AMTA Financial Updates

MAR-AMTA is one of seven regions in the American Music Therapy Association. On this page, you can find updates about the national level from AMTA. You can find full details on AMTA’s website: musictherapy.org

AMTA Overall Update – June 2nd, 2022

Dear Fellow AMTA Members, Supporters, and Other Key AMTA Stakeholders,

AMTA has faced many challenges in the past few years. And while we dealt with each head-on, we did so on an issue-by-issue basis rather than treating each as a symptom of a single holistic issue. The reality is that our profession has changed greatly in the decades since AMTA’s founding, and AMTA has not done enough to adapt in response. 

As previously communicated, the entire Board of Directors of AMTA (“Board”) is committed to addressing the concerns that have been raised by its members and to doing the difficult work necessary to make wholesale changes within AMTA. The Board, on whose behalf I write, has determined a complete restructuring of operations is necessary to support the needed changes. We are confident that with these changes, AMTA will survive and thrive in the 21st Century and beyond.

We anticipate this process will last about six months, taking into account our desire to include all stakeholders in the process of deciding the future of AMTA. We are committed to working with you to reconstitute AMTA to be a more inclusive, focused, and responsive organization that has at its core, a mission that is dedicated to strengthening the music therapy profession.

The Board, in consultation with outside professionals, has determined it is in AMTA’s best long-term interest to pare down services during this period. To this end, the Board has made the difficult decision to lay off some staff, cancel the 2022 annual conference, and suspend or reduce other functions. We are committed, however, to continue without interruption, AMTA’s approval of bachelor and masters degree programs and AMTA’s work with national roster internship sites.

The Board will continue to keep you regularly updated. We acknowledge that there is a broad desire among members for more information, which the Board is committed to providing. Our plan is to post these updates on the Latest News section of the AMTA website and AMTA social media channels.  

To be clear, these updates will most surely include surveys/polls, calls for volunteers, and other requests for assistance. The AMTA is what it is because of its members and supporters and AMTA needs you more than ever at this critical time. Thank you for the energy and time so many of you have contributed in the past weeks and to the many individuals who have joined and/or contributed financially to AMTA. We appreciate all aspects of engagement: time, energy, and funds. They all matter.

Please reach out to me or any Board Member with questions or concerns or offers of volunteer assistance.

Sincerely, 
Lori F. Gooding, PhD, MT-BC
President, AMTA

MARAMTA statement on AMTA Financial Situation – May 16, 2022

Dear members of the MAR-AMTA Music Therapy Community,

As you may be aware, on May 13, 2022, AMTA CEO Adonia Calhoun Coates released a statement regarding the financial health of AMTA. She shared that AMTA “urgently needs your financial support.” The full text of the statement can be found here: Music Therapy Urgently Needs Your Help! | General News – News | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA).

On May 16, 2022, members of the MAR leadership team attended a virtual meeting with Adonia and AMTA leadership. At that meeting we were informed that a town hall meeting with membership will be forthcoming to answer questions and share updated information. We are currently awaiting the announcement of the date and time for this meeting. 

As we all continue the process of learning, reflecting, and reacting to this information we have put together a google form to provide you an opportunity to share with us your questions, thoughts, and feedback about the AMTA financial situation. The form can be found here: MAR-AMTA Community Feedback: AMTA Financial Statement (google.com)

Your responses will come directly to my inbox and I will forward them along to AMTA leadership as they prepare for the town hall meeting.

We are planning to host a town hall meeting for MAR-AMTA members and non/members to share updates and gather feedback after the AMTA town hall meeting. Information will be forthcoming as it arrives.

To help share information as it arrives, we have created a page on our MAR-AMTA website where we will be posting updates regarding this financial crisis. This page can be found here: AMTA Financial Updates : Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy (mar-amta.org)

We are all in this together, learning more details as information is shared. MAR-AMTA is financially sound at this time. We remain committed to our service to you, to help provide support and information for all within our region. If there is anything we can do to help, please reach out to me directly at president@maramta.org. 

In service,
Bob Miller
President, Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association

Music Therapy Urgently Needs Your Help! – May 13, 2022

Dear Member of the Music Therapy Community,

Adonia Calhoun Coastes
Adonia Calhoun Coates,
AMTA CEO and Music Therapy Advocate

I am writing to you as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Music Therapy Association. AMTA urgently needs your immediate financial support. Like many organizations, AMTA is in the process of a

post-pandemic transformation. Over the past 24 years, AMTA has been instrumental in advocating for music therapy, enhancing the profession, supporting music therapists, and, most importantly, working to protect music therapy clients and consumers.

I have learned a great deal about music therapy during my time here, and I never cease to be impressed and moved by this profession. Here is a small list of AMTA’s accomplishments over the past two decades:

  • AMTA connects thousands who need music therapy with qualified music therapists that receive a high-quality music therapy education from university programs and internship sites that meet AMTA’s rigorous approval standards.
  • AMTA sets standards for education and clinical practice in the U. S. which have helped the profession thrive for over 70 years. Today, there are 90 colleges and universities in the U.S. with AMTA-approved bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs. Music therapy is the fastest growing degree in the field of music (Iwamasa, 2019). The organization plays a vital role in the approval of academic programs and national roster internship sites.
  • AMTA’s Government Relations Department, in collaboration with CBMT, has succeeded in establishing licensure, state certification/registry, or title protection in 14 states, with 2 states awaiting Governor signatures, and an additional 23 states have introduced legislation. Just this year, AMTA reached new agreements with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association to resolve long-standing differences in the way music therapy is recognized legislatively, which will help remove barriers to future state recognition of qualified music therapists.
  • AMTA supported the music therapy community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic through resources freely available to all music therapists and students. 
  • AMTA has responded to countless disasters and emergencies to help support music therapists to provide needed care or support.
  • AMTA has established an ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in both the profession and for those receiving services, with a focus on underserved or marginalized communities. We have implemented new appointed leadership processes, actively engage the DEI Committee, are preparing for strategic planning, bylaws revisions, organizational change training, and more.
  • AMTA National Conferences bring music therapists, students, and advocates of music therapy from around the world to network, collaborate, and gain valuable continuing education.
  • AMTA produces two thriving journals in Music Therapy Perspectives and the Journal of Music Therapy that publish the latest research for the profession. They also publish high quality resources used by students and music therapists nationally and internationally.
  • AMTA engages a dedicated team of staff and hundreds of volunteers who communicate, advocate, and promote music therapy to the public. 

Unfortunately, time is not working in our favor. Our financial situation is imminent. COVID-19 has had an impact on all of us; it has especially challenged AMTA with significant and unexpected financial costs related to conference changes and other association business. In addition, membership has waned and donations are not making up the difference. We are strained in our ability to continue and are facing the elimination of vital programs, staff, and services in the coming weeks. We need your help now. The plea is to renew your membership, spread the word, and ask others to join.

We recognize that you may be disappointed and frustrated. We acknowledge that there may be community members who have experienced harm through gaps in our systems and policies. This may not be the professional home you have hoped it would be, but we are working to transform the association for all music therapists, students, and advocates. Partner with us. Help us transform. Help us build the organization you desire. We can only do this with the music therapy community’s support.

AMTA plays a critical role for the profession. We’ve been on a steady track to address our challenges and find ways to communicate more deliberately, effectively, and transparently to communicate our true desire to transform the association. We’re actively exploring opportunities to diversify our funding sources and offerings while building our capacity for improved engagement strategies. We acknowledge that past efforts have fallen short, harmed, and broken trust for many, and are working to transform. We want to continue the movement we have been making and the potential to bring us to a place of healing.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. We will stay in touch with future communications to keep you informed.

Sincerely,

Adonia Calhoun Coates,
AMTA CEO and Music Therapy Advocate

Ways to help right now: