Best Wabash County Grants for Nonprofits in Illinois

Route 66 Grant Program

Since 1926, Route 66 defined a remarkable era in our nation's history and it lives on today in Illinois' many Route 66 roadside attractions, museums, and restaurants. Route 66 is one of the most famous roads in America. Generations of travelers have romanticized this highway as a symbol of unlimited mobility and freedom of the road. Its iconic status is enhanced by the unprecedented volume of music, books, films, and other art forms that depict it as the essence of America's highway culture.

It was born in 1926 as part of the new numbered highway network and quickly grew to be the preferred road west for a nation on the move. US Highway 66 was not as old or as long as some other transcontinental routes like the Yellowstone or the Lincoln Highway, but it quickly gained fame as the shortest, year-round route between the Midwest and the coast as it passed through the fabled landscape of the American Southwest. The construction of this thin, ribbon of the road helped to transform the American West from an isolated frontier to an economically vital region of the country and made it accessible to anyone with a car.

Part of the charm of Route 66 is its idiosyncratic personality. Like a giant carnival Midway, this corridor of neon signs and gaudy roadside attractions was embraced by the traveling public as an exciting diversion from ordinary life. A trip on Route 66 promised an exhilarating pilgrimage where one might discover the unknown and experience the unusual. Route 66 is synonymous with fun and adventure.

Route 66 is also synonymous with endless opportunity. As our transportation sector evolves and electrifies, more drivers will be choosing electric vehicles (EVs) to traverse our state’s roads and highways. Embracing future tourism trends like electrified transportation and promoting the state’s tourism areas as EV destinations will unlock all Route 66 has to offer for EV drivers who want to shop, dine, and explore Route 66’s local attractions.

In Illinois, we have over 300 miles of Route 66 to travel from its starting point in Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. This funding opportunity provides the certified convention and visitors bureaus along the route to partner and develop projects that will enhance the Route 66 experience in Illinois. 

Our Story

The IBMA Foundation was created by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2007 with a bequest from the Richard Barnhart estate. Mr. Barnhart was a musician from northern Virginia who loved bluegrass and wanted to support educational programs for children. Since the beginning, our goal has been to support bluegrass-music-related educational, literary, artistic and historic preservation activities.

In our early years we produced Discover Bluegrass, an educational video that has been used in thousands of classrooms and libraries around the world. We have hosted dozens of teacher workshops and artist trainings. We created a bluegrass lesson plan competition and provided a network for leaders of after-school bluegrass programs.

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 Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship

The Sally Ann Forrester College Scholarship is a $1,000 – $2,000 scholarship awarded to a female bluegrass musician. Students may be majoring in any subject, including bluegrass music. The IBMA Foundation administers the scholarship, which is funded by an endowment at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Sally Ann Forrester played accordion and sang as a member of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys from 1943-1946, thus becoming the first female professional bluegrass musician in history.

The IBMA Foundation is pleased to announce the permanent endowment of the Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship, funded by a $50,000 gift from Rick and Wendy Lang of New Hampshire. Rick Lang is a GRAMMY-nominated writer who serves as the chair of the IBMA Songwriter Committee and volunteers with the IBMA Songwriter Mentor Program.

The Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship is awarded annually to a student planning to study songwriting at the college level. Applicants are not required to have a declared major in songwriting, but they must already have demonstrated skills as a songwriter and plan to further their study of the art on a higher education level. Applicants must be current IBMA members. 

The first two recipients of this scholarship were Heather Alley (2020), a student at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, and Jessica Lang (2021, no relation to the donors), a student at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

“Our goal with the scholarship is to help our youth be able to afford to further their educations in the music field and realize their dreams,” the Langs said. “Young people are the future of bluegrass music, and we are glad to be able to help them along their journey! We are beyond excited about finally endowing the scholarship. This means it will perpetuate and be available to students each and every year.”

The new endowed fund is held at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in Nashville, TN, which invests and administers more than $500 million in charitable funds. The Rick Lang Music Songwriter Endowment Fund will distribute annual income to the IBMA Foundation to use in funding one or more Rick Lang Music Songwriter college scholarships each year and for expenses of administering that scholarship program.

Gifts to support this endowed scholarship are welcome from additional individuals, organizations and corporations interested in supporting the future of bluegrass songwriting.