The drawback to private instruction is if one cannot afford them to begin with.

Private lessons cost money. Knowing the benefits of a child being educated in the fine arts, I would happily drive a less luxurious car, or eat out less often to ensure their fine art education.

However if you are living on a fixed income this may not be an option.

To wrap up this point, private lessons are great, often better than what is provided even in schools that have ample art and music budgets.

However alternative means may be needed if you cannot afford them.

There are things that you can do to help your local school raise money for their art programs.

First and foremost is fund raising. You can go about this many ways.

For example in my high school in Burbank California a parent spoke to executives at NBC studios. Two months later NBC donated professional video and editing equipment to our school. Everything for the fine art of film making was at our school.

Long short or no, local businesses or celebrities should not be ignored when trying to solve this problem. In return they get good PR.

Of course you have the traditional events to raise funds. A car wash, garage sales, silent auctions, etc.

The real make break point for the above types of fund raisers is having the right person in-charge to ensure that all the details are taken care of and everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.

If no one shows up to the car wash because no one knew about it, it won't do anyone much good. Nor will the one pan of brownies at the bake sale.

Organize and communicate.

I know a good amount of people. More pertinently I know people who know more people than I could ever hope to know.

When confronted with the difficult task of refitting your schools classical music program with instruments, it can seem overwhelming.

On the other hand, with a group of hundreds of students and adults it looks like this.

An email/phone call/mailer goes to your network about the problem.

Everyone looks in their home and asks people they know for donations of spare instruments (I actually donated a very nice classical guitar to a school last year).

A email, telephone call, postcard to your network regarding the problem.

Then invite everyone with a pulse and $20 to a bowling fund raiser. You raise twenty dollars for all who attend. 50 people show. Already you have a thousand dollars for music instruments.

The following week target local businesses and parents in your network to gift items of worth for an auction. Students can hand out fliers and place posters in store-fronts, place announcements in online classifieds and the local newspaper, ensure your network is talking the event up to everyone they know.

The auction is a success raising $3,000.

When you have enough money for the instruments have the kids study hard and put on a fund raiser concert, charge $10 and put the money aside. Lorn knows, a student lose his tuba somewhere.

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