The Foundation for Bluegrass Music will distribute $20,000 in funds to charitable public programs in 2011. These include youth-focused educational efforts, a film project and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe — the “father of bluegrass music.” The six grant recipients were selected from among more than two-dozen applicants.

The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee received funds to support programs celebrating the100th birthday of Bill Monroe (Sept. 13, 2011). Grants were also awarded to Acoustic Sound’s Wintergrass Youth Academy in Bellevue, Washington, for its annual program focused on educating young people on playing, appreciating and preserving bluegrass and Americana music; and to the Texas-based Bluegrass Heritage Foundation in support of screenings of its documentary short film Fanning the Fire, through which viewers will see why people of all ages and backgrounds get “hooked” on playing bluegrass music and enjoying the community spirit at bluegrass festivals. The Gaston School of Arts in North Carolina received a grant for “The Bluegrass Project: An Introduction to Bluegrass Music,” a program designed to introduce bluegrass music to young people through workshops, master classes and hands-on interaction over a two-day period that culminates in a performance opportunity for the participants. And Young Audiences of San Diego received funding to help broaden the reach of its Bluegrass in the Schools program.

According to its mission statement, the Foundation for Bluegrass Music “connects passion with purpose and is a means for people and organizations to support the art form through charitable donations and planned giving.” The Nashville-based nonprofit organization was created in 2007 to support educational, literary and artistic activities related to bluegrass music. The foundation has established an Aug. 15 grant application deadline for projects planned for 2012.

For more information about the Foundation for Bluegrass Music and its grants application process, visit www.bluegrassfoundation.org.