CMA Foundation Receives Support From Scott & Sandi Borchetta’s Music Has Value Fund

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The CMA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association, has announced a partnership with Scott and Sandi Borchetta‘s Music Has Value fund to receive additional financial support for its Tennessee: State of the Arts initiative.

Music Has Value provides funding to nonprofit organizations that support those who make music, aspire to make music, and access and appreciate music. The fund has pledged $120,000 to provide direct support to music education programs in multiple Tennessee public school districts to be announced throughout this year.

CMA Foundation’s Tennessee: Sate of the Arts initiative is a statewide arts education landscape analysis. The CMA Foundation’s goal with Tennessee: State of the Arts is to develop an understanding of the criteria necessary for establishing high-quality arts education programs and to discover barriers affecting the quality of arts education programming. As of today, 40 district assessments have been completed, offering the CMA Foundation insight into challenges that exist in the classroom, which includes scheduling, equipment needs, limited classroom space, teacher shortages and more.

“We are grateful that Scott and Sandi see the value in State of the Arts and our commitment to solving the challenges that our Tennessee students are faced with regarding accessibility to music and arts education,” says Tiffany Kerns, CMA Foundation Executive Director. “Scott and Sandi know that tackling resource gaps can lead to achievement gains when we can address the challenges through the data collected. Information is power and we are excited to see their funds at work.”

Sandi Borchetta, Co-Founder of Music Has Value adds, “We have been blessed to partner with organizations both large and small over the past eight years. We aim to celebrate organizations and individuals making a difference in music education and music therapy. Supporting the arts here in our home state is a perfect extension for Music Has Value.”

Studies continue to show that music and the arts are a critical component to overall student success and readiness. As the only state in the country offering this type of needs assessment, the CMA Foundation hopes to inform decision making, planning, and development of resources. For any district that hasn’t signed up for a no-cost needs assessment, visit CMAFoundation.org/state-of-the-arts. The deadline for districts to apply is Monday, May 1. The study is free and offered to any public school district in the state that would like to participate.

Caela Griffin
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