ANNUAL REPORT FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL JULY 1 2017-JUNE 30 2018

ABOUT FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL 2018 IN REVIEW This year marked our 30th annual conference and was a Folk Alliance International (FAI) was founded in 1989 to connect leaders aiming to sustain the community and genre. The chance for us to reflect on our incredible journey to date, leading international voice for folk music, FAI’s network now includes more than 3,000 members: a worldwide community of artists, to celebrate the global community that is Folk Alliance record companies, publishers, presenters, agents, managers, and arts administrators. International, and to look ahead to a very bright future.

Enhancing folk music networks and creating development opportunities for cultural sector entrepreneurs is the foundation of It was also a momentous year with the launch of several FAI’s work. From its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, FAI produces the world’s largest conference for the folk music industry, ambitious new projects, record-setting conference the International Folk Music Awards, the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp, the Folk in the Schools and Artist in Residence programs, attendance, important outreach with key partners, and Matt Smith community outreach, and the Kansas City Folk Festival. continued membership and donor growth. President, Board of Directors

Diversity and inclusion are core values of FAI. Between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018, FAI:

- Hosted a Best Folk Album GRAMMY® party in New York City MISSION VISION - Live-streamed the International Folk Music Awards - Launched the ExChange program (in Ireland and Sweden) To serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community Advocate for the Folk Music Community - Participated in national advocacy and Arts Day on the Hill through preservation, presentation, and promotion. Thoughtful Intentional Growth - Met 50/50 gender parity across all Official Showcases A Respected Organization within the Music Industry - Conducted harassment and discrimination training Continuing to Produce High Profile Meaningful Events - Presented showcases at AMERICANAFEST® and IBMA - Produced an official stage for two nights at SXSW Aengus Finnan - Facilitated the 4th annual Regional Leaders retreat Executive Director - Convened the 2nd industry Executive Directors retreat - Created a new 2018-2021 Strategic Plan BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Received three non-profit Philly Awards President: Matt Smith Amy Reitnouer Gil Gastelum Lynn Cingari Sam Lee As a staff and board, we are proud to serve the entire folk music community, to elevate and connect the genre globally, and to Club Passim The Bluegrass Situation Cosmica Artists Paradigm Agency Artist & The Nest Collective Cambridge, MA, USA Los Angeles, CA, USA Burbank, CA, USA Monterey, CA, USA , England, GBR fulfill our leadership role in the music industry. Here’s to our next 30 years preserving, presenting, and promoting folk music!

Vice President: Lisa Schwartz Denise Stiff Greg Torrington Mary Sue Twohy Sincerely, Folk Festival Artist Manager (Retired) Stingray Sirius XM Radio Philadelphia, PA, USA Nashville, TN, USA Montreal, QC, CAN Washington, DC, USA Matt and Aengus

Treasurer: Alka Sharma Dom Flemons Joan Kornblith Michael Kornfeld Folk Music Ontario Artist, The American Songster The Loud Poet Society Acoustic Music Scene Ottawa, ON, CAN Hillsborough, NC, USA Washington, DC, USA Huntington, NY, USA

Secretary: Deana McCloud Ellen Stanley Laura Thomas Michelle Conceison Center Minnesota Music Coalition ComboPlate Booking Market Monkeys Tulsa, OK, USA St. Paul, MN, USA Austin, TX, USA Nashville, TN, USA “Folk Alliance has successfully evolved to become truly At-Large: Matt Sever Gary Paczosa lou DeMarco Reid Wick Artist, Matt the Electrician Rounder Records Momentary Love Management Recording Academy international in scope. Nowhere Austin, TX, USA Nashville, TN, USA Powell, OH, USA New Orleans, LA, USA else in North America is the global music community so strongly represented than at the Follow us on social media for updates. annual conference, which each WWW.FOLK.ORG year welcomes, celebrates and @folkalliance @folk_alliance @folkalliance /FolkAlliance supports contemporary living music traditions world wide.” Cover images from left to right: Ruthie Foster emcees the International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs), Black Umfolosi Official Showcase, The Staley Falcon Chorale Finale at the IFMAs, Camp Instructor George Jackson, Matt Greenhill, FLi Artists 601 Avenida Cesar E Chavez, Suite 100 Uma and Giri Peters at the IFMAs, Delhi 2 Dublin Official Showcase, Flaco Jiménez at the Kansas City Folk Festival. Kansas City, MO 64108 USA 816.221.3655 www.folk.org

Les Grands Hurleurs CELEBRATING OUR 30TH! The 2018 conference broke attendance records for the fourth straight year with 2,855 attendees from 35 countries, over 1,000 of whom were first-time attendees.

The conference commenced with the International Folk Music Awards show (the IFMAs), held offsite this year at Kansas City’s historic Folly Theater and live-streamed with a capacity audience. Hosted by Ruthie Foster, awards presented included Lifetime Achievement (Richie Havens, Elektra Records), Spirit of Folk recognitions (Anaïs Mitchell, Betsy Siggins, Kristian Blak, Martyn Joseph, Richard Gilmann), Folk DJ Hall of Fame inductions (Dick Pleasants, Fiona Ritchie, Mary Cliff), the Clearwater Award (Winnipeg Folk Festival), and the People’s Voice Award (). View a full recording at folkconference.org/IFMAstream.

The conference itself featured 180 juried showcases, thousands of private showcases, and a carefully curated series of panels with topics ranging from Women in Music to a panel with the Recording Academy. Speaker highlights included Mary Chapin Carpenter’s keynote presentation reflecting on her 30-year career and addressing gender politics, ageism, and standards of beauty in the music industry, while Fairport Convention co-founder, Richard Thompson, recounted his 30 years in music in a live interview with Steve Winick of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Artists participated in community outreach at four local schools and two hospitals, and the 5th edition of the Music Camp provided master classes and introductory community sessions. The final day of the conference presented the third edition of the Kansas City Folk Festival with performances by Los Texmanics, Flaco Jiménez, Kalyn Fay and more.

Thank you to the 231 invaluable volunteers who donated 4,389 hours to help produce the entire event.

As a special 30th anniversary project, a retrospective video was commissioned to review the story of Folk Alliance International. Produced by Scott Alarik and Casey Redmon, and screened during the conference; the video can be viewed at: folk.org/30thvideo.

2018 CONFERENCE OVERVIEW Photo by: Neale Eckstein

Industry Associate Concert (27%) (12%) Series Festival 180 3,430 (25%) (35%) OFFICIAL PRIVATE SHOWCASES SHOWCASES Presenter (10%) 417* PRESENTING Armenia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, 2,855 Ecuador, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, 74 47 ORGANIZATIONS India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Norway, EXHIBIT HALL PROFESSIONAL ATTENDEES Media Panama, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, (6%) BOOTHS DEVELOPMENT PANELS Camp United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Wales, Zimbabwe House (4%) Concert (20%) Venue 84 25 (16%) Artist PRIVATE NETWORKING AND (45%) SHOWCASE ROOMS MENTORSHIP SESSIONS *individual presenters may represent INCREASE IN ATTENDEES multiple presenting organizations 35 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED 6% from 2017

NEW AND NOTABLE GLOBAL SUMMITS FINEST FOLK During the 2018 conference FAI introduced two global summits FAI presented a five-artist performance at the 2017 designed as closed-door executive peer sessions to re-introduce AMERICANAFEST® in Nashville and hosted an official a more profound connection for the people behind the scenes showcase stage for the first time at the 2018 SXSW who help establish and maintain the rich ecology of folk music. festival in Austin. The Archivists Summit focused on activating collections and featured a presentation by Indigenous artist Jeremy Dutcher. Featured over two nights at SXSW were performances The Cultural Sector Funders & Policymakers Summit focused on by AHI, Dimpker Brothers, and Amber priorities and processes for greater efficiency and collaboration. Rubarth, Joshua Burnside, Lisa LeBlanc, Quique Escamilla, Rev. Sekou, Saint Sister, The Deer, The Krickets, and The Lost Brothers.

The Finest Folk event at AMERICANAFEST® in 2017 was billed as A Celebration of Women in Music. Featured performers at the event THE EXCHANGE FOLK CHARTS were Kaia Kater, Katie Rose, Mary Gauthier, Sarah Siskind, and ShoShona Kish (Digging Roots). This year FAI launched a new initiative called The ExChange, Last year FAI celebrated the retirement GRAMMY EVENT providing boutique micro-conferences in international of the Folk DJ Radio Chart founder and locations to strengthen networks, forge new industry 20-year volunteer, Richard Gilmann, In January FAI hosted an inaugural and exclusive GRAMMY® Week relationships, showcase export-ready talent, and celebrate and assumed ownership of the chart event to a full house at one of NYC’s premier venues, Joe’s Pub, to legends. website. FAI provided administrative and financial support to a celebrate the Best Folk Album nominees and other American Roots volunteer team led by Kari Estrin to update the chart format and music artists. The ExChange in Clonakilty, Ireland, was FAI’s first-ever event build and maintain a website. produced outside of North America in the organization’s The live-streamed matinee event was emceed by Rose Cousins 30-year history. The event was presented in partnership FAI established a Radio Charts Task Force to advise on the (whose album was nominated for Best Engineered Album) and with the Clonakilty International Festival and made development of the Folk DJ chart and the opportunity to work featured performances by Best Folk Album nominees The Secret possible in part through funding from Culture Ireland and with the North American College & Community (NACC) Radio Sisters and Olivia Chaney (of Offa Rex) whose collaborators, The Cork County Council. Folk Chart. FAI ultimately negotiated and paid for an unlimited- Decemberists, were also in attendance. Additional guest performers access three-month account that provided free access to the included Dar Williams, Guy Davis and Fabrizio Poggi (nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album), and Ashley Campbell The ExChange in Gothenburg, Sweden, was sponsored by NACC Folk Chart for all FAI members. (daughter of the late Glen Campbell, who was nominated for Best American Roots Performance). Recording Academy Chair the Music Export Offices of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Emeritus, Christine Albert, made remarks in celebration of the Academy’s 60th and FAI’s 30th anniversaries. Sweden in partnership with Bilda, Göteborg & Co, and Music FAI also began posting (online, by email, and via social media) Estonia. a weekly Radio Chart update of the top 10 listings of the NACC Chart and monthly top 10 listing of the Folk DJ Chart. SAFE COMMUNITY PLEDGE The 2nd annual FAI CommUNITY Gathering, entitled Addressing Harassment and Discrimination in the Music Industry, The 2018 Artist in Residence project explored the connection echoed the #metoo and #timesup social ARTIST IN RESIDENCE between music, sound, mathematics, and art. FAI connected movements and reinforced FAI’s ongoing Korean-American musician Henry Nam with students and efforts to proactively embed the values of instructors from the UMKC (University of Missouri-Kansas diversity, inclusion, and social equity in all City) Math and Statistics Department and the Kansas City Art programs. During the gathering, MOCSA Institute. and The DB Approach facilitated bystander training entitled, “A Leadership Moment: Together, based on a new percussive instrumental guitar Creating a Community Free of Violence.” composition by Nam, students created a digital display of the FAI’s advocacy committee also presented mathematics involved in his music. They also presented a a Committing to a Safe Music Community digital visualization of the live sound frequencies and muscle pledge, which was signed by hundreds movement of the musical performance using a program that of attendees. FAI encourages other assigns color to sound frequency data, while simultaneously organizations to adopt or adapt the pledge, logging the numerical data output from a Myo armband. which is included along with a resource document at folk.org/pledge. OFFICIAL SHOWCASE APPLICANTS FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH CONFERENCE ATTENDEES The move to Kansas City provided a stable home base and opportunity for strategic investments in operations. Increased spending 2,855 in operations has resulted significant growth in revenue. The graphs below represent growth over time represented by fiscal years 2,694 in which a conference was produced; however, it is worth noting that FAI moved its headquarters in 2013 and the overall growth in 2,293 2,249 2000 2,170 2,131 income and expenses is an impressive 90% and 122% respectively. 2,020 2,198 *NO DATA 1,957

2018 TOTAL INCOME 2018 TOTAL EXPENSES 1000

808 745 750 777 640 58% CONFERENCE* 72% PROGRAM SERVICES* 0 15% MEMBERSHIP 23% MANAGEMENT 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 11% BARTERS 5% FUNDRAISING $1,480,446 9% DONATIONS $1,457,038 YOUTUBE 4% CAMP, KCFF, & EXCHANGE INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK 1% OTHER TWITTER 2% IN-KIND 22,173 20,919 18,000 18,900 18,104 16,431 *Conference Breakout: *Program Services Breakout: 16,300 50% Registration, 29% Sponsors & Advertisements, 21% Other 87% Conference, 7% Music Camp, 6% KCFF, 2% Other 12,000 12,400 13,782 11,208 6,000 8,598 6,641 4,505 2,049 INCOME 0 246 369 1,010 498 662 817 ANNUAL INCOME VS. EXPENSES EXPENSES 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (% = RATE OF GROWTH FROM PREVIOUS YEAR)

+19% +16% CORE TEAM $1.25 M ADDITIONAL +16% +20% $1 M STAFF +5% +9% +4% Amie Therrien +21% +19% Program Coordinator $750 K +26% Beth Hatch $500 K Volunteer Coordinator

$250 K Jim Schultz Private Showcase Coordinator $0 Kelly Dougherty 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Kansas City Folk Festival Coordinator

Sheena Keane International Representative FUNDRAISING GROWTH Treasa Levasseur Canadian Representative (From left to right) Back row: Aengus Finnan, Jerod Rivers, Jennifer Roe Middle row: Erika Noguera, Alex Mallett Front row: Marisa Kolka, Forrest Beck, Leah Watts $578,620 SPONSORS $470,012 Aengus Finnan Erika Noguera Marisa Kolka Carina White $365,521 Executive Director Communications Manager Digital Marketing Coordinator Graphic Design Intern DONATIONS $284,628 $329,923 BARTERS Jennifer Roe Jerod Rivers Forrest Beck Dianne Hradsky Director of Operations Membership & Technology Manager Development Coordinator Development Intern GRANTS 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Alex Mallett Leah Watts Ian Susman Katie Walker Business Development Manager Executive Assistant & Special Projects Conference Intern Communications Intern FANS of FAI (continued) Kathleen McHugh LEGEND FISCAL YEAR 2018 DONATIONS SUPPORTERS (donations up to $100) Barbara Hammerman Kathy Ungerer ~ FAI director, staff, or contractor Anonymous * Barbara Jo Kammer Kerry Harvey-Piper * + Kansas City Friends of Folk Folk Alliance International is a federally recognized 501c3 non-profit organization Alka Sharma ~ Beth Cavanagh Kim Williams-Shuker ++ Friends of Folk Alliance International (Tax ID 56-1698333). We rely on the generosity of donors to support our mission and Anonymous Beth Hatch ~ Leah Watts ~ * Donation to the Elaine Weissman Fund year-round programs and activities. A donation of any amount has an immediate Anonymous ** Betsy Schmidt Linda Bowlen (First-Timer Scholarship) impact to support the preservation, promotion, and presentation of folk music. Catherine and Michael Wood Betsy Siggins Linda Ray ** Donation to the Mike Seeger Fund Charlie Pilzer Bill Cutler Lisa Schwartz ~ (Traditional Artist Scholarship) Our deepest thanks to the following donors who have supported the overall mission of Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner ~ Bird Fleming ~ Little Maggie # *** Donation to the Gene Shay Fund Folk Alliance International during the past year. Dale Trott * Bob Kay Marisa Kolka ~ (Emerging Folk DJ Scholarship) David HB Drake Brad Hatfield Mark Franzke # Donation to the Louis Jay Meyers All donors are recognized on our website. Donors in the U.S. receive a tax receipt. Dom Flemons ~** Brent Copeland Mark Young Music Camp Dorothy Thomas Caroline Gallagher * Matt Stone ^ Donation to the Folk DJ Chart Fund Douglas Yeager * in honor of Josh White Carolyn Andre Michael Duffy * LEGACY (donations up to $50,000) ADVOCATES (donations up to $250) FUNDERS Jack and Karen Finkenberg Chipotle Mexican Grill Michael Halley Anonymous Al Kniola ^ Jill Stargardt Chris DeLong + Michael White # Alex Mallett ~ BENEFACTOR (donations up to $10,000) Jim Rooney Productions Christine Doherty Michelle Conceison ~ Amy Reitnouer ~ n/a Judi Jaeger* Chuck McDowell Michelle Demers Shaevitz Bernd Haber * in honor of Julie Ann Nelson Meers in memory of Cindy Cogbill ~ Nancy Chase PATRONS (donations up to $2,500) Manfred Maurenbrecher Franklin Nelson Cindy Rogers Patricia Rolston * Aengus Finnan ~ Bruce Newman * in honor of Kathy Peters Clint Alphin Philip Stoffregen Dale & Vickie Trott + Tom Paxton’s 80th birthday Kevin Amey Dave Cofell Rachel Barreca * Dan & Kathy Tappan ^ Carol Young Lee Stivers David Tamkin * Ray Naylor *** David V. Francis with the Francis Circle of Friends Coffeehouse * Lellie Capwell ~ Deji Fall Rhonda Lyne Family Foundation Charles Curtis + Mark F. Fernandez * in memory of Denise Stiff * ~ Rich Krueger Madeliene Janis * Chuck Honnet Guy Logsdon Doug Cox ~ Rick Brandon Pete & Julie Browne + Deana McCloud ~ Matt the Electrician ~ Dudley Scoville Rick Sauer Dennis Bires LEADERS (donations up to $1,000) Matthew Smith ~ Ellen Roberts Rob Hornstra Diane Lincoln Melody Warren Elyas F. Isaacs ** *** Sam Lee ~ Allen Reynolds Ellen Stanley ~ in memory of Michael Kornfeld ~ Eric Pliner Sheena Keane ~ Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey Bob Feldman Mike Doll Tikly * Sigi and Liz Nagys Donald Cohen Erika Wollam Nichols ~ * Monica Mansfield Erika Noguera ~ Solomon Dorsey Julian Zugazagoitia + Gil M Gastelum ~ * Nancy Emrich Eve Goldberg Steve Hermes Kissick Construction * Grant Mallett and Nancy Tilson-Mallett Nancy K. Dillon ^ George Lower Steve Paul Laura Thomas and John Warren ~ Jason Klumb + Paul Tyler Glenda Shelley Steve Ozark Laurie Laba and Neale Eckstein Jennifer Roe ~ Peter and Alison Lattu Gloria Holloway Steve Wilson Liz Levitt Hirsch Jenny Tonyes ~ Rich Warren Gloria Rosson Sundilla Concert Series and Radio Show * Loraine Fusco and Lou DeMarco ~ Kelly Dougherty ~ Roberta Schultz Greg Torrington ~ ^ Suzanne Saunders MarySue Twohy ~ *** ^ Lou DeMarco ~ Robert Nesbitt Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous * SvenErik Olsen * Open Society Institute - Matching Gift Lynn Cingari ~ Robert Orenstein Janet Lewis Sydney Schulz Taylor Caffery *** Nancy Clark * Robert W. Schuck Janet Moss Awaken + Tara Tonsor ~ PARTNERS (donations up to $500) Phyllis Barney Sally Swartz Jennifer Johnson Thaddeus O’Brien Robert Riesman Barbara Manners ++ Thom Wolke Jenny Inzerillo * The Edgar Loudermilk Band Roger J. Kamps + Bill Cutler in honor of Todd Evans Jenny and Robin Bienemann ^ featuring Jeff Autry ^ Scott Burnett + the musicians of Ensemble Ibérica Treasa Levasseur ~ * in memory of Jerod Rivers ~ The International Americana SONiA Rutstein * Catherines Inc. David Glaser Jim Bizer Music Show *** Terry Irons *** Charles and Lisa Schmitz + Joan Kornblith ~ Thomas Blaney Tiffany Walker FANS of FAI (donations up to $50) Cydney and Keith Perske * John Dillon Tim Grimm Tim McFadden ~ * Adrian Smith Dan Tappan * John Hawkes Tony Turner * Uptown Concerts Inc. Amanda Cates David Holiday John Keck Una Setia Wayne Greene *** Anne Saunders * Donald Davidoff ~ John E. Patterson + Victor & Penny WorldStrings Promotion * in honor of Anonymous * Phil Collins Julie McCullough William J. Miller John Kay (Steppenwolf) Anonymous * Robert Bixby Karen M. Meador in honor of Windy City House Concerts * Zeppelin Productions, Inc./ Anonymous * Robert Davis Sally Peterson Smith Zachary Hart Alec Wightman * Anonymous Tom Paxton Kate Blalack Arthur Martello ^ THE FUTURE OF FOLK

As FAI enters its fourth decade as a non-profit (Tax ID 56-1698333) and as the international voice for the folk music genre, it is poised to expand its reach, role, and service to its global membership of over 3,000 artists, presenters, and industry.

To continue to deliver and develop year-round programs and services, FAI’s development plan focuses on diversifying its cash-flow to include the increased financial support of donors.

Budget-friendly monthly giving, corporate matching, tax season donations, legacy estate giving, and retirement rollover gifts are all options for support of FAI’s work. A tax deductible donation of any amount has an immediate impact to support FAI’s mission and charitable work and is recognized online at folk.org/donors.

You can also support the future of folk by becoming a member of FAI. Member benefits include access to a global member database, discounts to the annual conference and a variety of products and services, and the opportunity to vote to determine the FAI Board of Directors and honorees of the International Folk Music Awards.

WAYS TO SUPPORT

Donate online at folk.org/donate.

Donate by check: BECOME A MEMBER Folk Alliance International AT FOLK.ORG 601 Avenida Cesar E Chavez, Suite 100 Kansas City, MO 64108

For more donor information please contact: Alex Mallett, Business Development Manager [email protected] 816-221-3655 ext. 6 GREEN FOLK

The Green Folk program launched to address the environmental impact of FAI events and programs. Implementing a variety of strategic actions to significantly reduce the footprint of the five-day conference, FAI successfully diverted 5.9 tons of landfill waste to recycling and compost stations.

FAI is committed to enhanced recycling, waste-diversion practices, and reducing its environmental impact. This document is made from 100% eucalyptus fibers and is printed with soy ink. For more information on our sustainability efforts, visit folk.org/greenfolk.

Images from top to bottom: Anaïs Mitchell at the IFMAs, Guy Davis at the IFMAs, John Oates Official Showcase, Nathalie Pires Official Showcase with Ensemble Ibérica .