Applications for project grants awarded by the IBMA Foundation are due December 2, 2024. The Foundation awards project grants annually to nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) status or qualified governmental agencies such as public schools and colleges. Link to application form HERE.
A total of $25,600 in project grants was awarded in 2024 to the following recipients:
Arts & Enrichment Academy; Lakewood, California – A songwriting workshop with a bluegrass emphasis for special needs high school students.
Ashokan Center; Olivebridge, New York – Tiered pricing to full scholarships for the 7th annual Bluegrass Camp, July 29-August 2, with 85-100 participants of all ages.
Bluegrass Ambassadors; Chicago, Illinois – The Celebrating Czech Bluegrass program will provide three days of English language instruction with bluegrass music at two Czech schools taught by the Henhouse Prowlers, a Chicago-based band, in November 2024.
Chamber Dance Project: Ramblin’ Suite and Book of Stones, with the Red Clay Ramblers; Washington, D.C. – This project brought together contemporary ballet, old-time string band, and bluegrass music.
Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University; Bowling Green, Kentucky – A new exhibit at the Kentucky Museum on the WKU campus spotlighting bluegrass songs and artists influenced by the Bowling Green region (Arnold Shultz, Bill Monroe, Sam Bush, and New Grass Revival).
Middle Tennessee State University; Murfreesboro, Tennessee – The String Band Summit 2024 program included academic research presentations, panel discussions, live music, and a focus on collaboration among bluegrass, old-time, and Asian music.
Reeves Downtown School of Music; Elkin, North Carolina – The Tunes and Trails Camp Bluegrass Day and Community Concert camp hosted by the local J.A.M. (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program, with a free community concert.
Savannah Music Festival; Savannah, Georgia – Two public performances honored the 100th birthday year of Bluegrass Hall of Famers Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson with stories and songs. “Doc at 100” and “Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam,” included a virtual discussion, a pre-concert talk, and public performances.
Earl Scruggs Center; Shelby, North Carolina – “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, North Carolina – A Stecoah J.A.M. hosted weekend of workshops for students in western North Carolina and beyond, led by professional musicians at the 10-acre art center campus in Robbinsville.
Tellico Plains J.A.M.; Tellico Plains and Madisonville, Tennessee – Afterschool J.A.M. programs in Tellico Plains and Madisonville, Tennessee, teaching traditional Appalachian and bluegrass music to 4th – 12th graders (free to students).
Peter Ward; Palace Green Durham, United Kingdom – Travel assistance for Dr. Ward’s trip 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 hosted at Middle Tennessee State University in April, 2024. A larger project will research the history of bluegrass in the U.K.
Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival Universities; Westport, County Mayo, Ireland) – A partnership and 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, took place during the weekend of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, June 7-9, 2024.
Wintergrass Music Festival; Bellevue, Washington – The youth education “Pay what you can” program helped with participation expenses 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 22-25, 2024.
Applications for Arnold Shultz Fund grants are due January 31, 2025. The IBMA Foundation awarded $19,650 in Arnold Shultz Fund grants to programs and individuals in 12 states, Kenya, and Nepal. The Arnold Shultz Fund was established in 2020 by the IBMA Foundation and funded by donors to encourage participation in bluegrass music by people of color. People of color are people with racial/ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in bluegrass: Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous First People, Indigenous Pacific Islander, etc. Applicants may be individuals, schools, groups, organizations, or government entities. Priority will be given to programs, activities, or individuals that demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and serving diverse, underrepresented populations in bluegrass music.
Arnold Shultz Fund grants were awarded to 16 programs and individuals last year, plus a special grant to the Black Banjo Reclamations Project in California from a fundraiser raffle conducted by Pisgah Banjo Company.
The Banjo Gathering, Roots Revival: Black String Band Symposium; Raleigh, North Carolina – Four to six educational sessions produced for the 2024 IBMA Business Conference, September 26-27.
Big Bend Bluegrass Association, Bluegrass for Kids program; Alpine, Texas – A bluegrass presentation for primarily Hispanic students to spark interest in learning to play stringed instruments, utilizing the “Play It Forward” instrument lending program from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.
Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Baltimore Old Time Music Festival: Africa to Appalachia program; Baltimore, Maryland – Cultural and educational festival programming highlighting 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, Alaska – Funding of assistant instructor training and travel for young native musicians who will be taking over as future bluegrass instructors in remote Alaskan villages (28 week-long camps in 2023).
Decolonizing the Music Room, Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival; Ft. Worth, Texas – Support for a day-long event highlighting the central role of Blackness in early American music, featuring award-winning artists and scholars from across North America.
Miranda Dozier, banjo building; St. Louis, Missouri – Banjo building training for Dozier, a Black banjo player who plays two-finger, clawhammer, and some Scruggs style banjo at spiritual and healing ceremonies.
Elephant Grass Musical Chairs, bluegrass presentations at Kenyan schools; Nairobi, Kenya – Two concerts by the Elephant Grass Musical Chairs bluegrass band at Tafaria Castle Arts & Music Centre for school students.
Aaron Farris, Bluegrass in the Rock; Mabelville, Arkansas – Afterschool bluegrass program at Chicot Elementary & Early Childhood Center near Little Rock, with a high percentage of Hispanic and Black students. Farris is a Korean American music teacher at Chicot.
Yndiana Montes Fogelquist, documentary/academic presentation on Joe Troop’s Latingrass; Boone, North Carolina – Assistance with travel expenses and equipment to conduct field interviews with Joe Troop in Durham, North Carolina, for a documentary film. Yndiana is a Venezuelan American journalist working on a master’s degree in Appalachian studies at Appalachian State University.
Himalayan Highway, recording project; Nepal – Assistance with recording of debut EP from acoustic band based in Kathmandu exploring similarities between Nepali Folk music and bluegrass. This band hosted the first bluegrass festival in Nepal.
Jam Pak Blues ‘N’ Grass Neighborhood Band, Bluegrass Summer Camp with JamPak; Chandler, Arizona – Instructor stipends, daily snacks, and three dinners for 30-40 participants at camp. Majority of participants and 10 instructors were Black or Hispanic. Free admission to participants.
Joseph Z. Johnson, gourd banjo; Bloomington, Indiana – Assistance with purchasing a Pete Ross gourd banjo to use in teaching for the Black Banjo/Fiddle Fellowship at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, and also to support dissertation research and presentations on the relationship between banjo teachers, builders, and the Black origins of the instrument.
Kaia Kater, Sable Sisters EP; Ft. Worth, Texas – Assistance with recording, mixing, and mastering five songs from roots duo featuring Grenadian-Canadian artist Kaia Kater and Black American artist Brandi Waller-Pace.
KSUT Radio, Four Corners Folk Festival; Pagosa Springs, Colorado – Projection and talent assistance for folk/bluegrass/Americana festival. KSUT Radio (event producer) 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 a part of the summer youth program. A diverse neighborhood was served, including children of immigrants and refugees.
The Rhapsody Project, instruction in bluegrass and roots music; Seattle, Washington – Support for free music instruction provided through the organization’s Unbroken Circle program, serving inner city youth of many cultures.
Arnold Shultz (1886-1931) was a Black musician from western Kentucky. Best known as an extraordinary guitarist and fiddle player, Shultz often played with Bill Monroe’s fiddle-playing uncle, Pendleton (“Pen”) Vandiver. It was at these gigs that Monroe met Arnold Shultz and began to emulate his backup guitar style. Shultz was impressed enough with Monroe’s progress that he hired Monroe to play guitar with him at dances, thereby giving Monroe his first jobs as a professional musician. Monroe often credited Shultz with influencing his approach to playing music.
The deadline to apply for the next round of Arnold Shultz Fund grants is January 31, 2025. Qualified individual applicants may also inquire throughout the year about support on a case-by-case basis.
For information on applying for an Arnold Shultz Fund grant, becoming a sponsor of an IBMA Foundation Arnold Shultz Fund project or individual grant, or making a donation to the Arnold Shultz Fund, please visit bluegrassfoundation.org or email info@bluegrassfoundation.org.
Click here to download the application for Arnold Shultz Fund grants.
Shultz application video: https://youtu.be/fr5vL0pcQEI
RETURN to the October 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
Photo: Team members with Shultz Fund and Project Grant recipients Dancing with the Spirit pose with a group of young musicians at the Yakutat MIddle School in Yakutat, Alaska.
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