SOLID RAISES $40,000 FOR CMA FOUNDATION THROUGH BACKSTAGE AUCTION AT THIS YEAR'S CMAFEST

Photo Credit: Britney Buckwalter/CMA | Download Here

Nashville, TN - July 23, 2024 - Society of Leaders In Development (SOLID) raised $40,000 for the CMA Foundation through SOLID's annual Backstage Auction held at Fan Fair X during this year's CMAFest. Members of SOLID's board presented CMA with the check announcing the grand total last week. 

Spearheaded by SOLID's Leah Ducey, Mark Thress, and Samantha Funderlich, the Backstage Auction offers CMAFest attendees the opportunity to bid on unique merchandise including items such as signed instruments, merch bundles, concert tickets, and more. For the second year in row, fans also had the opportunity to preview and bid on merchandise online. 

SOLID President Rio Van Risseghem reflected on this year's auction, sharing, "Every year our partnership with CMA on The Backstage Auction grows stronger and we are so thankful to be able to work with them once again. With the addition of some highly coveted items donated from CMA, we surpassed our CMA Foundation contribution from last year and finally hit an incredible $40,000 mark. SOLID's Music Market Chairs, Leah Ducey, Mark Thress, and Samantha Funderlich rallied SOLID's entire membership in securing donated items and staffing The Backstage Auction with SOLID volunteers for CMA Fest weekend."  

Leah Ducey shared Van Risseghem's sentiments, stating, "Our record-breaking donation can be attributed to our continued support from CMA as well as the entire SOLID community coming together to ensure that we once again surprise and delight CMA Fest fans with unique offerings in new ways. We are so grateful to CMA for providing one-of-a-kind items and support throughout CMA Fest who ensure that fans know where to find our Backstage Auction online and on-site at Fan Fair X. We were thrilled to greet countless CMA Fest fans who return to our booth and look forward to finding items from their favorite country music artists year afer year. Of course, none of this would be possible without the combined efforts of my co-chairs, Mark Thress and Samantha Funderlich, our entire SOLID 2024 Board and the SOLID organization as a whole for bringing in special items and exclusive experiences from country music's biggest stars. I would like to take a moment to thank them all and express extra gratitude to our volunteers who truly made the entire Backstage Auction possible all weekend long. We are absolutely elated with the results this year and look forward to our continued partnership with CMA for years to come."

The Country Music Association established the CMA Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), in 2011 to leverage strategic partnerships, professional development for qualified music teachers, and grant distribution to improve and withstand equitable music education programs for all students nationwide. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the CMA Foundation focuses on providing sustainability, advocacy, and accountability within music education by investing in various resources for students, schools, and communities.   

SOLID launched 26 years ago with a vision to develop a community for music industry professionals to network and brainstorm together, while also providing educational opportunities for entry to mid-level professionals. SOLID hosts several education panels, networking events and philanthropic opportunities throughout the year. In addition, SOLID has implemented programs to mentor 100s of college students to date, launched the philanthropic initiative SOLID Shares, created a diversity and inclusion task force comprising of board members, current members and alumni as well as raising over $450,000 for local charities and accumulating over 500+ hours of volunteer time to the Nashville community. SOLID continues to grow, in part, due to the generous contributions of its annual Friends of SOLID sponsor partners. For more information about SOLID, visit solidnashville.org.

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