Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
June 1, 2016
Alfonso Pollard -This month, we feature a new initiative that the AFM believes will be helpful to members who are looking for expanded opportunities with the federal government. The Federal Arts Connection was born from efforts initiated by AFM President Ray Hair and me to highlight the vast array of arts-related federal programs that members can use to build their professional portfolios.
By now, you have read in the International Musician about Hair’s visits with the leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, and the US Department of State. We are pleased to have been hosted by agency chairs, department directors, and department chiefs, each of whom have recognized the important role the AFM has played historically in the development of arts and entertainment over its 119-year existence.
Each agency has made a commitment to include the AFM as an important partner in their deliberations and they are excited about including AFM members as a resource. Hence, the Federal Arts Connection project is now an essential part of our work on your behalf. We hope that you will use this resource. More about this work will be outlined in the “members only” section of the AFM website.
We look forward to hearing your stories about grants awarded to you and about international travel you accomplish under the auspices of the US Government. AFM President Hair and I engage in constant dialogue with agency officials. Please feel free to contact my office if you have questions about this project. Many thanks for your membership and for your support of our union’s government relations programs.
This first edition of the Federal Arts Connection (below) features a few of the resources available. Additional resources will be unveiled each month.
This is a monthly source for information relating to federal grant making, performance, education, and research opportunities for musicians interested in project funding and international travel as artistic representatives of the US. Though extensive, this list is not exhaustive. Each month we will highlight different federal agencies with arts-related components. We suggest that you make direct contact with local federal agencies, government councils, and non-government organizations (NGOs) to help you identify other possibilities. This list is only a starting point, to successfully engage these opportunities it may be necessary to contact the agency directly for requirement details. The AFM Office of Government Relations is happy to help you identify as many federal resources as possible.
The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance:
www.cfda.gov
(Outlines every federal program offered. Serious researchers can search music, performing arts, and similar keywords to get to the programs listed. For grant writers, in seemingly
unrelated agencies there may be
opportunities for creative thinking about how the arts/music can positively impact American communities.)
The Federal Register
www.federalregister.gov
(Search music, arts, culture)
National Endowment for the Arts
www.arts.gov/artistic-fields/music
National Medal of the Arts
www.arts.gov/honors/medals
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
www.neh.gov/grants
NEH (Music)
www.neh.gov/search/content/Music
The White House: Music and the Arts
www.whitehouse.gov/performances
Arts Education
www.whitehouse.gov/champions/arts-education
National Medal of The Arts
www.arts.gov/honors/medals
US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of Note Fulbright Program: www.eca.state.gov/fulbrightexchanges.state.gov/us/special-focus-areas
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