Join us in celebrating Arnold Shultz’s induction into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in the “early contributions” category with a donation in his honor to the IBMA Foundation’s Arnold Shultz Fund!
Just four short years ago amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the IBMA Foundation established the Arnold Shultz Fund to support activities to encourage the participation of people of color in bluegrass music. Arnold Shultz (1886–1931) was an extraordinary and versatile Black musician from western Kentucky who had a profound influence on Bill Monroe and the development of bluegrass music.
The IBMA Foundation is thrilled to celebrate the induction of Arnold Shultz into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame on Thursday, September 17, 2025, at the IBMA Awards Show hosted by Alison Brown and Steve Martin at the Soldiers and Sailors Municipal Hall in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We’re proud that the IBMA Foundation’s Arnold Shultz fund co-chair, Dr. Richard Brown, will be doing the induction.
Awards Show tickets may be purchased from IBMA at www.worldofbluegrass.org.
Since 2021, the Arnold Shultz Fund has awarded more than $115,000 in grants and scholarships, including a total of $32,500 during the past four years for the Black Banjo Reclamation Project which came from proceeds from the annual Pisgah Banjo Company’s fundraising raffle.
This year eight Shultz grants totaling $13,500 were awarded to programs and individuals in four states, China, Kenya, Thailand, and Uganda.
Since the first challenge donations from former IBMA Foundation president Fred Bartenstein and the late James Reams after an online conversation in the Leadership Bluegrass Alumni Google group, the amount of money in the Arnold Shultz endowment fund has increased to over $70,000. The Arnold Shultz Fund is solely funded and supported by donors (mainly individuals, plus the Pisgah Banjo Company and a few private family foundations that support the arts). We are immensely grateful to these folks but are still in need of additional support so we can continue to provide grants and scholarships to deserving applicants.
Pisgah Banjo Company could not host their banjo raffle in the spring of 2025 because of Hurricane Helene, but it is now planned for September – December 2025. If you’re at World of Bluegrass in Chattanooga this September, please drop by the Pisgah Banjo booth and thank them for their support of the Arnold Shultz Fund and check out the prize custom banjo for the 2025 raffle.
“The Arnold Shultz Fund seeks to offer a proactive, helping hand to individuals who come from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the bluegrass community,” Richard Brown said. “Bluegrass music belongs to everyone who wants to listen to it or play it. We are grateful to donors who continue to support the Shultz Fund and all the other Foundation initiatives. Their generosity has made it possible to award grants to these very deserving musicians and program organizers.”
Donations to the Arnold Shultz Fund may be made via PayPal here, or mailed to the IBMA Foundation, 1183 University Drive #105-215, Burlington, NC 27215. Contact the IBMA Foundation office at info@bluegrassfoundation.org or (615) 260-4807 for information on how to donate stock.
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 some of his first jobs as a professional musician. Monroe often credited Shultz with influencing his approach to playing music.
Arnold Shultz Fund Advisory Committee: Dr. Richard Brown (co-chair), Dr. Neil Rosenberg (co-chair), Dr. Erika Brady, Paul Byrum, Ariel Rosemberg, Sav Sankaran, Trisha Tubbs, and Lillian Werbin, staff liaison: Nancy Cardwell, IBMA Foundation executive director
RETURN to the August 2025 issue of The Cornerstone.
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