitar Center Music Foundation make grants?
The foundation describes serving communities but does not specify a geographic area for its grants.
What is The Guitar Center Music Foundation's EIN?
The Guitar Center Music Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-3436786. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 23, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS October 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS June 26, 2024)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Guitar Center Music Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Figures come from The Guitar Center Music Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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