*Please note there are two applications available. The IBMA Trust Fund Application Form is our standard form for financial emergencies. If you are applying due to loss of income related to COVID-19, please fill out the IBMA Trust Fund Application Form For COVID-19.
IBMA TRUST FUND APPLICATION FORM
IBMA TRUST FUND APPLICATION FORM FOR COVID-19 RELIEF
What is the IBMA Trust Fund?
Time after time our community has witnessed colleagues devastated by natural disasters, medical emergencies, and more. The IBMA Trust Fund was established in 1987 as a means to offer financial assistance to bluegrass music professionals in times of emergency need.
The IBMA Trust Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable institution governed by an autonomous five-person board of trustees appointed by the International Bluegrass Music Association. To date, the IBMA Trust Fund has given over $800,000 in direct aid to professionals in emergency need.
The Fund’s largest annual fundraiser comes in the form of IBMA Bluegrass Live!, a two-day urban bluegrass festival that caps off the IBMA World of Bluegrass events in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thousands of fans gather at the Red Hat Amphitheater to witness the genre’s greatest artists perform on the Main Stage, all while raising money for this wonderful resource.
Who Does the IBMA Trust Fund Help?
The Fund helps eligible bluegrass professionals who are currently or have previously been significantly involved in the industry. This includes but is not limited to, artists, composers, broadcasters, media representatives, event producers, agents, educators, managers, and employees of record companies. You do not have to be a member of the IBMA to receive aid from the IBMA Trust Fund. Please refer to the application form for more information on eligibility.
All requests and the circumstances surrounding them are held with the utmost confidence. The Fund does not share the names of applicants or recipients. However, some members of our community have gone public with their stories to build awareness of this essential service.
You can read some of those accounts using the links below. To realize the impact of the Fund, bear in mind that these are just a handful of the hundreds of our community members the IBMA Trust Fund has aided:
Phil Leadbetter in Bluegrass Today
Ashby Frank in Bluegrass Today
Phil Leadbetter and James King
How To Apply
Download and complete the application form pdf. You can email a digital copy of your application form to IBMA’s Executive Director Ken White at [email protected] or send a physical copy of the application form to the IBMA offices:
IBMA Trust Fund
c/o IBMA
4206 Gallatin Pike
Nashville, TN 37216 USA
888-438-4262 (toll-free)
615-256-3222
Each request for assistance is judged on its own merits and should demonstrate a financial emergency or circumstance involving dire need. There is no limit to the amount an applicant may request, but grants have generally ranged from *$750 to $5000. Self-applications are encouraged, however, the Fund gladly welcomes applications from interested third parties on behalf of individuals in need.
*Due to generous donations from community members, the IBMA Trust Fund Board has approved to raise the maximum assistance grant amount to $750 per eligible applicant for the IBMA Trust Fund Form for COVID-19 Relief. Assistance grant amounts for non-COVID applications remains on a case-by-case basis.
