LEESBURG, Va. (August 8, 2023) – In 2016, a small group of Loudoun County community members had the idea to use live music to bring people together to raise awareness about the need in the community and foster a culture of giving. Now, after several years, multiple live music performances, and approximately $134,000 in proceeds raised and distributed to nonprofit organizations serving Loudoun County, BENEFIT announces it has officially become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
BENEFIT, a coalition of musicians and community leaders, was established in 2017 as a program that was supported and guided by several organizations while the group grew and began forming its own groundwork to become a nonprofit organization.
“Similar to many startups, BENEFIT began as a small program that was nurtured within larger organizations,” Ara Bagdasarian, BENEFIT co-founder and president, said. “However, through continuous growth over the years, we reached the point where we were able to branch out and operate independently. Our community of philanthropic musicians is expanding, too, which is allowing us to enhance our capacity to raise funds and create awareness for Loudoun charities dedicated to serving the community.”
“We are so grateful to the organizations that, over the years, have taken BENEFIT under their wings as a program and provided us with support and guidance on our journey to become a nonprofit organization ourselves,” Amy Bobchek, BENEFIT co-founder and vice president, said. “We all have one common goal – to support and serve the community members in Loudoun County. We would like to thank The United Way of Loudoun County, The Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, and The Paxton Trust for all their support and helping us get our footing to build a solid foundation for our organization.”
With BENEFIT becoming a nonprofit organization, the scope of its mission has been expanded in order to increase the availability and eligibility of grant funding to its nonprofit applicants.
“BENEFIT’s mission is to raise funds and awareness for nonprofit organizations serving Loudoun County,” Bobchek said. “The past few years, we focused on organizations that served children in need in Loudoun. This is still at the heart of what we do, but we wanted to open up funding eligibility to allow us to serve those in Loudoun who may be affected by immediate needs or unprecedented events. Supporting organizations that serve children in need in Loudoun is still and will always be included in our structure. All BENEFIT grant funding will continue to be awarded to nonprofit organizations that serve Loudoun County.”
What’s on the horizon for BENEFIT? The organization’s next event is its 2023 Crossroads Music Festival, taking place Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16. The event will feature over 35 musicians and bands that will be performing at different venues in downtown Leesburg.
Proceeds from BENEFIT’s 2023 events will be distributed in summer 2024. All proceeds from BENEFIT’s events are distributed to nonprofit organizations through a grant application process. In May 2023, BENEFIT was able to award a total of $25,000 in grant funding among eight nonprofits from the proceeds of its 2022 Crossroads Music Festival.
Festival pass, performer and venue information for BENEFIT’s 2023 Crossroads Music Festival can be found at www.CrossroadsMusicFest.org.