Help ESS Close The Loop!
For 40 years, ESS has been a home for experimental art. 5,000+ artists have come through our doors to take risks and make work they couldn’t have made anywhere else. Artists know we’ll take their ideas seriously and do everything we can to connect them to the right resources and people.
Now through Oct 30, we’re asking the community to come together to invest in the idea that experimental art – art at the front line of defining what comes next – is worth sustaining a home for.
Goal: Raise $20,000 to unlock an additional $20,000 in matching donations. This means every gift will be doubled. A $40 donation automatically becomes $80.
Amplifying your gift:
- The Reva and David Logan Foundation is matching new and increased gifts*
- A generous community cohort is matching all donations
As a thank you:
- Give $40+ and get an ESS 40 bumper sticker (also looks great on a bike, instrument case, or laptop)
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Donate any amount and we’ll email you a secret link so you can be the first to hear a new Creative Audio Archive recording, giving you access to an exclusive mixtape of experimental music history. A new recording is uploaded daily throughout the campaign. First up: A mystery rehearsal from Sun Ra.
If everyone who reads this gives what they can, we hit our goal. The resources are there. We just have to put them together. Let’s close the loop and make sure ESS remains a home for experimental artists for generations to come.
Here’s to the next 40!
*New = no gift in 2 years. Have questions or need help increasing your gift? Email kelsey@ess.org.
What it means to “Plug-In”
When you donate, you can opt to be a Plugged-In Supporter to deepen your connection to ESS and our incredible creative community. Annual perks, designed to help you stay connected, include:
- Networking/skill-sharing events
- Regular virtual field trips exploring sonically interesting spaces around the world
- A monthly newsletter with exclusive listening selections
- Opportunities to share your work through ESS’s website and e-newsletter
Studio Group members get all of this plus invitations to special field trips to studios throughout Chicago. All donations are 100% tax deductible, no matter how you choose to engage.
More Ways to Support
Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
Experimental Sound Studio is set up as a charitable organization on most DAF platforms (EIN: 36-3482714). You can also donate from your DAF directly via our online form.
Employee Matching Gifts
Double your support by securing a matching contribution from your employer. Corporations that provide matching support will be recognized on ESS’s website. Find out if your employer provides matching gifts here.
Corporate Support
As a Corporate Donor, your support is more than a donation—it is an investment in the legacy and future of improvised music. ESS is happy to work with its Corporate Sponsors to tailor a benefits package that best suits their community goals and directives.
Please contact us at olivia@ess.org or 773-998-1069 with questions or for more information.
In-Kind Donations
ESS gladly accepts support in the form of donated services, products, and promotions that help supplement our programming.
Please contact us at olivia@ess.org or 773-998-1069 with questions or for more information.
Planned Giving
ESS welcomes planned gifts made through your will, trust, or beneficiary designations, which help sustain our programming for years to come. You can learn more about making a planned gift to ESS here.