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ROCK AND SOUL FOREVER FOUNDATION INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 205397606 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE A20 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Medium ($1M-$10M) · teachrock.org
revenue
$3.0M
expenses
$2.8M
net assets
$1.5M
employees
14
program ratio
63%
mission · from form 990

FOUNDATION DEVELOPED A NATIONAL K-12 CURRICULUM INITIATIVE CALLED "TEACHROCK". IT WAS CREATED TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES OF AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH SCHOOLS FACE CUTS TO ARTS FUNDING. TEACHROCK INCLUDES INTERDISCIPLINARY, ARTS-DRIVEN MATERIALS DESIGNED TO KEEP STUDENTS ENGAGED AND IN SCHOOL AT NO COAST TO EDUCATORS.

profile · synthesized from sources

Rock and Soul Forever Foundation Inc. operates the TeachRock program, a national K-12 educational initiative that provides free, interdisciplinary lesson plans using music as a primary source for teaching history, social studies, and cultural topics. The curriculum integrates arts-driven content across subjects like geography, civics, and ethnic studies, designed to engage students and support educators at no cost. The foundation partners with cultural institutions and media producers to expand access to arts-integrated education.

named programs · 7 · from sources

What they call their work

A People’s Playlist: U.S. History with Music as a Primary Source
High School U.S. History course with over 60 lessons from Reconstruction to 2001, developed in partnership with the Library of Congress using primary source analysis methods.
CNN Soundtracks: Songs that Defined History
Contemporary history lessons accompanying the CNN series, exploring music's role in pivotal historical events such as the March on Washington and Stonewall riots.
Music Across Classrooms
Curriculum expansion into ELA, Visual Arts, and STEAM classrooms with lessons for all grade bands.
PBS Soundbreaking
Standards-aligned classroom materials based on the Emmy- and Grammy-nominated PBS series, featuring interactive TechTools for exploring music technology breakthroughs.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World
Standards-aligned lessons based on the documentary about Indigenous influence in American music, featuring artists like Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Sun City
Lesson plan using Steven Van Zandt’s Artists United Against Apartheid project to explore apartheid and international activism.
TeachRock
Free, interdisciplinary K-12 curriculum using music as a primary source to teach history, social studies, and cultural topics across subjects including geography, civics, and ethnic studies.
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Program Evaluation and Impact Research 1 activity
    • Conduct research on educational impact and teacher-reported outcomes
      Collects and reports data on the impact of the TeachRock curriculum, including findings that more than 85% of surveyed teachers observed increased student enthusiasm in classrooms using the program.
  • History Education Curriculum Development 1 activity
    • Develop and distribute free, music-based educational curriculum for K–12 schools
      Creates and provides interdisciplinary, arts-driven educational materials through the TeachRock program, including over 60 standards-aligned lessons in U.S. history using rock, soul, R&B, electronica, and hip hop as primary sources. Offers unit plans, student editions, and artist biographies via an open educational platform at no cost to educators.
  • Benefit Events for Arts and Culture 1 activity
    • Fund and organize benefit events to support educational programming
      Hosts benefit concerts and events, such as the Star Teacher Award event at The Cutting Room in New York City, and directs proceeds from ticket sales and donations toward delivering free, music-based educational lessons to classrooms nationwide.
  • Teacher Professional Development 1 activity
    • Support teacher professional development and educator network engagement
      Provides professional development opportunities for teachers using the TeachRock curriculum, with 87% of participants rating training as 5 out of 5. Engages a network of over 80,000 registered educators from more than 30,000 schools across all 50 U.S. states and several countries.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$3.00M
Contributions & grants$2.10M70%
Program service revenue$31K1%
Investment income$8K0%
Other revenue$856K
expenses
Total expenses$2.82M
Program expenses63%
Admin / overhead18%
Fundraising19%
Salaries & benefits$1.85M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.64M
Cash$453K
Investments$0
Liabilities$136K
Net assets$1.50M
Liquid reserves1.9 mo
2 years on record · 2023–2024 · YoY revenue +125.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 2
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
WILLIAM C CARBONE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 30 $179K
ROLANDO M ALVARADO DIRECTOR OF FINANCE 40 $130K
board members · 10
  • AMIT PATEL — BOARD MEMBER
  • DAVID ROTH — BOARD MEMBER
  • DR JOELY PROUDFIT — BOARD MEMBER
  • JON HARRIS — BOARD MEMBER
  • KEVIN KEYES — BOARD MEMBER
  • MAUREEN VAN ZANDT — BOARD MEMBER
  • SANDY ALOUETE — BOARD MEMBER
  • STEVEN VAN ZANDT — BOARD MEMBER
  • SUSIE BUFFETT — BOARD MEMBER
  • VAGN SORENSEN — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 40

Who they work with

  • ABC News Partner — Collaborates on joint projects.
  • Bono Partner — Member of the TeachRock Founders Board, supporting the mission of integrating arts into public education.
  • Bruce Springsteen Partner — Member of the TeachRock Founders Board, supporting the mission of integrating arts into public education.
  • CNN Partner — Collaborates on joint projects.
  • Chattanooga, TN public schools Partner — Collaborates through the Partner School program.
  • Common Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Connecticut State Department of Education Partner — Engages in a multi-year collaboration through the Partner School program.
  • DJ Khaled Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Darryl McDaniels Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Erykah Badu Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Fairfield Theatre Company Partner — Host venue for the Help on the Way benefit event.
  • Gina Schock Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Jackson Browne Partner — Member of the TeachRock Founders Board, supporting the mission of integrating arts into public education.
  • Library of Congress Government — Primary grant funder through the Teaching with Primary Sources program
  • Library of Congress Partner — Collaborates with the Library of Congress to develop a U.S. History curriculum using its methodological framework and primary source materials.
  • Los Angeles Unified School District Partner — Conducts ongoing projects through the Partner School program.
  • Margo Price Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Martin Scorsese Partner — Member of the TeachRock Founders Board, supporting the mission of integrating arts into public education.
  • Marty Stuart Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Melle Mel Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • National Association for Music Education Government — Endorses TeachRock curriculum.
  • National Council for Geographic Education Government — Endorses TeachRock curriculum.
  • National Council for the Social Studies Government — Endorses TeachRock curriculum.
  • New York City Department of Education Partner — Conducts ongoing projects through the Partner School program.
  • Norah Jones Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • PBS Partner — Collaborates on joint projects.
  • Peter Gabriel Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Rapsody Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
  • Scholastic Partner — Collaborates on joint projects.
  • Sheryl Crow Partner — Member of the TeachRock Artist Council, supporting educational outreach through music.
+ 10 more
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Arts-Based Student Retention Model
    methodology: resource_access_for_retention
    By providing free, engaging music-integrated educational resources, we reduce dropout rates among at-risk students because student interest and emotional connection to music increases motivation to remain in school, with measurable impact tied to donor-funded distribution.
  • Music as Primary Source for Historical Thinking
    methodology: music_as_primary_source
    By using music and musical artifacts as primary sources in U.S. history education, we develop students' historical thinking skills because analyzing songs within their cultural and social contexts enables critical observation, reflection, and questioning of historical movements and change.
  • Music-Integrated Interdisciplinary Curriculum
    methodology: music_integrated_interdisciplinary_curriculum
    By embedding music and its cultural, historical, and scientific dimensions into academic subjects, we produce deeper student engagement and learning because it connects abstract content to students' lived experiences and identities through a medium they find relevant and meaningful.