resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
A Note from the Folk Alliance International Staff
February 4, 2026
resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
A Note from the Folk Alliance International Organizers
At Folk Alliance International, we believe that thoughtful dialogue—even when it is challenging—is essential to a healthy, values-driven community.
We want to be transparent about how we think about costs, access, and responsibility in our decision-making. Every choice we make, big or small, is guided by a strong sense of stewardship. Choosing a conference hotel alone involves many moving parts, including room rates, travel accessibility, food and beverage minimums, and significant contractual requirements for meeting and performance spaces. Some aspects of these contracts are outside our control, but we work in good faith with our hotel partners to create a successful event. Beyond the venue, we also take great care in evaluating badge pricing, signage, printing, technology platforms, accessibility services, staffing, and production needs to use our resources thoughtfully.
Decisions are deeply reviewed with the goal of minimizing waste and keeping costs as low as possible. We approach this work with a discerning and thrifty spirit because we are entrusted with our members’ dues as well as the generosity of sponsors and donors. The reality is that events of this scale are increasingly expensive to produce, but we strive to do so as professionally, thoughtfully, and economically as possible.
This commitment to careful stewardship extends beyond our events and into our daily operations. This year, we made the decision to move offices and join a shared workspace with the explicit intention of reducing overhead and ensuring continued cost savings. Choices like these reflect how seriously we take financial evaluation at every level of the organization. We are truly minimizing costs day to day, so that more resources can be directed toward programs, artists, and the community we serve.
For many years, the staff has worked alongside the Board of Directors to develop long-term strategies that help keep conference registration rates accessible while continuing to grow scholarship opportunities. This work is ongoing and remains a priority.
A key component of these efforts is the Artist & Presenter Endowment Fund, which supports artists and presenters in their professional development and participation at FAI events. Contributions to this fund help us provide direct financial assistance to artists, ensuring that creative voices are supported and celebrated year after year.
Building on this commitment, we are proud to share that this year we were able to secure funding to offer Louisiana resident artists and attendees a 50% discount to the conference, helping reduce barriers for local participants. In addition, we successfully obtained grant funding to support sending ambassadors from Chicago to the conference, expanding access and strengthening connections within the broader folk music community. These initiatives are concrete examples of how we are actively working to make the conference—and FAI programming more broadly—accessible, equitable, and inclusive.
The annual conference, while a significant undertaking with substantial hard costs, is not the only programming offered by Folk Alliance International. In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff recognized the importance of continuing virtual programming for members who are unable to attend in person. Since then, we have expanded free year-round programming and introduced free virtual conference offerings in partnership with our FAI Regions, extending access beyond a single in-person event.
Accessibility, inclusion, and sustainability are not abstract ideals for us—they are embedded in our daily work and long-term planning as an organization. We remain committed to listening, learning, and working toward solutions that honor artists and strengthen this community.
We invite you—our members and shareholders—to be part of this work. Take time to read our Annual Reports, join us at the Annual General Meeting during next year’s conference, or attend a regional conference and participate in their Annual General Meeting. This organization has always moved forward because of its members, and we will continue to grow through your passion, insight, and shared commitment.
Below, we share a statement from the Folk Alliance International Board of Directors that reflects on these values and the organization’s ongoing path forward.
With gratitude,
The Folk Alliance International Staff
