Richard Barnhart Estate Makes Leadership Gift

With the encouragement and support of IBMA, a new non-profit charitable organization (501c3) has been created to serve as an “umbrella” under which funds can be placed and disbursed to support educational, literary and artistic activities of public benefit.

Its title is the "Foundation for Bluegrass Music" which was recently incorporated in Tennessee and is in the process of filing for 501c3 tax status.  Such status means funds entrusted to the foundation are tax deductible as charitable donations. (Note that donations to IBMA, a non-profit 501c6 trade organization, are tax deductible as business expenses but not as charitable donations.)

According to Richard Tucker, president of the foundation, “The foundation will be particularly attractive to donors who want to support important programs and be able to realize charitable deductions for their contributions.”

Contributions may be designated to create or sustain a particular program, either one in existence if already created or one created at the wishes of the donor.  Donations may also be unrestricted and left to the discretion of the board as to where they can best be used.  All gifts will be acknowledged.

At the recent World of Bluegrass events, Bill Taylor (executor of the Richard Barnhart Estate) announced a leadership gift to the foundation expected to be approximately $200,000.00 once the estate is settled.  Richard Barnhart was a lifetime member of IBMA from northern Virginia who passed away in 1995 and requested a portion of his estate to be used for programs to expose young people to bluegrass music.   According to Mr. Taylor, “Richard loved children but never married.  He wanted his estate to do something for children and something for bluegrass at the same time.”

The Foundation’s leadership envisions a variety of programs that can grow under this umbrella.  Some examples include:

- Bluegrass in the Schools (grants, workshops, other resources)

- Academic conferences

- Literary work and related efforts

- Public artistic presentations of an educational nature

- Historic preservation

…and other works of a charitable nature

The foundation board includes: Richard Tucker (president), Carl Pagter (treasurer), Tom Kopp (secretary), Greg Cahill and Jed Malischke.

YOUR DONATIONS AND INQUIRIES ARE ENCOURAGED!

The Foundation for Bluegrass Music

2 Music Circle South – Suite 100

Nashville, TN 37203

615-256-3222

Who Was Richard Barnhart?

From Bill Taylor

Dick was a founding member of the Capitol Area Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association and a lifetime member of IBMA and DCBU. He told me he wrote and sold a number of songs including "Evening Hillsides," although I could never find anything like royalty check stubs to substantiate it.

During the `70s and `80s he taught music at a store in Arlington Va. I did see his name in Bluegrass Unlimited under dulcimer instruction. Dick had a unique technique that enabled him to pick up a dulcimer and take a break on a hard driving bluegrass number.

During the early `70s Dick had his own band, Rapid Run, which was the house band at a local restaurant in the Courthouse area of Arlington.  He later played guitar and Dobro at weekly gigs in my band (Capital Gospel Band), where we became good friends and we remained like family after my band had dissolved and right up till the end.

Dick supported bluegrass and the artists. He would always buy the latest CDs and tapes to show his support. He even bought a local youngster (a very good musician) a $5,000 custom built Gibson mandolin in hopes he would become one of the next kid stars.

Dick took me to IBMA’s World of Bluegrass events in Owensboro one year and introduced me to some of the big names in bluegrass, and they all seemed to know him.  If you ever heard him sing, you couldn't miss him. His voice would cut through the crowd--especially when he sang his own version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot."

Dick died a hard death from complications of diabetes. The reception for his funeral was a bluegrass concert by a band that was made up of some of the area's best musicians and a feast catered by the Moonlite BBQ restaurant in Kentucky (they shipped it to me frozen). Dick made me promise his funeral would be a happy occasion to remember, and it was. The church was packed out and the reception is still being talked about. We also had a video playing with some of the shows that had Dick playing.

Dick loved children but never married.  He wanted his money to do something for children and something for bluegrass at the same time, and the bluegrass music in the schools program is the perfect fit.

Richard (Dick) Barnhart died on December 19, 2005.