Give the Gift of Music at Chicago Music Exchange!
After years of budget cuts to music education programs nationwide, the Gift of Music Foundation was founded in 2015 to make musical instruments and music education more accessible to kids, through reduced-price rentals and rent-free instrument programs. Typically, the foundation accepts instrument donations of any kind to generate a portion of the funds they use to support rental programs for families in need. But, sometimes, they get instruments donated by musicians—like the premium instruments available for purchase in the Gift of Music Foundation Vintage and Used Collection, now at Chicago Music Exchange.
“Our mission is to find the highest value for any instrument that’s donated as it relates to those kids—they’re our entire focus,” said the Gift of Music Foundation’s Tom Gibson. “For player-grade instrument donations, like the ones now at CME, our sales department sells donations and puts the revenue towards student band instruments, in order to fund supplemental rental programs where families that can’t afford full rentals get half-rentals, or gifted instruments.”
"Every $5K raised from these sales from the Gift of Music Collection will help provide at least 25 kids with instruments, while also helping fund up to 50 school year-long music classes and putting up to 100 students in summer programs!"
So, any instrument purchased from this collection of vintage and used instruments at CME will be an investment in the future of music—not only for the buyer of each instrument but for music students, too—that puts other instruments in the hands of the next generation of music makers!"
A “Game Changer”
“It’s very rare that we get a collection of premium instruments,” Gibson said. “Sometimes we get a keyboard that’s been sitting around, lots of drum sets, old clarinets, maybe a rusty flute—then, we have a world-class in-house repair shop that can fix any instrument, so they’ll get any instrument suitable for a student player ‘up to snuff.’ But, this collection is a total game changer for us.
“So, I called my friend Coy Bowles from the Zac Brown Band—he actually happens to be a former student of mine—since he’s really into guitars and a collector, himself, to say we’ve got this collection of guitars coming in. We were looking for someone that really knew what these things were, and what the value of these instruments might really be. He got back to me, and as it happens, he was on a beach somewhere on vacation with Andrew [Yonke, Chicago Music Exchange’s CEO]. From there, it happened fast! CME was incredible about jumping right in and helping out. Now—here we are!”
STAY TUNED IN FOR EVERYTHING FROM THE GIFT OF MUSIC COLLECTION!
Stay tuned for more updates! Subscribe to our email list at the bottom of this page, give us a chat on our website, or follow us on Instagram, our YouTube, and the Soundboard Blog for more on this one-of-a-kind collection. You will not want to miss the gear coming through this collection!
Check out the Gift of Music Collection, and learn how you can donate instruments to The Gift of Music Foundation, today!
SHOP GIFT OF MUSIC COLLECTION AT CME
Related Posts
Marshall | 1959BJA Artist Signature Amp
At the 2026 Super Bowl, Billie Joe stepped onto stage in front of a new amplifier: the Marshall 1959BJA Artist Signature Amp! Designed with Billie Joe Armstrong, this new amplifier is handwired and features the “Dookie Mod” that has been the cornerstone of Green Day’s raw attack for 30 years!
Read more
Introducing | Asheville Music Tools
Adding another chapter to the rich musical history of Western North Carolina, Asheville Music Tools is a marriage of vintage audio processing techniques and modern, high quality electronics! Asheville Music Tools is the brainchild of former Moog engineer Rick “Hawker” Shaich, with assistance from John Snyder, the mastermind behind Electronic Audio Experiments. Hawker took the lessons learned from refining Moog’s pedals, and is now applying his expertise to every pedal that is pushed out of his shop!
Read more
Fender & Squier | New Baritone Guitars for Summer 2026
Three iconic Fender silhouettes are returning to the lower registers with the newest Limited Edition Fender Guitars, and the newest entry to the Squier Paranormal Series! The Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Baritone Telecaster, Fender Limited Edition Player Fusion Jaguar Baritone, and the Squier Paranormal Baritone Jazzmaster HH feature 27” scale lengths and are tuned B-to-B, to put a new spin on instantly identifiable tones, or to expand their classic circuits to suit heavier playing!
Read more