Minnesota Guitar Society

History

The Minnesota Guitar Society (MGS) was founded in 1984. Largely volunteer-run, the MGS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with elected board members and officers. Our paid (part-time) managing director plans and implements programs, handles communications, recruits volunteers, and fundraises. We have one of the larger dues-paying memberships (over 190 members) among the over 75 guitar societies in the US. Our members come from a range of socioeconomic groups, reflecting the cross-cultural appeal of the guitar and guitar-related music.
We present emerging and established national and international artists in a concert series that has been at Sundin Music Hall (on the campus of Hamline University in St Paul) since 1996. For many years, we also presented a Local Artists series at community venues ranging from indoor amphitheaters to assisted living centers, and have recently re-launched that series in partnership with the MetroNOME, a social-mission-based brewery in St Paul’s Lowertown district. Since 2002, we have hosted OpenStage, a monthly open-mic event for amateur guitarists. From 2007 to 2012, we presented an annual Youth Guitarathon concert that featured guitar students ages 8 to 18 from private studios and music schools throughout the Greater Twin Cities.

In 2018, the MGS mission was dramatically changed when we received a grant from the Augustine Foundation to start Guitar In Our Schools (GIOS), a program to support guitar classes and ensembles in public K-12 schools with limited or underfunded music programs. GIOS is modeled on, and inspired by, the educational work being done by similar, larger societies in Austin (Texas), St. Louis, and Cleveland. We supply local professional guitarist/teachers, curriculum, and visits by international artists from our main concert series. The Youth Guitarathon was re-started in 2022 as part of our GIOS program.

Strategic Priorities

1. Sustain our core program, the annual concert series.
2. Diversify our funding sources.
2. Expand our guitar education program.
3. Do more and better outreach to all the communities in the Twin Cities.
4. Explore the creation of new performance programs to engage younger audiences.

Annual Budget: $95,000 – Earned Income, Individual Contributions

Skills

Minnesota Guitar Society is seeking board members who have a strong interest in performing arts and music education programs and skills in the following areas:

• Board Governance
• Financial Management
• Fundraising
• Technology

Information

• Number of members currently: 10
• Meeting frequency:  4 meetings annually
• Meeting location: Virtual
• Does nonprofit carry liability insurance? No

Expectations

• Time Expectation: Up to 5 hours/month
• Financial Contribution Required: Yes
• Service on Committee Required: Yes
  • Committees: Finance, Fundraising
• Length of Term: 2 Years
• Renewable: Yes