CMA Donates $400,000 To Charity

The CMA has announced they will donate funds in excess of $400,000 on behalf of the artists who participated in the 2005 CMA MUSIC festival to numerous charities as part of their "CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!" initiative. Half of the money for this year's donation ($200,000) has been earmarked for the SALVATION ARMY to help the victims of HURRICANE KATRINA.

Since it's inception in 2001, the "CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!" initiative, has been a way to say thanks to the artists and celebrities who give their time to make appearances and perform at CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL. Including this year's donation the initiative has distributed a total of $800,000 to charities selected by the participating artists. Each year, half the net proceeds from the MUSIC FESTIVAL held each JUNE, are earmarked to fund the program.

"In the beginning, there weren't any profits to fund the sort of donations we wanted to make on behalf of the artists," BENSON said. "The Board agreed to use CMA's funds in order to give $100,000 a year to the charities; and then last year, we made just enough money to cover the $100,000. Increased attendance this year meant that we could double the "CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!" donation to $200,000 for the first time."

This year, the additional $200,000 earmarked for the hurricane relief effort would have been CMA's portion of the net proceeds, but the Board decided that money would be better spent aiding the efforts of THE SALVATION ARMY on the GULF COAST.

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