Co-Founder | Musician | North Carolina Native

Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of our generation.

The Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records.

He currently tours as a pop artist, while also performing with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

A New York Times Best Selling author, Ben is also working on new compositions for film, tv and theatre. He also frequently guest stars in films and TV.

In addition to his work with “Keys For Kids,” for over a decade he has been advocating as a member of Americans for The Arts and the Arts Action Fund on the national level to fund the arts in our communities, and for art and music education in our schools.

Co-Founder

Mike Kopp has over 35 years of strategic management, marketing and communications expertise honed on the front lines of music, politics and business, with clients that have included artists, Members of Congress, publicly traded and privately held corporations, as well as numerous regional companies and institutions.

In the music arena, Mike manages multi-platinum selling artist Ben Folds, serves on the President’s Council of Advisors for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), on the Board of the North Carolina Music Office, on the Board of the Americana Music Association (AMA), is a member of the Recording Academy, and was the founding President of the Music Industry Coalition.

As a longtime political and civic activist, he is a founding member of Artists United For Change, served on the Arts Policy Committee for US President Biden’s 2020 Transition Team, and is on the Board of the Arts Action Fund which advocates for arts funding on the federal level.

Founded in 1967 with the democratic vision of “arts for all citizens,” the North Carolina Arts Council sustains and grows the arts for the benefit of North Carolinians and their communities.

The North Carolina Arts Council strives to deliver resources for arts development to all 100 counties of the state through programs that are fair, transparent and accountable.

Originally created as a support group for the NC Arts Council, the North Carolina Arts Foundation transitioned into a fully independent public charity in 2022. While the Arts Council remains an important partner, our administrative costs are not funded with state or federal grants, and we collaborate with many organizations and individuals that help us achieve our mission.

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