Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship Grant

The Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship, established by the IBMA Foundation, honors pioneering bluegrass musician Gloria Bernadette Flickinger. This $1,000 annual scholarship supports students engaged in the bluegrass music community, either as performers or in supportive roles. With over $25,000 raised since June 2024, the scholarship aims to expand funding to $2,000 annually by 2025, promoting education and participation in bluegrass music.

Our project grants, which now total $25,000 a year, support bluegrass-related initiatives throughout the world. We also fund Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-grants ($7,000/year) which help schools to hire bluegrass bands for school programs. The Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award recognizes excellence in academic research. Six college scholarships are granted for students working in various areas of the bluegrass music industry. The Arnold Shultz Fund supports increased participation of people of color in bluegrass music with grants that total $30,000/ year. Fletcher Bright Memorial Grants for Young Musicians (age 18 and younger) help young people go to bluegrass music camps and workshops, take lessons, and purchase educational materials.
The Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship was created to honor and remember the groundbreaking bluegrass musician and singer Gloria Bernadette Flickinger, best known for her work with Jimmy Martin and The Sunny Mountain Boys. She has also been credited as the first lead-singing female bandleader, fronting her Green Mountain Travelers as early as 1957.
This will be a $1,000 scholarship awarded annually to a student enrolled in a college, tech, or trade school, who is also engaged in the bluegrass music community, either as a musician/singer or behind the scenes as a DJ, event promoter, graphic designer, videographer, photographer, luthier, etc.
Since June 1, 2024, $25,000 has been raised, surpassing the initial goal of $20,000 in the first month of fundraising! A new endowment fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee will support the annual $1,000 scholarship beginning in 2025. Our next goal is $40,000, to fund an annual $2,000 scholarship!