H. B. Goodlin Foundation

The Helen B. Goodlin Foudation is dedicated to supporting promising young musicians in San Diego County.

In 1993, Helen Goodlin left $193,000 to the Music Teachers’ Association of California, San Diego Branch (MTACSD). Legend has it that Helen Goodlin heard some MTACSD music students perform at Fredericka Manor, where she lived at the time, and decided to will the majority of her estate to MTAC for the good of young musicians in San Diego County.

MTACSD applied the inherited funds to its scholarship auditions and called the auditions the Helen B. Goodlin Scholarship Competition to honor the contribution. In 1997, additional funds were donated by the William E. Schmidt Foundation and the children of Chet and June Schmidt to boost the first prizes in the Goodlin Competition. This contest takes place in the spring of each year.

A separate new program, Kids Into Music, will provide lessons for young musicians who cannot afford them.

MTAC also sponsors an annual fundraiser called the Playathon in the spring. The membership, former winners of the Goodlin Scholarship Awards, students and adults perform at the fundraiser.

Applications for the Goodlin Competition, Kids Into Music, and the Playathon will be available on this site.

The Helen B. Goodlin Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization and proudly invests its funds in the San Diego Foundation, a community foundation dedicated to furthering non-profits.


Donations to the Helen B. Goodlin Foundation may be sent to:

The San Diego Foundation
2508 Historic Decatur Rd. Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92106