Just a few months after celebrating its fifth anniversary Dace’s Rock ‘N’ More got a gift from the IRS: its 501(c)3 tax exempt status as a nonprofit.

This is a big deal, said the music school founder Dace Anderson, as the status kicked in on Dec. 15.

“We sent the paperwork package to the IRS in April,” Anderson said in a e-mail interview. “It took me a long time to complete it, too, though. There are numerous multi-syllabic words in the extremely long application. I felt like I needed to consult a lawyer just reading the instructions.”

Anderson, who started the school due in part to needing a place to hold guitar lessons, explained it took some time to get the paperwork to the IRS, but for good reason.

“With all the essays and math and the added complication of having to do my day to day work at Rock ‘n’ More, it took me close to two years to complete the application,” he said. “One little chunk at a time. Sometimes having to go weeks without being able to work on it.”

In the end, it’s well worth it, Anderson said.

“To businesses and private individuals, a 501(c)3 status is like having proof from the federal government that we are doing something for the benefit of the community and not just for the raking in of profits,” he said. “Because we have proved ourselves in this regard, the doors to numerous opportunities such as grants and donations are opened up. We are now eligible to get grants that will help us increase the quality and scope of our work.”

As an example, Anderson explained, with so many students using the school’s equipment it wears out sooner or even breaks.

“We don’t make enough money to buy gear whenever we want, but perhaps we can get a grant to buy us all new gear when we need it,” he said.

Anderson said he feels like Rock ‘n’ More is unique but he would like to expand on its mission to provide music lessons to anyone who is interested, regardless of their ability to pay, and this new status from the IRS can help there, too.

“I don’t think any other school of our kind can say that we have 15 bands,” he said. “Not even schools from Seattle and the Eastside where they draw from a much larger population can boast that. We must be doing something right. With the 501(c)3 we stand a much better chance at finding the funding for opening more Rock ‘n’ Mores around the area.”

And the opportunity to receive grant money would also allow the school’s instructors — guitar, voice, flute, drums, and so on — to complement existing music education in area schools.

“We’ve dreamt of renovating a bus with learning stations and room for small classes and taking it around to schools,” Anderson said. “For the first few years here, we’ve sort of held the place up with spit and duct tape — metaphorically speaking, of course. The 501(c)3 is the tool that, with enough hard work, creativity, and the continuing support of the community, will help to build a more stable, strong, efficient, and long-lasting community resource.”