During the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil, 183 people died and over 600,000 Brazilians were displaced. Staff and faculty at the Instituto Playing For Change in Curitiba, Brazil jumped into action, leading an emergency response effort that mobilized millions of dollars in medical supply donations, with over 60 emergency helicopter and plane rescue aircraft delivering much needed supplies, and is now building houses for those permanently displaced.
In rural Nepal, a group of mothers from Tintale village wanted to change their daughters’ futures in a society that openly discriminates against girls. Many of the girls, as young as 12, were married and not allowed to attend school when menstruating, and were not allowed to hold significant positions of power in the region. Over 15 years, this brave band of mothers walked countless hours from village to village, using drama and music to portray their experiences and change the hearts and minds of their neighbors. Now, their community is a hub and a beacon of gender equity and education, and the Tintale Village Mother’s Society is a regional force that has changed the lives of Nepalese girls.
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These are just two examples of the impact the Playing for Change Foundation (PFCF) has had since its founding in 2007, creating positive change in the lives of marginalized youth in low-income communities around the world through music and arts education.
Stories like these, along with recognizing musicians and organizations that are actively working to make positive social change on a global scale, are the focus of PFCF’s upcoming 2025 Impact Awards.
The event will take place on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Rubell Museum in Miami, Florida, with an after-party at Superblue Miami.
PFCF started the Impact Awards in 2019, with Pharrell Williams as its first honoree. Over the last six years, it’s grown to be the premier awards event for artists and their philanthropy, says PFCF’s CEO Jake Groshong. “We honor these musicians, who have made incredible contributions to the world for their music, but they also have made incredible contributions to the world through their philanthropy and giving back,” he says. “And we highlight that. It’s been spectacular, honestly.”
Through the Impact Awards, says Groshong, PFCF has celebrity partnerships with major artists throughout the world, such as DJ Khaled in Miami, Ellie Goulding in Jordan, and Shakira in Columbia.
Founded by Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke Silverstein, PFCF has developed 18 music and education programs spanning 50 locations in 13 counties. Johnson and Silverstein initially created the foundation as a way to give back to the communities that participated in Songs Around the World, a video series that showcases musicians from around the world performing together to promote hope and understanding through music, as part of Playing for Change (PFC), an organization the partners founded in 2001.
“We had been traveling, making the Songs Around the World videos for about five years when it became just very apparent that there was an opportunity to make a difference in the communities that we were visiting while making the videos,” says Silverstein. “On a visit to Gugulethu, South Africa, the film crew asked a local musician who was helping us how we could leave this community better than we found it, in a way that would matter. And he just said, ‘A music school. If you could help us to have a place that was safe for kids to come learn music, express themselves, and connect with each other, that would be meaningful to us.’ That was the first conversation of many conversations within the Paying for Change Foundation universe that enabled us to do something meaningful to the local community, and we ended up building the very first PFCF music school on the grounds of this gentleman’s home, just outside of Cape Town.”
PFCF provides youth around the world opportunities for creative expression through their own culture, guided by mentors who know them best. All of the programs are free of charge, targeting youth from some of the most marginalized neighborhoods in the world, from hip-hop on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to art therapy for young victims of sexual violence in Guatemala City to traditional Intore dance in Rwanda.
This year’s Impact Awards will honor the Marley family, as well as international superstars JUANES and Anitta, who, like the foundation, use music as a tool for worldwide social change.
Skip Marley, Young Musicians Unite (YMU), Hip Hop Kidz, and Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban rockstar Cimafunk will perform live.
Legendary music producer and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell will also attend as a special guest presenter to honor the Marleys with their award, recognizing their enduring contributions to music and social impact.
Through the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation—led by Cedella Marley and Rohan Marley—the Marleys have empowered communities worldwide through global initiatives in education, healthcare, and community development.
Colombian solo artist JUANES is being honored for his nonprofit, Fundación Mi Sangre, which empowers communities across Colombia by nurturing life skills, leadership, and social entrepreneurship—helping individuals become the driving force behind a more just and peaceful society. Anitta, a cultural ambassador for Brazil, is renowned for her work supporting youth and education through initiatives such as Instituto Playing For Change in Cajuru, Curitiba.
PFCF recently partnered with Dhammajarinee Witthaya School in Thailand, and reach over 1,000 orphaned and disadvantaged girls in the Bangkok region, and will soon launch multiple music education programs in India.
PFCF has begun a major study of its work around the globe in partnership with the University of California, Irvine, starting with its new program at the Samueli Academy for kids in foster care in Santa Ana, California.
“Playing For Change was born out of the idea that no matter how many things in life divide us, they will never be as strong as the power of music to bring us together,” says Johnson.
“Back in 2001, Whitney and I officially started Playing For Change and took our mobile studio and cameras to the streets, subways, and parks across America and eventually to over 65 countries creating Songs Around the World. We were building a global family through the music and supporting the next generation through the work of our Playing For Change Foundation. We change the world one heart and one song at a time.”
Sponsors for the 2025 Impact Awards are Capital One Entertainment, Tiffany & Co., Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and SPIN.
To buy tickets, visit 2025 Impact Awards website.
By the way, the majority of PFCF’s funding comes from individual giving. So, if you’re looking for ways to help the foundation create social change through music and the arts, the PFCF accepts online donations.
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