We’re nearing the season of Thanksgiving and the end of an exciting year for bluegrass music. More than 600 supporters shared in the work of the IBMA Foundation during the 2023-24 fiscal year, with contributions totaling over $160,000. We awarded more than $81,000 in grants, scholarships, and programs, and since the Foundation’s beginning in 2008 over $450,000 has been awarded. We are more grateful than ever for those who choose to help us build a brighter future for bluegrass music.
Please join us in this valuable work with a tax-deductible donation or bequest to the IBMA Foundation. If you have already done so recently, we thank you and ask that you share this info with a friend. Together, we can make a difference in the world through the powerful artistry and community of bluegrass music. If you are looking for a way to help professionals in the bluegrass community recovering from the devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, please consider donating to our sister organization, the IBMA Trust Fund. (ibma.org/trust-fund/.)
Here’s a recap of what you helped us to accomplish in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024:
The Foundation awarded $25,266 in project grants to programs in seven states, the District of Columbia, England, and Ireland. Since 2011, the IBMA Foundation has awarded more than $176,000 of these flagship grants to recipients in 28 states, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, and Ireland.
Bluegrass in the Schools mini-grants supplied $5,650 to support educational presentations for students at 11 schools in 6 states and Puerto Rico. We have awarded more than $44,650 in mini-grants since 2011.
The Sally Ann Forrester College Scholarship was awarded to fiddle player Isabela March at Delaware University. Tom Lyngklip, from Morehead State University in Kentucky, received the Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship. Rick, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and Tom plan to cowrite a song soon.
The IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship for students pursuing a professional role in the bluegrass industry went to Huck Tritsch, a bluegrass and jazz fiddler at Temple University.
Hallie Adams, at Morehead State University, received the Katy Daley Broadcast Media & Sound Engineering Scholarship.
The third recipient of the J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship is Jake Smith, a student at East Tennessee State University.
The Fletcher Bright Memorial Fund for Young Musicians helps musicians age 21 and younger with bluegrass camp scholarships, lessons, instrument repair, and educational materials. In 2023/24, Bright grants totaling $4,500 went to 9 young people.
As a part of the Bluegrass Stagecraft 101 educational series, the Emcee Masterclass webinar was hosted in conjunction with Leadership Bluegrass alumni and sponsored by the Eppes-Jefferson Foundation. Part 2 of the seminar was presented live at the 2024 IBMA Business Conference—both moderated by veteran broadcaster/emcee and new Bluegrass Hall of Famer Katy Daley. A new webinar presented by Jennie Humann, Demystifying Grant Writing, is scheduled for November 14, 2024, via Zoom, and it’s free to the public. (See the enclosed poster for details.)
The Arnold Shultz Fund encourages participation in bluegrass music by Black musicians like Shultz and other people of color. The Pisgah Banjo Company raffle raised $29,050 for the Shultz Fund in 2024. Since 2020, the Arnold Shultz Fund has awarded more than $100,000 in grants. In 2023-24, grants totaling $29,050 were given to programs and individuals in 12 states, Kenya, and Nepal. An additional $10,000 from the Pisgah Banjo raffle was granted to the Black Banjo Reclamation Project in California.
The fourth annual Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle raised $21,140. Steven Ware of Waco, Texas, was the lucky winner of the Deering Golden Era banjo. Kim Tilley of Flemington, New Jersey, won the Louvin Brothers tribute boots made by Lisa Sorrell.
Our free e-newsletter The Cornerstone comes out monthly. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
During IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2024 in Raleigh, NC, the Foundation staffed an expo hall booth, hosted the Bluegrass College Band Showcase featuring 10 bands, presented a Bluegrass College Info Session, funded bluegrass programs at local elementary schools, hosted a reception for scholarship & grant recipients, and held the annual Bluegrass College Educators Luncheon.
Two new college scholarships in memory of Mike Auldridge and Gloria Belle Flickinger, along with the Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grant will launch in 2025.
The Friends of the Foundation ambassador/street team group launched in the fall of 2023, and we now count 100+ members! You’re welcome to participate by signing up at www.bluegrassfoundation.org at the bottom of the home page.
Thanks for considering a year-end gift to the IBMA Foundation, and most of all, thanks for all you do year-round to share bluegrass music with the world. We appreciate you. Your donation to the IBMA Foundation can change the world with bluegrass music!
Sincerely,
Nancy Cardwell, IBMA Foundation Executive Director
RETURN to the November 2024 issue of The Cornerstone: https://mailchi.mp/bluegrassfoundation/the-cornerstone-november2024
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