Kat Handler is the Development Coordinator on MusiCares' Development Team. She plays an integral role in funding MusiCares' mission, developing fundraising plans, maintaining donor relationships, and securing new donors and partners.
Kat has been with the MusiCares team for a year. While her background isn't in music, Kat's expertise is in fine art — a path with many parallels to MusiCares' mission, and one of the many reasons she remains inspired every day.
Below, learn more about Kat's role and her experience developing meaningful relationships at MusiCares.
What does your job entail?
As the Development Coordinator, I assist with MusiCares' fundraising efforts and special events, oversee guest services for MusiCares' Person of the Year gala, work with external beneficiary partners, and work with our Development team to provide fundraising support.
What led you to a career in Development at MusiCares?
I have a background in fine art sales and archiving, digital restoration, and book editing at Century Guild Museum of Art, and I was the lead restoration artist for a film that screened as an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
A good friend at MusiCares suggested the Development Coordinator role to me, and I felt a very deep connection to the mission and a strong desire to join the team.
The opportunity to spend time observing works by masters like Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and many exceptional contemporary figures drastically deepened my respect for artists, and through helping people build collections of original works they love, I found the joy of facilitating those experiences and connections for others. This balance of art and stewardship ties in beautifully with MusiCares' mission of helping the humans behind the music, and assisting our donors who help make this work, and music peoples' continued creation, possible.
What inspires you the most about working at MusiCares on the Development team?
The opportunity to meet so many authentic people who want to support the community MusiCares serves is remarkable. Some of the most stunning moments of inspiration happen when someone reaches out to organize support for MusiCares, because they or somebody they care about has received help from our Health and Human Services team.
Do you have any advice for individuals just starting out their career in development?
The ability to listen and empathize with others is a universally helpful tool. Shifting the focus from what I'm looking for to determining what another person needs or values has allowed me to develop much more rewarding relationships.
What keeps you motivated at work?
When someone says they've been sober for any period of time and ask how they can give their time or resources to help someone in need. Or when our Health and Human Services team shares a testimonial from one of our clients — these are moments I just have to pause and sit in immense gratitude.
What are you most proud of in the last year at MusiCares? What are you looking forward to?
I'm immensely proud of my colleagues' meaningful work and how quickly our Health and Human Services teams take action once a need is identified, especially the disaster relief provided to the Lahaina music community [in Maui, Hawaii].
I look forward to seeing how the Humans of Hip Hop program will expand MusiCares' services to better serve the hip-hop community.
If you are a music professional (sound engineer, your bus driver, label representative, trumpet player, producer, music video makeup artist, etc.) and need MusiCares' assistance, please contact MusiCares at MusiCaresRelief@musicares.org or 800.687.4227, and visit our Get Help page for more information about receiving help.
You can also access MusiCares' free online support groups and free resource guide, which are available to all music people.