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Donate to IBMMThis is the only bluegrass museum in the world, and it is entrusted with preserving the international history of bluegrass music. To do this, and do it responsibly, we need your help. Please consider becoming a donor of either funds or artifact(s), or both, as both are needed. (Scroll down to see a description of funding choices.) Any donation $45.00 and above will constitute a one year renewal of your membership, and will go into effect the date your previous membership would have expired. Please scroll down to specify the program you wish to support or, if you wish, to support the museum's operating expenses. WHY YOUR DONATION IS SO IMPORTANT NOW: These are challenging times... yet times of great accomplishment at your Bluegrass Museum. We have recently opened five new exhibits and hosted the historic Pioneers of Bluegrass Gathering, attended by bluegrass icons who helped shape and spread bluegrass music worldwide. We are dealing with an economic crisis which has hit everyone in our nation, especially in arts-based non-profits. Due to our facility and programs being supported 33% by gifts from bluegrass-loving individuals whose portfolios were demolished by the stock market crash, we have had to cut staff and every possible expense. Yet we are grateful that we are still operating, and still playing bluegrass in every hallway, on every stage, at every opportunity, with energy and enthusiasm. We will survive, because we must. We must for your sake, for the sake of your children and their children, and especially for the sake of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to playing this music we all love: bluegrass. The profoundly important work of this museum must proceed, regardless of the economy. We must complete the videotaping of our Bluegrass Pioneers (we still have 40 or more legendary musicians to interview), and we must complete the editing of the footage created through this Video Oral History Project. To date we have professionally videotaped nearly 200 in-depth interviews and dozens of concerts by these legends, yet only 21 of these have been edited into individual documentaries of each musician, as is our long-range plan. Our task is to complete both the gathering and the editing necessary to complete this massive project while many of Bluegrass Music's First Generation are still with us, so they can proudly view additional proof of the legacy they have created for future generations. When all the pieces of this mosaic have been polished and put in place, what we will have is a compelling visual history of artistic rural life in the first half of the 20th Century. By watching these documentaries, we will be able to relive the stories and see and hear the timeless appeal of the music played by the earliest standard bearers of bluegrass. As the reputation of the museum grows globally, so does our collection. In only a few years, we will outgrow our space. Only about 10% of our collection is on display at this time, and storage space will soon become an issue. We need to all work and plan together so that when the time comes that we must expand, we will have the necessary funding to make that expansion happen. You can contribute to General Operating Expenses or to Programs: General Operating Expenses = overall operating expenses of the museum includes preserving the history, artifacts and collections of bluegrass music including objects on display as well as in the vault; maintaining permanent exhibits and creating new ones; archiving, cataloguing and digitizing the collection; keeping the building in good repair, the HVAC system operating, the utilities on, the doors open, and staff to run it all. Programs (choose from any listed below):
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