The BMI Foundation exists to support and encourage the creation, performance and study of music. Throughout the year, the foundation works to administer various scholarship competitions, awards, fellowships and commissions. The final selections for these programs are entrusted to panels made up of some of the world's most distinguished artists and musicians, all of whom volunteer their time and knowledge. The foundation also awards grants on an annual basis to nonprofit music and arts organizations around the country. The Foundation's Advisory Panel reviews and makes recommendations for these awards, which range from the support of classical music groups specializing in contemporary works, to musical theatre programs for inner-city youth, to programs designed to preserve and continue such indigenous American music as jazz and blues.