L-R: Trisha Tubbs, Mona Salyer, Mark Schuster, John Young The IBMA Foundation board of directors is proud to announce Trisha Tubbs will serve as president and board chair for the 2024 – 2025 fiscal year, following Fred Bartenstein’s retirement from the board at the end of June. Alan Tompkins, Ruth McLain, and Wendy Tyner will continue in their roles as vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer, respectively. The board also welcomes Mona Salyer, Mark Schuster, and John Young as new members, as Bartenstein, Arthur Hancock IV, and Michael Webb rotate off the board. Born and raised in Hawaii, T ..read more

People give to charities for a variety of reasons—some completely from the heart, some to gain tax advantage, and some for both. Whatever your motivation is, here are a few strategies available to lower your tax bill. Qualified Charitable Distributions (“QCD”): For the cool kids in the over-70 ½ years old club, you may directly transfer funds from your IRA to a qualified charity. For those 73 years and older, this amount will be excluded from your taxable income and can be counted towards satisfying your Required Minimum Distribution (“RMD”). QCDs are limited to the amount that would otherwise ..read more

Dear Nancy, Over the past weekend, the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival took place in Westport, Ireland (June 7-9, 2024). On behalf of myself and the festival organizing committee, i would like to, once again, thank you personally and the IBMA Foundation committee, for believing in our vision and supporting our unique university project. The project included a visit of two days by the students of East Tennessee State University to the World Academy of Irish Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, a very successful symposium and a cross Atlantic jam during the festival, and a range o ..read more

T-Shirts still available for those who donate $100+ The IBMA Foundation is pleased to announce that $23,600 has been raised for the Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship in its first month of existence. The scholarship is named in memory of Gloria Bernadette Flickinger (1939-2023), best remembered for her work with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys under the stage name, “Gloria Belle.” Spearheaded by Foundation board member Becky Buller, the first scholarship will be offered for the fall semester of 2025. The scholarship is for a student enrolled in a college, tech, or trade school who is e ..read more

It’s time for Independence Day here in the U.S., the Ferris wheel top of summer heat, homegrown tomatoes, and the height of the bluegrass festival season. July 1 is also the beginning of a new fiscal year for the IBMA Foundation. This issue will introduce new board chair/president Trisha Tubbs and three new board members: Mona Salyer, Mark Schuster, and John Young. We’ll also look forward to World of Bluegrass in Raleigh in September, check in on a couple of grant recipients, and share news for donors and supporters of the Foundation. A hearty “Thanks for your service” to outgoing board chair ..read more

Dear IBMA Foundation, Thank you for supporting our efforts to present original programming spotlighting the musical legacies of Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs. During the 2024 season of the Savannah Music Festival,  IBMA Foundation project grant funds helped to produce the following activities: Doc at 100 Virtual Discussion (pre-festival event on Facebook Live, February 26, 2024). View here.   Doc at 100 (Encounters Artist Talks series event on April 5, 2024 at Savannah Cultural Arts Center) FREE, approximately 100 attendees Doc and Earl: Doc at 100 performance / Tony Trischka’s Earl J ..read more

One of the best parts of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass event each fall is the College Bluegrass Band Showcase, featuring impressive talent from colleges and universities across the country. In addition to the entertainment value, college band showcases are often a window into the future of bluegrass music as we have witnessed performances from folks like Becky Buller, Ainsley Porchak, Wyatt Ellis, the Price Sisters, Catherine “BB” Bowness, Hazel Royer, and John Meador, among others.  Directors of bluegrass bands and ensembles are encouraged to contact Nancy Cardwell at info@bluegrassfoundatio ..read more

The Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award annually recognizes the best bluegrass-related paper accepted by a juried academic conference during the previous year. Developing academic scholars eligible for this award include graduate students in MA or PhD programs and recent PhDs (within five years of degree completion). The award’s name honors Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Neil V. Rosenberg, PhD, a noted bluegrass author and historian.  The objective of this award is to grow the academic awareness of bluegrass music by encouraging developing academic scholars to present research of high q ..read more

Congratulations to Steven Ware of Waco, Texas, the lucky winner of a 2011 Golden Era Deering Banjo valued at $4,000 in the 4th annual Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle. The drawing was live streamed from the IBMA Foundation’s Facebook page at noon Eastern Time on Monday, May 13. Over $16,000 was raised in the fundraiser raffle benefiting the IBMA Foundation. “I just cannot overstate the joy and elation I feel upon having won this beautiful Deering banjo!” Ware said. “I fit the ‘never won anything before guy’ stereotype!” A banjo player for more than four decades, Steven said he heard the ins ..read more

For the past four years, the Pisgah Banjo Company of Fairview, North Carolina, has conducted a fundraising raffle to benefit the IBMA Foundation’s Arnold Shultz Fund. A total of $31,800 was raised in 2024, with $10,000 designated for Black Banjo Reclamation Project programs. A grand total of $120,840 has been raised since 2021 by the Pisgah banjo raffle for the Shultz Fund, which encourages participation by people of color in bluegrass music. “Pisgah Banjo Company contributes to this fund as part of its socially sustainable mission to pay homage and acknowledge the significant contributions en ..read more