CMA Foundation and NAfME Announce 2019 State Advocacy Award Grant Winners

In collaboration with the Country Music Association (CMA) Foundation, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has announced the 2019 recipients of the State Music Education Association Advocacy Grant Awards.

These grants support the work of NAfME federated music education associations (MEAs) by augmenting existing advocacy initiatives and creating new advocacy opportunities. This year, five MEAs were selected for grants to aid their advocacy efforts: Wisconsin Music Educators Association, Nebraska Music Education Association, Nevada Music Educators Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, and West Virginia Music Educators Association.

This year’s grant awardees put forth compelling and interesting proposals to bolster their advocacy initiatives, including starting a statewide Advocacy Leadership Force (ALF) modeled after the NAfME ALF; establishing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; and creating a Music Advocacy website for membership use. NAfME is proud to work with the CMA Foundation on this effort.

“It was inspiring to see so many states submit thoughtful and creative applications for this award,” said Mike Blakeslee, NAfME executive director and CEO. “Advocacy is one of the most important efforts that a NAfME federated MEA—a state chapter—can undertake. Our MEAs can accomplish so much for music education, and by collaborating with the CMA Foundation to offer this opportunity to the states, we have seen real progress in our ability to increase music education for students across the country. We are grateful to the CMA Foundation for giving our state music education associations this opportunity.”

“The CMA Foundation understands the importance of music educators advocating for themselves and their students at the state level. These advocacy grants are giving them and their students a seat at the table when decisions are made about education and how music fits into the conversation,” said Tiffany Kerns, executive director of the CMA Foundation. “As our collaboration with NAfME continues to evolve, we are confident that music educators everywhere will have the tools and resources necessary to advocate effectively.”