In the interest of keeping fans up to date on what’s brewing with PhanArt, we have dedicated this blog post to explaining how the donations to The Mockingbird Foundation take place, who donates what, and answer any questions you may have via the comments section below.

PhanArt raised $1314.24 over the course of 2009, starting at the book launch party on 2/7/09, and ending 12/30/09 at Mock Show Miami. That’s a ton of money, but where did it all come from? We have found a way to provide as much clarity as to where this money comes from, en route to its final destination, The Mockingbird Foundation.

First things first, PhanArt does not accept monetary donations of any nature. We have never taken any cash in hand, aside from at Mock Shows and PhanArt held events, and that money is sent off to The Mockingbird Foundation immediately. PhanArt is not a 501 (c)(3), nor do we make an effort to become one.  Instead, we direct fans to donate directly to The Mockingbird Foundation via paypal or mbird.org The only donations PhanArt collects are those made by artists and fans and blog contributors  in the form of shirts, posters, stickers, etc…, as well as from profits from the sale of PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish as each printing of books sells out.

Every two months , we will update what we have collected, and what we have donated from the sale of these items through auctions on ebay. We do not keep what is donated. Stickers and other items that were given to us during the collection period for the making of PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish were given away with sales of the book. We will continue this practice.

How we came up with the list. Well, very simply, we kept track of all donations made to Mockingbird through various methods – direct donations via PhanArtists, ebay auctions, paypal receipts from blog artists, and any form of proof that money went from artist/fan to Mockingbird. Again, no money is donated to PhanArt, or given to us at any point, aside from at poster shows. That amount is relayed to members of The Mockingbird Foundation, and they receive a check in the mail from PhanArt shortly thereafter. Case in point, we raised $40 at Mock Show on 12/30/09 from sales of donated items alone. We mentioned this to George and Elayne who had the Mockingbird booth next to us at Mock Show. They knew to expect it being sent, and we furthermore notified Ellis Godard, executive director of The Mockingbird Foundation, as has been done since earlier this year.

The PhanArt Blog shows the collective impact of Phish fans through the art created in the Phish community. We at PhanArt look forward to 2010 and continuing a great Phish tradition!