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Academy of Country Music at a glance

· Public charity

Academy of Country Music

To improve lives by connecting and engaging fans, artists and the industry.

$400k
Granted FY2021
1
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$400k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.

Arts & Culture$1.4MHealth$1.0MPhilanthropy$310kRecreation & Sports$15kEducation$10k
02FY2021 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$400,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ACM LIFTING LIVES$400,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–21) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%TAILGATE FEST LLC: $15k → 14%ASSOCIATION OF INDEPEDENT MUSIC PUBLISHERS: $25k → 18%TJ MARTELL FOUNDATION: $13k → 17%SAINT PAUL'S FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC LIFTING LIVES: $722k → 14%COUNTRY RADIO BROADCASTER INC: $36k → 14%ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC LIFTING LIVES: $500k → 14%LEADERSHIP MUSIC: $35k → 14%ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC LIFTING LIVES: $310k → 14%LEADERSHIP MUSIC: $25k → 14%CITY OF HOPE - MFEI: $15k → 14%SAINT THOMAS HEALTH FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%ACM LIFTING LIVES: $546k → 14%PENCIL FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%ACM LIFTING LIVES: $400k → 14%THE ONSITE FOUNDATION: $7k → 14%VALLEY RELICS SFVR MUSEUM: $5k → 14%NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL: $15k → 14%LOS ANGELES PRESS CLUB: $8k → 14%NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION: $10k → 14%OPRY TRUST FUND INC: $10k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.6M · 3 repeat orgs$173k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2021, 2 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
12

Total granted

$2.6M
$173k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+10%

Still filing today

100%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21
HealthEducationPhilanthropyArts & CultureOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • AL
    ACM LIFTING LIVES
    5× · 2017–2021 · $2.5M · revenue +55% · 64% of their budget
  • LM
    LEADERSHIP MUSIC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $60k · revenue +44%
  • NS
    NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
    2× · 2017–2018 · $25k · revenue +32%

Funded once

  • CR
    Country Radio Broadcasters Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $36k · revenue -3%
  • ST
    SAINT THOMAS HEALTH FOUNDATIONSgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +40%
  • AO
    ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC PUBLISHERS
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue +25%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Country Music Association Inc

1. heighten awareness and grow the business of country music.2. serve as the information and communication center for industry and consumer trends.3. provide a forum for industry leadership to advance country music.4. recognize excellence…

Arts & Culture
2
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
3
The Consortium Mmt

To develop a viable music industry in memphis for the future by providing a structured learning environment to enrich and equip our talents with proven tools to build the next generation of successful music professionals. the consortium…

Arts & Culture
4
Nashville Public Media Inc

Nashville banner is a locally owned, community supported, civic news organization. we exist to empower the people of nashville to make informed decisions by providing non-partisan journalism from an independent, nonprofit newsroom. we are…

Arts & Culture
5
National Music Publishers Association Inc

Nmpa promotes, protects, and advances the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to domestic and global protection of copyrights.

Employment
6
American Coalition for Public Radio

The american coalition for public radio ("acpr") supports the educational mission of publicly funded, noncommercial, educational radio stations, networks, and systems (collectively, "public radio"). acpr's principal activities focus on…

Arts & Culture
7
National Public Radio Inc

National public radio, inc. ("npr") works collaboratively with member public radio station licensees ("member stations") to create a more informed public, one that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
8
Nashville Songwriters Foundation

To educate, archive and celebrate songwriting that is uniquely associated with the nashville songwriting community.

—
9
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
10
The Cma Foundation

Guided by the generosity of the country music community, the cma foundation focuses on improving and sustaining music education programs everywhere while supporting worthwhile causes important to the country music association.

Philanthropy
11
NationalAssociationof Music Merchants

NAMM's mission is to strengthen the music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.

—
12
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Leadership Music; the most unlike its peers is Valley Relics. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

13 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 13 of the 15 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
8/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ACM LIFTING LIVES: $2,478,028 · PhilanthropyACM LIFTING LIVESLEADERSHIP MUSIC: $60,000 · OtherCountry Radio Broadcasters Inc: $35,500 · OtherSAINT THOMAS HEALTH FOUNDATIONS: $25,000 · OtherASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC PUBLISHERS: $25,000 · OtherNASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL: $25,000 · OtherTAILGATE FEST LLC: $15,000 · OtherOPRY TRUST FUND INC: $10,000 · OtherPOSSIBILITIES INC: $7,000 · Other+1 more: $5,000 · OtherCITY OF HOPE: $15,000 · HealthTJ MARTELL FOUNDATION: $12,500 · HealthPENCIL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationLOS ANGELES PRESS CLUB: $7,500 · EducationVALLEY RELICS: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Philanthropy$2,478,028Other$207,500Health$27,500Education$17,500Arts & Culture$5,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetACM LIFTING LIVES: $2,478,028 over 5y, 64% of budgetLEADERSHIP MUSIC: $60,000 over 2y, 9.3% of budgetCountry Radio Broadcasters Inc: $35,500 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSAINT THOMAS HEALTH FOUNDATIONS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC PUBLISHERS: $25,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetNASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL: $25,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCITY OF HOPE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTJ MARTELL FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPENCIL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOPRY TRUST FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLOS ANGELES PRESS CLUB: $7,500 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetPOSSIBILITIES INC: $7,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetVALLEY RELICS: $5,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Community Foundat…Country Music Associa…Gibson Gives Foundati…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee IncTN18× affinity7 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Inc · Country Music Association Inc · Gibson Gives Foundation Dba Gibson Gives · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Academy of Country Music funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Academy of Country Music. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 15 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2021, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Academy of Country Music’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home