Rising with Melodies Inc. (the "Organization") is a Georgia nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Organization's mission is to empower displaced, orphaned, and vulnerable children and families through any and all forms of charitable assistance — including structured educational programs (music education, English language instruction, and other educational disciplines), humanitarian aid, relief of poverty and material need, provision of food, clothing, shelter, and essential supplies, medical and health-related assistance, trauma-informed teaching and mentorship, and any other form of support that advances the well-being and opportunity of those served.
The Organization was founded by Alexander Lopez, a high school student and pianist, following a family trip to Trujillo, Peru, in September 2025. During that first visit, Mr. Lopez spent time at an orphanage in Trujillo where he encountered many talented and resilient children with no access to structured music education. Rather than simply observing, Mr. Lopez immediately began teaching — providing approximately fifteen (15) hours of direct piano and music instruction to the children during his stay. Before returning to the United States, Mr. Lopez hired a local music teacher in Trujillo — Samuel Serban, who remains the Organization's primary educator today — to continue the classes on a regular, ongoing basis so that the children's instruction would not be interrupted by his departure. Mr. Lopez subsequently raised $865.00 through a student fundraiser at Denmark High School (Alpharetta, Georgia) in November 2025, returned to Trujillo in December 2025 for a Christmas concert at which students publicly demonstrated the musical progress they had made under Mr. Serban's continued instruction, and formally incorporated Rising with Melodies Inc. in March 2026 to give the program a legal and organizational home.
The Organization operates its programs on the ground in Trujillo, Peru — Peru's third-largest city, home to a significant population of children living in institutional care, poverty, and displacement. The Organization's administrative headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. All programs are conducted through vetted local partners, volunteers, and trained educators and aid workers based in Trujillo. The Organization's current core program is music education; planned expansions include English language (ESL) instruction, other educational disciplines, and broader humanitarian assistance — including material aid, food, clothing, and other support — as resources and community needs allow.
The Organization currently serves twelve (12) permanent enrolled students, including students with disabilities — among them children on the autism spectrum (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD) — with a goal of serving between 50 and 75 students in its first full year of structured programming. The Organization's programs are inclusive and accessible to students of all learning profiles and abilities.
| Activity | Status | Est. % of Total Time | Est. % of Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Education Program (Trujillo, Peru) | Past & Current | 70% | 75% |
| Outdoor & Social-Emotional Development Activities | Past & Current | 5% | 5% |
| Fundraising — Benefit Concerts & Events | Past & Current | 10% | 7% |
| Individual Donor Campaigns & Online Giving | Past & Current | 8% | 6% |
| Community Outreach, Awareness & Partnerships | Past & Current | 7% | 7% |
| English as a Second Language (ESL) Program — Online (launching Aug/Sep 2026) | Planned | — | — |
| Scholarship Pathway Program | Planned | — | — |
| Program Expansion to Additional Peru Sites | Planned | — | — |
Overview: Rising with Melodies Inc. traces its origins to a series of concrete programmatic actions taken by Founder Alexander Lopez in the months preceding the Corporation's formal incorporation in March 2026. These founding activities established the student relationships, educational foundation, and initial fundraising base upon which the Corporation's formal programs are built. They are documented here to provide the IRS with a complete and accurate record of the Organization's activities from its inception.
September 2025 — First Visit to Trujillo: Initial Music Instruction and Hiring of Local Educator. During a family trip to Trujillo, Peru in September 2025, Alexander Lopez visited an orphanage housing displaced and orphaned children. Encountering children with clear enthusiasm for music but no access to any structured musical instruction, Mr. Lopez immediately began providing direct, hands-on instruction during his stay — delivering approximately fifteen (15) hours of piano and music education to the children over the course of his visit. This first instructional period is the founding moment of the program and established the student cohort that continues to be served by the Organization. Recognizing that the children's progress would stall the moment he returned to the United States, Mr. Lopez took immediate action before departing: he identified and hired Samuel Serban, a qualified local music teacher based in Trujillo, to continue the piano and music instruction on a regular, ongoing basis. Mr. Serban has served as the Organization's primary educator without interruption from September 2025 to the present, and currently serves as a Director and Secretary of the Corporation. In addition to instruction, Mr. Lopez brought gifts, personal items, toys, and other presents for each child — a personal expression of care and connection that the Organization has carried forward as a tradition on every subsequent visit.
November 2025 — School Fundraiser: Mock Trial Club, Denmark High School, Alpharetta, Georgia. In November 2025, Alexander Lopez organized a charitable fundraising effort through the Mock Trial Club at Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. Through this student-led initiative, Mr. Lopez raised $865.00 in charitable contributions from peers and members of the school community. All funds raised were directed toward the operational costs of the emerging music education program in Trujillo, Peru. This effort represents the Organization's first formal fundraising campaign and demonstrates the broad peer and community support the mission has generated among young people in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
December 2025 — Second Visit to Trujillo: Christmas Concert and Student Progress Showcase. In December 2025, Alexander Lopez traveled to Trujillo, Peru, to spend time with students ahead of the Christmas holiday. During this visit, the students organized and performed a Christmas concert for the orphanage community — publicly demonstrating the musical skills and progress they had achieved over the preceding three months of continuous instruction under Samuel Serban. The performance was a direct testament to the effectiveness of the model Mr. Lopez had established: hire a dedicated local educator, ensure uninterrupted instruction, and return periodically to assess progress and maintain the personal relationship between the Founder and the students. The concert served as both a celebration for the children and an early, concrete demonstration of the program's tangible educational impact. As on his first visit, Mr. Lopez brought Christmas gifts and personal presents for each child, reinforcing the bond of trust and care between the Organization's Founder and the children it serves.
Ongoing — Gifts and Personal Care for Students. On every visit to the program site in Trujillo, Peru, Alexander Lopez personally brings gifts, toys, school supplies, clothing, and other personal items for the children enrolled in the program. This practice reflects the Organization's holistic approach to serving vulnerable children — recognizing that educational instruction alone does not address the full scope of need faced by orphaned and displaced youth. The Organization intends to formalize this practice as the humanitarian aid dimension of its mission grows.
How These Activities Further the Exempt Purpose: These founding activities directly advanced the Organization's charitable and educational purposes: providing music instruction to orphaned and vulnerable children (educational purpose), distributing personal gifts and supplies to children in need (humanitarian/charitable purpose), and building the donor base necessary to sustain the program (organizational development). All activities were conducted personally by the Founder without compensation and were funded by personal contributions.
Description: The core program of Rising with Melodies Inc. is the delivery of structured, weekly piano and music theory instruction to children living in orphanages, displacement centers, and underserved communities in Trujillo, Peru. The program uses a progressive, skill-based curriculum tailored to each child's academic pace and emotional needs.
Classes are taught in small groups to allow for individualized attention. The curriculum covers foundational piano technique, music theory, sight-reading, ear training, and musical expression. Students progress through structured skill levels at their own pace, ensuring each child builds a genuine, lasting foundation in music rather than a surface-level exposure.
Who Conducts the Activity: The music education program is led by Samuel Serban, the Organization's primary educator, who is based in Trujillo, Peru and also serves as a Director and Secretary of the Corporation. Program development has been shaped in consultation with Alexander Lopez, Founder, who is himself a trained pianist. Overall organizational direction and oversight rest with the Board of Directors, led by President Linder Lopez. Additional adult volunteers, subject-matter instructors, and local community partners assist with program administration, scheduling, logistics, and student supervision. As the Organization expands to additional educational disciplines, qualified instructors in those subjects will be recruited and supervised using the same framework.
Beneficiary Population: All program beneficiaries are children, primarily between the ages of 6 and 17, residing in orphanages, displacement centers, or low-income households in Trujillo, Peru. The Organization specifically targets children who have experienced poverty, displacement, parental loss, domestic violence, or institutional care — populations with no other access to structured arts education. The Organization's current enrollment includes children with disabilities, among them students on the autism spectrum (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD). There is no charge to students or their families for any program services.
Student Selection: Students are identified through the Organization's existing relationships with local orphanages and community partners in Trujillo. Enrollment is open and non-discriminatory with respect to race, nationality, religion, gender, disability, or neurodevelopmental profile. The Organization actively welcomes students with disabilities and neurodiverse learners, and no child is excluded on the basis of any physical, cognitive, or developmental condition. Priority is given to children in institutional care (orphanages and displacement centers) and children from households below the poverty line.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: This activity directly fulfills the Organization's charitable and educational purpose of providing structured music education to vulnerable children who would otherwise have no access to arts instruction. Music education has been demonstrated by research to improve cognitive development, emotional regulation, academic performance, and self-esteem — particularly among at-risk youth. For children with disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum, structured music instruction provides additional documented benefits: improvements in social communication, sensory integration, emotional self-regulation, and expressive language. For children who have experienced trauma or institutional care, a structured, consistent educational environment also provides stability, belonging, and measurable personal growth.
Revenue Generated: None. This activity generates no revenue. All costs are funded entirely through charitable donations, fundraising events, and contributions from the Founder.
Source of Funds: Individual charitable donations (via PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle), proceeds from annual benefit concerts, monthly sponsorship contributions, and personal contributions from the Founder directed toward teacher stipends, instructional materials, and operational expenses in Peru.
Description: The Organization does not deliver standard music education. All instruction is designed and delivered using trauma-informed teaching principles — a specialized pedagogical approach specifically designed for children who have experienced poverty, domestic violence, displacement, parental loss, or institutional neglect.
Trauma-informed education recognizes that a child's history of adverse experiences can significantly affect their ability to learn, trust adults, regulate emotions, and engage in structured activities. The Organization's teaching methods are adapted to meet each student where they are — emotionally, developmentally, and academically — without pressure, comparison, or punitive responses to behavioral difficulties. Teachers are trained to recognize trauma responses, de-escalate situations calmly, and create a safe, encouraging, and predictable learning environment. These same principles also directly support students with disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum, who benefit from the consistency, low-pressure structure, and individualized pacing that define the Organization's instructional model.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: By embedding trauma-informed and disability-inclusive methods into all instruction, the Organization ensures that the most vulnerable children — including those with disabilities and neurodiverse learners — can genuinely participate, learn, and thrive. This approach transforms music education from a simple academic activity into a vehicle for healing, confidence-building, and long-term emotional resilience for every child served, regardless of ability.
Revenue Generated: None.
Description: In January 2026, the Organization organized its first full-day outdoor activity event for enrolled students in Trujillo. The event included structured recreational activities — team games, relay races, hula hoops, and group challenges — designed to build trust, reinforce community bonds among students, and provide joyful structured play under the supervision of caring adults.
For many of the Organization's students, who reside in orphanages or displacement centers, structured recreational time with attentive adult supervisors is not a regular part of their lives. These activities complement the music education program by strengthening the social-emotional skills — teamwork, perseverance, encouragement, and community — that directly support a child's ability to engage and succeed in a learning environment.
Who Conducts the Activity: Activities are organized and supervised by the Organization's local educator, volunteers, and on-the-ground community partners in Trujillo, under the oversight of the President, Linder Lopez, and the Board of Directors.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: This activity supports the Organization's charitable educational mission by developing the social-emotional capacities of at-risk children — skills that are foundational to their ability to participate in structured education, form healthy relationships, and build lives of dignity and opportunity.
Revenue Generated: None.
Description: On June 6, 2026, the Organization hosted its First Annual Summer Benefit Concert in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The event featured performances by young musicians from the local community and was attended by families, donors, volunteers, and community supporters. The concert served the dual purpose of raising charitable funds for the Organization's programs in Peru and raising public awareness about the mission of Rising with Melodies Inc.
The First Annual Summer Benefit Concert raised $1,290.60 in charitable contributions, all of which are directed to music education operations in Trujillo, Peru. Professional photography of the event was provided by ARPhotography, a community sponsor. The Organization plans to host this event annually as its primary community fundraising initiative.
Who Conducts the Activity: Events are planned and coordinated by President Linder Lopez and Alexander Lopez (Founder), with the assistance of Board members, volunteers, and community sponsors. Young musicians from the local community perform as volunteers.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: Fundraising events generate the charitable contributions that fund the Organization's educational programs in Peru. They also serve an awareness and community-engagement function, building a local base of donors and supporters who sustain the Organization's long-term mission. No goods or services of material value are provided to donors in exchange for contributions.
Revenue Generated: $1,290.60 raised at the First Annual Summer Benefit Concert (June 6, 2026). All proceeds are charitable contributions directed to program operations.
Description: The Organization solicits individual charitable contributions through its website (risingwithmelodies.org) and through online payment platforms including PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. Donors may make one-time gifts or establish recurring monthly contributions. The Organization publishes information about its programs, financials, and impact on its website to promote transparency and donor confidence.
The Organization also engages corporate sponsors, educational institutions, and faith-based organizations as potential community partners and donors. Monthly sponsorship programs allow donors to contribute on a recurring basis and receive updates on program progress and student impact.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: Individual donor campaigns generate the recurring charitable revenue that sustains ongoing program operations in Trujillo. Without this funding, the Organization would be unable to compensate its educators, purchase instructional materials, or maintain the facilities used for instruction.
Revenue Generated: Charitable contributions from individual donors. All contributions are restricted to program use and administrative operations of the Organization.
Description: The Organization engages in ongoing community outreach and awareness activities through its website, social media channels, and community events. These activities include publishing educational content about the needs of vulnerable children in Peru, sharing stories and photographs of student progress, and presenting the Organization's mission to local donors, schools, and community organizations.
The Organization has established relationships with orphanages, community centers, and local leaders in Trujillo, Peru, who facilitate access to program beneficiaries and provide on-the-ground logistical support. These partnerships are essential to the Organization's ability to deliver services to children who would otherwise be inaccessible to a U.S.-based nonprofit.
How This Activity Furthers the Exempt Purpose: Community outreach and partnership development build the network of donors, volunteers, and local collaborators that are necessary to sustain and expand the Organization's charitable programs. Awareness activities also advance the Organization's educational mission by informing the public about the conditions facing vulnerable children in Peru and the transformative impact of music education.
Revenue Generated: None. This activity is a support function that enables charitable fundraising and program delivery.
Description: The Organization plans to develop and launch a formal Scholarship Pathway Program for exceptional students who demonstrate advanced musical aptitude and commitment. This advanced track will provide selected students with mentorship, intensive music instruction, character development support, and real pathways to pursue higher music education — including scholarships for formal conservatory or university-level music study.
The program will be designed to identify and invest in the most promising students, providing them with not just music instruction but a structured life-skills and opportunity pathway that extends well beyond their elementary years. This track will serve as the Organization's long-term mechanism for creating transformational, lasting change in the lives of individual students.
How This Activity Will Further the Exempt Purpose: The Scholarship Pathway Program will extend the Organization's charitable impact from foundational music education into long-term opportunity creation — providing vulnerable children with access to higher education pathways that would otherwise be entirely out of reach.
Description: The Organization has established a roadmap for growing enrollment from the current 12 permanent students to between 50 and 75 students within the first full year of structured programming. This expansion will involve deepening relationships with additional orphanages and displacement centers in Trujillo, hiring additional teaching staff or trained volunteers, and increasing the frequency and scope of weekly instruction sessions.
How This Activity Will Further the Exempt Purpose: Expanding enrollment directly multiplies the Organization's charitable impact, bringing the benefits of music education and trauma-informed instruction to a significantly larger population of vulnerable children in Trujillo, Peru.
Description: The Organization plans to develop formal, written, evidence-based trauma-informed curricula tailored specifically to the population it serves — children who have experienced institutional care, displacement, domestic violence, and poverty. Initial curriculum development will cover music education; subsequent phases will develop materials for English language (ESL) instruction and other educational disciplines as programs expand. Curricula will be developed in collaboration with subject-matter educators and child development professionals, and will serve as the standard instructional guide for all Organization teachers and volunteers.
How This Activity Will Further the Exempt Purpose: Formalized curricula will standardize and improve the quality of instruction across all program areas and sites, ensure consistent application of trauma-informed methods, and create replicable models that the Organization can scale as it expands to additional communities and educational disciplines.
Description: The Organization plans to launch an English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction program for its enrolled students in Trujillo, Peru, beginning in August or September 2026. This program is the Organization's first formal expansion beyond music education and reflects its broader mission to equip vulnerable children with the full spectrum of academic skills needed to access wider educational and economic opportunities.
The ESL program will be delivered online via video conferencing technology, allowing bilingual instructors based in the United States to teach students at the program site in Trujillo in real time. To equip students for online instruction, the Organization has budgeted the purchase of five (5) computers for the program site in Year 1 of operations (2026), which will remain as permanent program assets at the site.
Who Will Conduct the Activity: The ESL program will be conducted by two bilingual (English/Spanish) high school student volunteers recruited and personally enrolled by Founder Alexander Lopez from his peer network. These volunteers possess the language proficiency necessary to instruct non-English-speaking students and will deliver lessons remotely via video conferencing. Both volunteers will serve entirely without compensation. The program will operate under the supervision of President Linder Lopez, and will be coordinated on the ground in Trujillo by Samuel Serban (Director / Secretary and primary on-site educator), who will manage student attendance, technical logistics, and real-time support during online sessions.
Beneficiary Population: The same cohort of enrolled students currently served by the music education program in Trujillo, Peru — displaced, orphaned, and low-income children primarily between the ages of 6 and 17. ESL instruction will be available to all enrolled students at no charge.
How This Activity Will Further the Exempt Purpose: English language proficiency is one of the most consequential educational outcomes for children in developing economies, expanding access to higher education, international employment, and broader social mobility. By adding ESL instruction alongside music education, the Organization deepens its commitment to the comprehensive educational development of the vulnerable children it serves. The use of bilingual peer volunteers also reflects the Organization's model of engaging young people as agents of positive social change — consistent with the spirit in which Alexander Lopez himself founded the Organization.
Revenue Generated: None. This activity will be funded by charitable donations and delivered primarily through volunteer instruction time.
The Organization conducts its educational programs internationally, in Trujillo, Peru. The Organization maintains full control and discretion over the use of all charitable funds and does not make grants to foreign organizations. All program funds disbursed to Peru are used to compensate the Organization's own educators (currently Samuel Serban for music instruction; additional instructors will be engaged as new educational programs launch), purchase instructional materials (instruments, sheet music, books, language workbooks, and other educational resources), and cover operational costs of the program sites. The Organization's President, Linder Lopez, maintains direct supervisory oversight of all activities conducted in Peru, supported by Samuel Serban (Director / Secretary) who is based on the ground in Trujillo. Oversight is implemented through the following concrete mechanisms: (1) monthly written activity and expense reports submitted by Mr. Serban to the President documenting instruction hours, student attendance, and all expenditures; (2) monthly video conference check-ins between the President and Mr. Serban to review program quality, student progress, and upcoming needs; (3) all expenditures above $50 USD require advance written approval from the President before funds are disbursed; (4) original receipts and documentation for all program expenses are retained by Mr. Serban and transmitted to the President quarterly for recordkeeping; and (5) the Founder's annual visit to the program site provides an independent, on-the-ground assessment of program quality and operations that is reported to the full Board. These mechanisms ensure that the President retains substantive decision-making authority and accountability over all Peru operations, notwithstanding that Mr. Serban is physically present on site.
The Organization's local partners in Peru — including orphanages and community centers — provide access to facilities and students but do not receive grants of funds from the Organization. All expenditures are controlled directly by the Organization's officers.
The Organization is aware of IRS requirements under Rev. Proc. 92-94 and related guidance regarding expenditure responsibility for international activities, and will maintain records of all international disbursements consistent with these requirements.
The Organization's President, Linder Lopez, currently serves without compensation. The Organization's Founder, Alexander Lopez, participates in an advisory and programmatic capacity as Youth Founder of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and also serves without compensation. The Corporation budgets for Alexander Lopez's annual travel to the program site in Trujillo, Peru; this travel expense is a programmatic cost — not compensation or private benefit — because Alexander provides direct instructional services to program beneficiaries during each visit. His documented service record includes approximately fifteen (15) hours of direct piano and music instruction provided to students during his initial visit in September 2025, and hands-on programmatic support during his December 2025 visit including a student concert performance he coordinated. The benefit of his visits flows entirely to the program's student beneficiaries, and the travel cost represents the Organization's expense of delivering that programmatic service. Alexander receives no salary, stipend, honorarium, or any other form of compensation from the Corporation. The Organization's primary educator, Samuel Serban — who also serves as a Director and Secretary of the Corporation — receives a monthly stipend of $110.00 USD for 12 hours of instruction per month — consistent with local compensation rates for educators in Peru (approximately $9.17/hour). This stipend is for services rendered as an educator, not as a Director, and does not constitute private benefit or inurement under Section 501(c)(3). Mr. Serban recuses himself from any Board votes concerning his own compensation; when such matters arise, the President records the minutes for that agenda item. The two bilingual high school student volunteers who will conduct the planned ESL program (see Planned Activity 4) will serve entirely without compensation. Any future paid instructors engaged for additional educational programs will be compensated at reasonable, locally consistent rates.
No Director, officer, or related party of the Organization receives any compensation, goods, services, or other benefit from the Organization other than reimbursement of documented, reasonable expenses incurred in furtherance of the Organization's charitable mission.
Rising with Melodies Inc. is exclusively organized and operated to advance charitable and educational purposes by providing any and all forms of charitable assistance — including structured educational programs (beginning with music education and expanding to English language/ESL instruction and other disciplines), humanitarian aid, relief of poverty and material need, provision of food, clothing, shelter, and essential supplies, medical and health-related assistance, and trauma-informed instruction — to displaced, orphaned, and vulnerable children and families in Trujillo, Peru. One hundred percent of the Organization's program activities directly serve this exempt purpose. No part of the Organization's net earnings inures to the benefit of any private person. The Organization does not engage in political campaign activity or substantial legislative lobbying.
The Organization respectfully requests recognition of its exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes.
Prepared by: Rising with Melodies Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Date: June 2026
Attachments: Bylaws (15 Articles); Conflict of Interest Policy; Board Meeting Minutes (Organizational Meeting)