Today, we feature the first in our monthly series of charitable organizations in the extensive live-music community. The Mockingbird Foundation is a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. Conceived in 1996, and founded in 1997, the Foundation is operated entirely by volunteers, without any salaries or paid staff. It fundraises for music education for children by celebrating the music of Phish. Its comprehensive books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish fan community have raised more than $250K and funded scores of grants so far. The Foundation will release a second edition of The Phish Companion this summer, will announce its next round of grant recipients in October, and will announce some important management changes in one week.
The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization of Phish fans, founded to raise money for charity. The original project was the compilation of the most factually accurate and delightfully literary book on Phish’s music available, with contributions from as many fans as possible. The Foundation now produces a wider range of resources and diversions for fans, including a Phish cover album. No member or volunteer benefits financially from the Foundation in any way, and all proceeds from Mockingbird projects are donated to tax-exempt organizations. The Foundation’s primary purpose is charitable, out of love for and thanks to Phish for their inspiring music.
The Mockingbird Foundation is an unconventional organization: it has no salaries, paid staff, office space, or endowment — thus distributing all possible funds to charity. It exists almost exlcusively online, using the Internet to avoid travel and other expenses typically associated with grant-making entities. The Foundation has earned 501(c)3 tax-exempt status from Internal Revenue Service, thus making donations tax-deductible. Such contributions to the Foundation are applied directly to the next round of regular grants in the funding cycle. (source: mbird.org)
The Mockingbird Foundation is also the recipient of all net-profits from the sale of PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish, the book for which this website was created. So far, we have raised nearly $1,000 for MBird, and that number will only increase in time.
Pick up a copy of PhanArt today, and help support music education nationwide!
www.phanart.net/store.html