The IBMA Foundation helps individuals, organizations, foundations, and corporations work together in supporting the future of bluegrass music. In a nation and a world that is divided in so many ways, music can unite and heal us. Explore this website and learn about the interesting and important ways the IBMA Foundation is working to make a difference, with people just like you. Through grant-making, philanthropy and planned giving, we can make the world a better place by sharing bluegrass with future generations. Come join us!
The IBMA Foundation is pleased to announce Cassie Wright, of Chicago, Illinois, has been hired to serve as the organization’s new executive director beginning April 1, replacing Nancy Cardwell, who is retiring after 10 years with the IBMA Foundation and 20 years at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) previously.
Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina where she still has family, Cassie Wright is a banjo and Dobro player who co-leads the Chicago based Fox Crossing Stringband. Wright is a 2024 graduate of IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass program and a member of the Northern Illinois Bluegrass Association board of directors. Cassie also manages the Bluegrass Chicago website, which promotes live bluegrass and old-time music in the region.
Wright brings over 15 years of professional experience leading programs and operations for nonprofit and government partners in public health, housing, and education sectors. Cassie has served as Senior Director of Operations for the nonprofit Education Development Center, an organization that works with partners worldwide to advance every person’s journey to learn, work, and be well. She has provided strategic leadership collaborating with various partners across a multi-million dollar portfolio of projects.
“I have spent my career at the intersection of nonprofit work and bluegrass music because I truly believe in the power of this community,” Wright said. “I’m so excited to put that experience to work as we expand the reach and impact of the music that means so much to all of us. Nancy Cardwell and the Board of Directors have led the way with remarkable work, and I am honored to build on that foundation as we start this next chapter together.”
photo to the left: Cassie Wright
APPLY HERE for an Arnold Shultz Fund Grant. Deadline: January 31.
The IBMA Foundation is proud to announce a new college scholarship dedicated to inspiring excellence in the art of presenting live bluegrass music events. Established by Claire Armbruster and Jeff Koontz, co-owners of Planning Stages, Inc. based in Brevard, North Carolina, the Planning Stages Scholarship for Live Music Production will recognize creative professionals whose dedication and expertise make live performances possible. It supports students pursuing college, community college, or vocational training in live music event production, talent buying, and related fields.
The goal of the Planning Stages scholarship is to empower the next generation of professionals who make bluegrass music shine from behind the curtain. Scholarships may be applied toward tuition, internships, and educational expenses. The first scholarship ($2,000) will be awarded in August, 2026 for the fall semester of the 2026-27 school year. The deadline to apply for all IBMA Foundation-hosted college and technical training scholarships is June 1. Claire and Jeff plan to make a donation in 2027 to create an endowment at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to support the new scholarship for generations to come.
Donations are welcome from anyone who works in the field of live music production, or from any who have enjoyed being in the audience at a well-produced festival or concert spotlighting bluegrass music. To make a donation, contact the Foundation at info@bluegrassfoundation.org, call 615.260.4807, or donate HERE.
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a time and place where people were so supportive of those playing bluegrass music. Band members and fans became great friends. The IBMA Foundation is helping develop that same kind of music community now and for the future. The Foundation helps connect resources to programs and activities that involve our next generation of musicians. I am glad to partner with the Foundation by being a board member, donor and supporter! The IBMA Foundation is a great place to make a difference.
I know first-hand what great work the IBMA Foundation does because I was a board member for a number of years. There’s not an organization anywhere that makes a bigger investment in the future of bluegrass music by supporting educational programs.
I’ve been playing bluegrass since I discovered the San Diego Bluegrass Club as a 12-year-old. These days I wear several hats: co-founder of Compass Records, producer and, of course, banjo player. When I was learning to play, there were so many people who went out of their way to help me, from my biggest musical heroes to countless parking lot pickers. The “play it forward” spirit of our community is one of its great treasures and it is a privilege for me to be able to help up-and-coming players. Building community is key to the future of bluegrass music. What better way to do that than to support those who will play the music forward, through the 21st century and beyond?
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The IBMA Foundation
1183 University Drive #105-215
Burlington, NC 27215
615.260.4807