Today marks Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. This day serves as a day of giving and MusicRow has rounded up a selection of some of the charities and organizations that support the Nashville music community.

See below for a list of organizations and how to donate.

ACM Lifting Lives

ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, is dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. With donations and support from artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives funds music health programs while also serving members of the music community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. With generous donations and the support of artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives has funded national music therapy programs serving various mental and physical health organizations. Since 2006, the organization has given more than $9 million to more than 150 worthy causes.

ACM Lifting Lives also responded to the growing needs in the country music industry from COVID-19 by creating the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund. This fund helps to alleviate the burden that many of the behind-the-scenes professionals, such as touring personnel, musicians, songwriters, and developing artists, are facing. To donate to ACM Lifting Lives or its COVID-19 Response Fund, click here.

Americana Music Association Foundation

Launched in 2020, the Americana Music Association Foundation (AMAF) aims to preserve and educate people about Americana music. Since its founding, the organization has raised COVID-19 funds in collaboration with The Bluegrass Situation. They have also formed a partnership with NYU Steinhardt by launching a special edition of WORDS & MUSIC, which featured guests Lori McKenna and Jonathan Taplin in virtual interviews. In October, Rosanne Cash was unveiled as the first Americana Artist-In-Residence at NYU Steinhardt where she will work with students in a series of lectures, workshops and classroom visits throughout the 2021-22 academic year.

The Foundation is in conversations with major museums and educational institutions around the country to create programming in line with its mission. To contribute to the Americana Music Association Foundation, click here.

 

CMA Foundation

Birthed from the passion of artists and industry professionals who first fell in love with music within the four walls of a classroom, the CMA Foundation began investing in music education in 2006. The Foundation, through partnerships within the country music community, provides students with the opportunity to participate in music education programs all across the country.

The CMA Foundation believes that music is an integral part of brain development, human connection, and stress relief. For students, music is an effective and invaluable tool to help improve academic achievement and social development, increase student participation and classroom engagement, and enhance social and emotional development. Throughout the last 15 years, the organization has been able to invest more than $27 million into the enrichment of music education programs. To donate to the CMA Foundation, click here.

Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

At the heart of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s mission is education. During a time when music and music education are needed more than ever, the Museum doubled down on its commitment to connecting people everywhere with the art of songwriting. From curriculum-based school programs for students and teachers to music-making experiences for families, Museum educators offer unique resources across the United States, in Nashville neighborhoods, and inside the Museum’s walls.

Through giving from the country music industry and fans, many of these unique resources are available to participants at no cost. To donate to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum and its music education initiatives, click here.

International Bluegrass Music Association

The IBMA is the non-profit music association that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide. The IBMA Trust Fund was established in 1987 as a means to offer financial assistance to bluegrass music professionals and has given over $800,000 in direct aid to professionals in emergency need. The Fund helps eligible bluegrass professionals who are currently or have previously been significantly involved in the industry, including artists, composers, broadcasters, media representatives, event producers, agents, educators, managers, and employees of record companies. To donate to the IBMA Trust Fund, click here.

The IBMA Foundation helps individuals, organizations, foundations, and corporations work together in supporting the future of bluegrass music. Through grant-making, philanthropy, and planned giving, the foundation aims to share bluegrass with future generations. To donate to the IBMA Foundation, click here.

 

Music Health Alliance

Founded in January of 2013, Music Health Alliance aims to provide music industry members access to healthcare through services that protect, direct, and connect music professionals with medical and financial solutions. With this model, MHA allows the focus of the healthcare solution to be based solely on the client and their specific needs.

MHA has served over 13,000 music industry professionals and their families, and secured over $63 million in health care cost reductions to Heal the Music. To donate to Music Health Alliance, click here.

MusiCares

Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989, MusiCares aims to help the people behind the music that gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. The organization assists music professionals through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts. To donate to MusiCares, click here.

This holiday season, MusiCares is also hosting a Peer-2-Peer fundraising campaign. Through this initiative people are able to start their own personal fundraisers in support of Help for the Holidays. For more information, click here.

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum serves to honor all great musicians and technicians, regardless of genre or instruments, through exhibiting the actual instruments that were used to record some of the most iconic songs in recorded history. The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum also educates its visitors about the musicians who played on the sound tracks of their lives.

Through its patrons donations, the Hall is able to support dynamic exhibits and award-winning interactive features, education programs for children and youth, public programs featuring live performances by national and local artists, and interviews with music industry icons. To donate to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, click here.

 

Musicians On Call

Musicians On Call is the nation’s leading provider of live music in hospitals. For over 20 years, MOC has brought live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities for children, adults, VA hospitals and hospices. Throughout COVID-19, MOC has launched and expanded its Virtual Bedside Performance Program and Music Pharmacy to serve the populations most in need during the pandemic.

MOC believes that all patients, families and caregivers should have access to and benefit from the healing power of live music. It has been demonstrated that music has a direct effect on people and can improve blood pressure, manage stress, alleviate pain and improve pain tolerance, and improve outlook and overall mood. To donate to Musicians On Call, click here.

Nashville Musicians Association Crisis Assistance Fund

As part of the Nashville Musicians Association, the Crisis Assistance Fund seeks to assist professional musicians in the Nashville area who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially created after the 2010 Nashville Flood, the program was reactivated in early 2021 and distributed its first round of funds in August.

With hopes of a second distribution in the coming months, donations will go towards helping musicians who have lost work and need financial assistance. To donate to the Crisis Assistance Fund, click here.

Nashville Songwriters Foundation

Since 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has enshrined some of the greatest writers to put words to music in Music City. Operated by the non-profit Nashville Songwriters Foundation, the Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring Nashville’s rich songwriting legacy through preservation, celebration and education. In 2013, the Hall opened its Hall of Fame Gallery, located on the first floor of Nashville’s Music City Center. In addition to songwriting memorabilia, the gallery features interactive touch screens that allow visitors to access audio, video and other digital information about the history of Nashville songwriting and members of the Hall of Fame.

Through donations, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame continues its mission to honor and preserve songwriting excellence. To donate to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, click here.

National Museum of African American Music

Opened in fall of 2020, the National Museum of African American Music is the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. The museum’s collections share the story of the American soundtrack by integrating history and interactive technology to bring the musical heroes of the past into the present. NMAAM strives to educate the world, preserve the legacy, and celebrate the central role African Americans play in creating the American soundtrack.

In 2016, NMAAM created programs to further educate the community on the achievements and influences of African American music, reaching over 132,000 individuals across the country. To donate to the National Museum of African American Music and to support its education initiatives, click here.

Opry Trust Fund

Started in 1965 by the Grand Ole Opry, the Opry Trust Fund’s mission is to help those in the country music industry by offering financial assistance during their time of need. The Opry Trust Fund provides financial assistance in time of extraordinary need, emergency or catastrophe to individuals who are or have been employed full time in a facet of the country music industry, whether that’s as a performer, songwriter, publisher, radio, session musician, etc.

Since its inception, the Opry Trust Fund has distributed more than $4.8 million to assist with medical bills, living expenses, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and more. To donate to the Opry Trust Fund, click here.

Porter’s Call

Porter’s Call is a non-profit based in Franklin, Tennessee that has provided recording artists free counsel, specifically attuned to their unique profession for over twenty years.

Today (Nov. 30) the organization announced Friends of Porter’s Call, a recurring giving program that invites donors to support the mission of Porter’s Call. Starting now, individuals are able to contribute donations ranging from $15 to $250 or more monthly. As a core component of the nonprofit’s ongoing fundraising initiatives, the program offers an accessible way for community members to give back. Donations ensure that the services of Porter’s Call can strategically meet the heightened need for free counseling and support.

To learn more and donate to Porter’s Call, please visit porterscall.com/friends.

Touring Professionals Alliance Relief Kitchen

The Touring Professionals Alliance (TPA) includes over 200 Production Managers, Tour Managers, Coordinators, Vendors, Accountants, and other committed industry professionals, all working together to find solutions for the music industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The TPA strives to address the unique needs of the music community, specifically the touring industry, including assistance in finding aid for crew members facing economic hardship, health insurance, mental health issues, and more.

The Touring Professionals Alliance Kitchen program was launched last year as a direct result of the pandemic that left tens of thousands of touring professionals out of work. Through a grant from BMI, the Kitchen was able to provide over 100 music industry members with chef-driven, high-quality meals. To donate to the Touring Professionals Alliance or the Touring Professionals Alliance Relief Kitchen, click here.

During a show in her home state of Oklahoma this weekend, Reba McEntire revealed she is developing Reba’s Place, a restaurant, bar, live music venue and retail store set to open in Atoka, Oklahoma in 2022.

Reba’s Place is being constructed in a century old Masonic Temple, and will feature two stories of dining space that opens up to a central stage which will regularly host live music performances. The style of the venue is influenced by Reba’s western heritage and includes a curated collection of memorabilia from the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s personal archives. Reba’s Place is created in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the city of Atoka.

“I’m very excited to be opening a place so close to my roots,” shares Reba. “The Choctaw Nation and the city of Atoka are wonderful partners and I can’t wait to welcome our first guests to Reba’s Place. We are working very hard to create something not only for the local community, but that will also bring in folks from across the country.”

As for the menu, Reba’s Place is set to include the “Fancy” steak dinner, street tacos, chicken fried steak and Reba’s personal favorite, pinto beans and corn bread. The menu also includes scratch-made versions of many of the dishes most popular in the region, alongside favorites from other areas including Nashville, New Orleans and Mexico.

The retail space will feature a combination of merchandise created just for this new venture alongside established Reba favorites.

The nominees for The 64th Grammy Awards were revealed Tuesday (Nov. 23), with plenty of Nashville’s finest musicians well-represented.

In the country categories, Mickey Guyton and Chris Stapleton dominate with three each. Stapleton, who nearly swept the CMA Awards earlier this month, is nominated for Best Country Album (Starting Over), Best Country Song (“Cold”), and Best Country Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”). Guyton, who gave a historic performance on this year’s Grammy Awards, is also nominated for Best Country Album (Remember Her Name), Best Country Song (“Remember Her Name”), and Best Country Solo Performance (“Remember Her Name”).

Jimmie Allen, the CMA’s newly crowned New Artist of the Year and the ACM’s New Male Artist of the Year, is the only country artists nominated in the four general field categories, as Best New Artist.

Kacey Musgraves, whose album Star-Crossed was deemed not eligible for Country Album of the Year, is nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Camera Roll,” a song from that project.

Maren Morris is nominated for Best Country Song for “Better Than We Found It,” and is nominated for Best Country Duo Or Group Performance alongside her husband Ryan Hurd for their duet, “Chasing After You.” Miranda Lambert is nominated in the Duo/Group Performance category with Elle King for “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” and with Jon Randall and Jack Ingram for The Marfa Tapes (Best Country Album).

Carrie Underwood is nominated alongside her duet parter Jason Aldean in the Country Duo/Group Performance category for “If I Didn’t Love You.” She is also nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album for My Savior.

Brothers Osborne are nominated for Duo/Group Performance for “Younger Me,” and for Best Country Album for Skeletons.

Other country artists represented in the nominees list are Luke Combs (Best Country Solo Performance for “Forever After All”), Dan + Shay (Best Country Duo Or Group Performance for “Glad You Exist”), Thomas Rhett (Best Country Song for “Country Again”), and Walker Hayes (Best Country Song for “Fancy Like”). Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Parton for her A Holly Dolly Christmas and Nelson for his That’s Life.

Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson are also nominated in country categories, including Isbell’s “All I Do Is Drive” for Best Country Solo Performance and Simpson’s The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita for Best Country Album. Elsewhere, Simpson received a nomination for Best Bluegrass Album for Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions).

A slew of Nashville writers, including Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Brady Clark, Brandi Carlile, Hailey Whitters and Ruby Amanfu are nominated alongside Alicia Keys and Linda Perry for Song of the Year with “A Beautiful Noise,” recorded by Keys and Carlile.

In addition to garnering two nominations for Song of the Year for both “A Beautiful Noise” and her own “Right On Time,” Carlile earned a whopping five nominations, including for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance (“Right On Time”), and Best American Roots Performance (“Same Devil” with Brandy Clark).

Like Musgraves, Carlile’s single “Right On Time” was shifted to the best pop performance category rather than the American Roots division.

In the American Roots categories, Yola came out with two for Best American Roots Song (“Diamond Studded Shoes”) and Best Americana Album (Stand For Myself). Jackson Browne (Downhill From Everywhere), John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band (Leftover Feelings), Los Lobos (Native Sons), and Allison Russell (Outside Child) are represented alongside Yola for Best Americana Album.

Other nominees in the American Roots categories were Jon Batiste, Billy Strings, The Blind Boys Of Alabama & Béla Fleck, Brandy Clark, and Rhiannon Giddens.

In the Christian and Gospel category, Cece Winans earned three nominations for Best Gospel Performance/Song (“Believe For It”), Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song (“Believe For It”), and Best Gospel Album (Believe For It).

Dante Bowe was nominated three times in the Best Gospel Performance/Song category, for “Voice Of God,” “Joyful,” and “Wait On You,” the latter recorded by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music.

Other Nashvillians represented in the Grammy nominees include Ashley Gorley and Ben Johnson (“All My Favorite Songs”) and Kings of Leon in the Best Rock Song category. Additionally, The Black Keys‘ Delta Kream and Steve Cropper‘s Fire It Up are both nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album, Gramps Morgan‘s Positive Vibration is nominated for Best Reggae Album, Nashville Symphony Orchestra conductor Giancarlo Guerrero earned a nomination for Best Orchestral Performance (“Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives; Harmonielehre”) and Sam Ashworth and others are nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media (“Speak Now.”)

Jon Batiste led the nominees this year with 11, including for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for “Cry.” Young artists made up the pop and general field nominees, with Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. garnering eight each, and Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo nabbing seven. All five are under 28.

The 2022 Grammy Awards will be held at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3, 2022, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+ at 8 – 11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT.

Final round voting to determine Grammy winners will take place from Dec. 6, 2021 to Jan. 5, 2022. Click here for a full list of 2022 Grammy nominees.