You love bluegrass. You would like to see bluegrass live forever. We have a way you can do that!
We’ve had a strong year at the IBMA Foundation. Over 600 supporters shared in our work, with contributions totaling $161,732. We distributed more than $81,000 in grants, scholarships, and programs. Since the beginning of the IBMA Foundation (formerly the Foundation for Bluegrass Music) in 2007, more than $456,000 has been awarded. We are more grateful than ever to those who choose to help us build a brighter future for bluegrass.
The IBMA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic organization that supports programs fostering the growth of bluegrass music through charitable donations and planned giving.
We help donors create a legacy for future generations in the areas of bluegrass music-related arts and culture, education, literary work, and historic preservation.
YOUR DONATION TO THE IBMA FOUNDATION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD WITH BLUEGRASS MUSIC.
Financial Summary: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024:
June 30, 2024 Statement of Financial Position: Total Assets: $513,487, up from $189,165 five years ago in 2019. We gained $75,708 in Assets during the past year. We had no Liabilities.
July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 Statement of Financial Activity:
Income:
Donations from individuals: $78,457
Donations from foundations: $21,701
Donations from corporations: $32,150
Donations from government agencies: $3,360
In-kind donations: $3,924
Investment income: $42,277
Misc. income: $22,140 (includes $21,625 from raffles)
Total income: $204,009
Expenses:
Project grants: $25,266
Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants: $5,650
IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship: $1,000
Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award: $500
Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship: $1,000
Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship: $2,500
Katy Daley Broadcast Media & Sound Engineering Scholarship: $1,000
J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship: $1,000
Arnold Shultz Fund grants: $29,050
Fletcher Bright Memorial Grants: $4,500
Program expense: $9,849
Total grants, scholarships, and programs: $81,315
Administration/Operations: $25,854
Fundraising: $21,132
Total Expense: $128,301
Net Income: $75,708
Endowments & Investments: On June 30, 2024, IBMA Foundation agency endowment funds at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee totaled $308,084. Our E*Trade/Morgan Stanley unrestricted board designated endowment fund was $90,825.
Restricted fund balances at June 30, 2024:
Bluegrass Stagecraft 101: $2,428
Fletcher Bright Memorial Grant for Young Musicians Fund: 36,669
J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship Fund: 29,054
Katy Daley Broadcast Media & Sound Engineering Scholarship Fund: 33,406
Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship Fund: 35,985
Gloria Belle Scholarship Fund: 6,125
IBMA Scholarship Fund: 17,280
Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship Fund: 49,351
Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Fund: 1,218
Arnold Shultz Fund: 81,849
Project Grants
The IBMA Foundation awarded $25,600 in project grants in 2024 to groups in seven states, the District of Columbia, England, and Ireland:
Arts & Enrichment Academy (Lakewood, CA) – A songwriting workshop with a bluegrass emphasis for special needs high school students
Ashokan Center (Olivebridge, NY) – Scholarships for the 7th annual Bluegrass Camp with 85-100 participants of all ages
Bluegrass Ambassadors (Chicago, IL) – The Celebrating Czech Bluegrass program: three days of English language instruction with bluegrass music at two Czech schools taught by the Henhouse Prowlers. A symposium hosted in Prague will celebrate Czech bluegrass and capture content for a future video about Czech bluegrass.
Chamber Dance Project: Ramblin’ Suite and Book of Stones, with the Red Clay Ramblers (Washington, D.C.) – Collaboration of contemporary ballet with old-time string band and bluegrass music, with performance dates in 2024-25
Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY) – New exhibit at the Kentucky Museum on the WKU campus. Includes bluegrass songs and artists influenced by the Bowling Green region, including Arnold Shultz, Bill Monroe, Sam Bush, and the New Grass Revival.
Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, TN) – The String Band Summit 2024, an academic conference focused on string band music of various types, with a 2024 focus on collaboration among bluegrass, old-time, and Asian musicians
Reeves Downtown School of Music (Elkin, NC) – Tunes and Trails Camp Bluegrass Day and community concert hosted by the local J.A.M. (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program
Savannah Music Festival (Savannah, GA) – Performances honoring the 100th birthday year of Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson with stories and songs
Earl Scruggs Center (Shelby, NC) – “Born of the Broad River: The Life and Career of Earl Scruggs in his own words, 1924-1945,” a new exhibit celebrating the 100th birthday of Earl Scruggs. More than 1,000 local students will visit the exhibit.
Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center (Robbinsville, NC) – Stecoah J.A.M. (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program hosting a weekend of workshops for students in western North Carolina and beyond
Tellico Plains J.A.M. (Tellico Plains and Madisonville, TN) – Afterschool Junior Appalachian Musicians (J.A.M.) programs in Tellico Plains and Madisonville, Tennessee, that teach traditional Appalachian and bluegrass music to 4th – 12th graders. Programs are free to students.
Peter Ward (Palace Green Durham, United Kingdom) – Assistance with Dr. Ward’s travel expenses from the U.K. to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he hosted a “Bluegrass in Britain and Ireland” workshop for U.S.-based academics and researchers at the String Band Summit at Middle Tennessee State University
Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival Universities (Westport, County Mayo, Ireland) – A collaboration of three academic institutions (two from the U.S. and one from Ireland) to research, explore, and promote the deep-rooted cultural connections between bluegrass, old-time, and Irish traditional music at the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, June 7-9, 2024
Wintergrass Music Festival (Bellevue, WA) – Youth education “Pay what you can” program for JAMz 1 (pre-school), JAMz 2 (elementary and middle school), JAMz3 (high school and college), and Youth Orchestra (high school) programs for young musicians at Wintergrass, February, 2024
Arnold Shultz Fund Grants
Since 2011, the IBMA Foundation has awarded more than $176,600 to projects in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and four countries: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, and Germany.
Since 2020, the Arnold Shultz Fund has awarded more than $100,000 in grants and scholarships. In 2024, the Foundation awarded $19,650 to programs and individuals in 12 U.S. states, Kenya, and Nepal. The Arnold Shultz Fund committee, created to encourage participation in bluegrass music by people of color, is co-chaired by Dr. Richard Brown and Neil Rosenberg, PhD. A raffle held by the Pisgah Banjo Company raised $29,620 to benefit the Arnold Shultz Fund in 2024. A total of $183,177 has been raised for the Arnold Shultz Fund in four years. Here are the recipients for 2024:
The Banjo Gathering, Black Stringband Symposium (Raleigh, NC) – Roots Revival: Black Stringband Symposium, a two-day program of educational sessions at World of Bluegrass 2024 in Raleigh, presented by The Banjo Gathering and IBMA
Big Bend Bluegrass Association, Bluegrass for Kids program (Alpine, TX) – A bluegrass presentation for students to spark interest in learning to play bluegrass instruments at a primarily Latino school
Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Baltimore Old Time Music Festival: Africa to Appalachia program (Baltimore, MD) – Cultural and educational festival programming to highlight the role of African music and instruments in the old-time music and dance communities locally and beyond
Dancing with the Spirit, young native leaders bluegrass teacher training (Fairbanks, AK) – Help to fund assistant training and travel for young native Alaskan musicians who will be taking over as future bluegrass instructors in remote Alaskan villages, with 28 week-long camps held in 2023!
Decolonizing the Music Room, Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (Ft. Worth, TX) – An event that features award-winning artists and scholars from across North America who gather for a day of music, jamming, learning, and dancing, with a focus on the influence of Black musicians on early American music including bluegrass
Miranda Dozier, banjo building (St. Louis, MO) –Assistance with tuition to a banjo building school for Miranda Dozer, a clawhammer and Scruggs style banjo player
Elephant Grass Musical Chairs, bluegrass presentations at Kenyan schools (Nairobi, Kenya) – Two educational bluegrass presentations by the Elephant Grass band, which includes two young Kenyan fiddlers, at the Tafaria Castle Arts & Music Centre for School Children
Aaron Farris, Bluegrass in the Rock (Mabelville, AR) – Bluegrass afterschool program at Chicot Elementary & Early Childhood Center near Little Rock, with a high percentage of Hispanic and African American students. The director is a Korean American music teacher at Chicot.
Yndiana Montes Fogelquist, documentary/academic presentation on Joe Troop’s Latingrass (Boone, NC) – Help with travel expenses and equipment to conduct field interviews with Joe Troop in Durham, North Carolina while he is on tour. Yndiana is a Venezuelan American journalist working on a master’s degree in Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University.
Himalayan Highway, recording project (Nepal) – Support for recording debut EP from contemporary acoustic string band based in Kathmandu which also recently hosted the first bluegrass festival in Nepal
Jam Pak Blues ‘N’ Grass Neighborhood Band, Bluegrass Summer Camp (Chandler, AZ) – Instructor stipends, daily snacks, three dinners for 30-40 participants. The camp takes place in a low-income neighborhood where the majority of youth participating are African American or Hispanic. Camp admission is free to students.
Joseph Z. Johnson, gourd banjo (Bloomington, IN) – Grant to help Joseph purchase a gourd banjo to use in teaching, and also to support dissertation research on the Black banjo revival and the relationship between banjo teachers, builders, and the Black origins of the instrument
Kaia Kater, Sable Sisters EP (Ft. Worth, TX) – Shultz funds used to record, mix, and master five original songs for release in early 2025. Duo includes Grenadian-Canadian artist Kaia Kater and Black American artist Brandi Waller-Pace.
KSUT Radio, Four Corners Folk Festival (Pagosa Springs, CO) – Support for production and talent expenses for folk/bluegrass/Americana Four Corners festival which presents at least one Indigenous performer per festival. Producer KSUT Radio is owned by the Southern Ute Tribe, whose headquarters are in Ignacio, Colorado.
Louisville Folk School, bluegrass guitar group lessons (Louisville, Kentucky) – Eight-week bluegrass guitar program for ten students hosted at the Americana Community Center as part of the summer youth program. A diverse neighborhood is served, including children of immigrants and refugees.
The Rhapsody Project, instruction in bluegrass and roots music (Seattle, WA) – Support for free music instruction provided through the Unbroken Circle program, serving inner city youth. The instrument library, venue, listening room, and luthier space is used to host potlucks, concerts, workshops, and programs that connect professional musicians and mentors with youth of many cultures.
Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants
Since 2011, more than $44,650 has been awarded in Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants to help pay bluegrass bands presenting educational, live bluegrass music programs in schools. Mini-grants this year funded programs in California, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico.
Communications
Our free e-newsletter, The Cornerstone, comes out monthly. Our click-through rate of 50% is high for nonprofit publications. We continue to be active on Instagram and Facebook.
World of Bluegrass Activities
At World of Bluegrass 2024inRaleigh, North Carolina, the Foundation featured 10 bands at the annual, two-night Bluegrass College Band Showcase. The Foundation also hosted an Intro to Bluegrass College Programs session, a College Bluegrass Educators Luncheon, and a special reception to honor Foundation scholarship and grant recipients. The Foundation’s Emcee Masterclass-part 2 seminar, sponsored by the Eppes-Jefferson Foundation, took place September 25 at World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, presented by Katy Daley, Cindy Baucom, Jim Lauderdale, and Ben Wright. An expo hall booth was hosted during the week, featuring a special fundraiser for all IBMA Foundation scholarships and grants (involving tip jars and custom designed Hatch Show Print-style note cards).
More than $22,000 had been raised for the new Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship as of August, 2024. The first $1,000 scholarship will be presented in the fall of 2025. Two more grant and scholarship programs will be announced at Wold of Bluegrass on September 26. Both are in fundraising mode and will be endowed by the end of 2024.
Students receiving IBMA Foundation scholarships will be attending East Tennessee State University, Morehead State University, Temple University, and the University of Delaware. (See photo on page 1.)
The Fletcher Bright Memorial Fund for Young Musicians was created and initially funded by members of the Bright family and Tom Brown to help youth aged 21 or younger with the expenses of bluegrass camps, workshops, lessons, instrument repair, and educational materials. In 2024-25 Bright grants totaling $4,500 went to Eliza, Rachel, and Andrew Beck; Judah and Bayla Davis; Sophia DiChiara; Gracie Mae Grossman; Jeffrey Hamilton; Silas McKinney, and Joshua Wills. Big thanks to additional major donors Billy Strings and Sam Blumenthal. Please consider a donation to the Bright Fund! The need is great for this grant.
The four-part Bluegrass Stagecraft 101 educational series begun last year has added three new presentations: Emcee Masterclass (November 2023), Emcee Masterclass-part 2 (September 2024), and Grant Writing (November 2024). All of the Bluegrass Stagecraft 101 videos are posted on the IBMA Foundation YouTube channel and website (Bluegrassfoundation.org).
The fourth Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle raised $21,625. Congratulations to Steven Ware of Waco, Texas, the winner of the 2000 Golden Era Deering Banjo, which was donated by longtime IBMA Foundation supporter Casey Henry. Kim Tilly, of Flemington, New Jersey, was the winner of the Louvin Brothers tribute cowboy boots designed by internationally renowned boot maker, Lisa Sorrell.
New donors have made contributions to the Foundation from family estates, in memory of specific individuals, and in honor of individuals who have retired. Others have made gifts of stocks, made contributions from IRA payouts, or have notified us that they have included the Foundation in their wills. Our committees work in the areas of Finance, Nominating, Bright Grant & Mini-grant Review, Philanthropy, Project Grant Review, Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Review, Scholarship Review, the Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle, and the Arnold Shultz Fund Committee. The New “Friends of the Foundation” ambassador/social media street team for the IBMA Foundation counts more than 100 members in its first year.
IBMA Foundation Board members include Trisha Tubbs (Chair/ President); Alan Tompkins, Bluegrass Heritage Foundation (Vice-Chair); Ruth McLain, McLain Family Band, Morehead State University (Secretary); Wendy Tyner (Treasurer); Kissy Black, Lotos Nile; Dr. Sam Blumenthal, Blumenthal Foundation; Dr. Richard Brown, The Reunion Band; Becky Buller, The Becky Buller Band; Michael Hall, the Northern California Bluegrass Music Society; Mona Salyer; Dr. Peter Salovey, Yale University; Mark Schuster, The Schuster Group; Lilian Werbin, Elderly Instruments; IBMA executive director Ken White; and John Young.
Thanks for working with us to make the future of bluegrass brighter!
Nancy Cardwell
IBMA Foundation Executive Director
1183 University Dr. #105-215
Burlington, NC 27215
(615) 260-4807 info@bluegrassfoundation.org
RETURN to the September 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
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