The Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded by Phish fans, has made unsolicited donations to four nonprofit music and arts programs in Worcester, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Burlington, Vermont. The donations were made in anticipation of Phish’s five-show “New Year’s Run,” which begins with two shows at the DCU Center on December 27 and 28 in Worcester, MA, followed by three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York city on December 30 and 31, and January 1.
A donation of $1000 was made to The Joy of Music Program in Worcester, MA, which strives to “giv[e] children a joyful and solid foundation for life-long musical growth.” Donations of $500 apiece were made to two organizations in New York that are previous grant recipients of The Mockingbird Foundation’s highly competitive grant application process: the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, which teaches music, dance and acting classes to children in Harlem, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx and elsewhere; and the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, whose mission is to “empower[] girls and women through music education, volunteerism, and activities that foster self-respect, leadership skills, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.” In addition, a donation of $1000 was made to the Seven Below Arts Initiative, founded by Phish’s guitarist Trey Anastasio “to foster artistic development and to support arts education in the state of Vermont.” This donation by the Foundation is in honor and in memory of Trey Anastasio’s sister, Kristy Manning, who helped found and lead the Seven Below Arts Initiative.
The Mockingbird Foundation, run entirely by volunteers, donates to music education programs in communities touched by Phish tours in order to inspire support for music and arts education and to generate positive press coverage. Music and arts programs positively impact the lives of children and all of us, and it was in this spirit that the Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was organized by Phish fans in 1996. To date, the Foundation has distributed approximately $619,000 in 42 states.
The Foundation is also the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through www.phish.net since 1994. The Foundation is able to disburse more than 98% of the funds raised to important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Due to high demand, the Foundation’s two-tiered application process remains one of the most competitive in the nation. Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation through the Foundation’s website at www.mbird.org.
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation. For more information about Phish, please visit phish.net and phish.com.
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (October 27, 2010) – Today, a group of Phish fans mailed an unsolicited check for $1,000 to the Atlantic City High School to support its music education programs. The check is sent in connection with Phish’s upcoming three-night run at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, and is part of a concerted effort by fans to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows.
The grants come under the auspices of the Mockingbird Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organized by Phish fans in 1996. With this grant, the Foundation has distributed a total of $616,000 in 42 states. Additional funds will be raised at the Phamily Poker Classic, a sold-out charity tournament being held Saturday and Sunday at the Tropicana.
According to Mockingbird board member and tournament co-organizer Charlie Dirksen, “The recipient of these funds shares the Foundation’s commitment to music education. The Foundation is pleased to support Atlantic City High School’s music department and hopes to inspire others to support it and the students at ACHS as well”
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online, having cultivated intellectual property through www.phish.net since 1994. The Foundation leverages that content, through partners and products, to fund music education for children. Operated entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff, salaries, or office, the Foundation is able to disburse more than 98% of the funds raised to important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Due to high demand, the Foundation’s two-tiered application process remains one of the most competitive in the nation. Please consider making a donation through the Foundation’s website at http://www.mbird.org.
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation. Their fall tour ends this weekend with a three-night run in Atlantic City. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
For Further Information:
Charlie Dirksen
cdirksen@gmail.com
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The Broomfield Enterprise has reported on the Foundation’s tour grants related to the upcoming Broomfield shows:
Phish fans give $2K to local schools
Enterprise staff / Posted: 10/14/2010 12:00:00 AM MDTIn advance of three sold-out Phish shows at Broomfield`s 1stBank Center Sunday through Tuesday, the Mockingbird Foundation, a nonprofit founded by fans of the band, on Saturday mailed checks totaling $2,000 to three area schools to fund music education programs.
Bal Swan Children`s Center and the Broomfield-area music teacher`s instrument drive each which received $500. A $1,000 grant was given to Gold Hill Elementary to coincide with the Four Mile Fire Revival benefit concert at 1st Bank Center on Saturday night. The grants are part of an effort by The Mockingbird Foundation to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education and to help generate support in press surrounding Phish shows, according to a news release.
“The recipients of these funds share an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, as well as a commitment to convey that understanding to children. The foundation is pleased to be able to support them, and hope to inspire others to support them as well,” Broomfield resident and Mockingbird Foundation director Marcie Vogel Frahm stated in the news release.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries or office, disbursing almost all of the money it raises in support of music education programs.
For more information or to donate to the foundation, go to mbird.org.
BROOMFIELD (October 9, 2010) – Today, The Mockingbird Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by fans of the band Phish, mailed unsolicited checks totaling $2,000 to three area schools to fund music education programs in connection with the start of Phish’s fall tour Sunday at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield. The recipients are the Bal Swan Children’s Center and the Broomfield-area Music Teacher’s instrument drive, each which received $500. A special $1000 grant was given to Gold Hill Elementary to coincide with the Four Mile Fire Revival Benefit concert taking place tonight at 1st Bank Center.
The grants are part of a concerted effort by The Mockingbird Foundation to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows.
With these grants, the Mockingbird Foundation has distributed a total of $615,000 in 42 states.
According to Broomfield resident and Mockingbird Foundation Director Marcie Vogel Frahm: “The recipients of these funds share an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, as well as a commitment to convey that understanding to children. The Foundation is pleased to be able to support them, and hope to inspire others to support them as well.”
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online, having cultivated intellectual property through www.phish.net since 1994. The Foundation leverages that content, through partners and products, to fund music education for children. Operated entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff, salaries, or office, the Foundation is able to disburse more than 98% of the funds raised to important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Due to high demand, the Foundation’s two-tiered application process remains one of the most competitive in the nation. Please consider making a donation through the Foundation’s website at http://www.mbird.org.
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation and are now engaged in a fall tour that includes three performances at 1stBank Center in Broomfield this weekend and 12 other shows nationwide. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
For Further Information:
Marcie Vogel Frahm
marcievogelfrahm@gmail.com
303.717.4843
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Today, a group of Phish fans mailed an unsolicited $1,000 check to three music education programs in the area immediately surrounding the Empire Polo Grounds, site of Festival 8: the Coachella Valley High School Band, the Cahuilla Desert Academy (middle school) Advanced Band, and the Westside (Elementary) School After-School Music Program.
The recipients, chosen based on their proximity to the venue, share several things, notes Executive Director Ellis Godard: "proximity to the tour, an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, a commitment to convey that understanding to children, and the earnest need for your support."
Distributed by the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation, the $3,000 in grants are part of a concerted effort to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows. With these grants, the Mockingbird Foundation has distributed a total of $612,750.40, through 194 grants, in 42 states.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are preparing to embark on a fall tour, after Indio, leading into December. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
Phish is bringing music to 19 cities this summer, and so are their fans!
Today, a group of Phish fans mailed an unsolicited $1,000 check to a music education program in each of the cities included on Phish’s Summer 2009 tour.
Distributed by the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation, the $19,000 in grants are part of a concerted effort to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows.
With these grants, the Mockingbird Foundation has distributed a total of $609,750.40, through 191 grants, in 42 states. Reflecting the organization’s mission and history of diverse funding, the newest recipients vary not only in locale (see map) but in size, host, age, genre, and more.
“The recipients also share several things,” notes Executive Director Ellis Godard: “proximity to the tour, an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, a commitment to convey that understanding to children, and the earnest need for your support.” In order of tour date, they are:
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are now engaged in a summer tour that includes two performances at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and 25 other shows nationwide. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
$10K for 2 Hamptons!
Phish Fans Support Music Education in Virginia and Nebraska
<Saratoga Springs, NY> Immediately following news that Phish will reunite next March at Hampton Coliseum, the Mockingbird Foundation has announced two special grants funded entirely by a Phish Reunion Fund, and supporting music programs in two Hamptons.
The all-volunteer organization of Phish fans created a separate account last fall for contributors who wanted to express their hope for the band’s return while supporting music education for children. Of the donations received in the last year, nearly $5,000 was designated for the reunion fund. The Foundation’s board decided to match that optimism, bringing the total to $10,000, and so announces two grants of $5,000, each to a music program in a Hampton:
- Hampton High School in Hampton, Virginia, is the direct descendent of the Syms-Eaton School, the first free school established in the American colonies. Founded in 1647, it has evolved over the years – changing names, merging, burning during the Civil War – and now serves 1675 students (“Crabbers“) in an urban population of nearly 150,000. The school’s band and music programs will be given $5,000 for the purchase, repair, and maintence of instruments, equipment, sheet music, and other educational needs. This grant is made as an unsolicited surprise to the school, in honor of the Phish fan community’s affinity for and gratitude towards the community of Hampton, VA. Phish has performed 37 times in Virginia, 12 of those at Hampton Coliseum.
- Hampton Public School is located in Hampton, Nebraska, a rural, agricultural town with a population of 470. The band plays an important role in Hampton Hawk spirit, evident at the homecoming parade which begins only a few hours from now, but uses instruments purchased when the school was constructed 36 years ago. The high school has fewer than 70 students, but has built its music program significantly over the last seven years, and became members of the Tri-M Musical Honor Society last year. By coincidence, on the same day that word of Phish’s impending reunion announcement broke among fans (September 30), the school submitted a funding inquiry for $3600 for a marching baritone and new tenor saxophone. The Mockingbird board has awarded an additional $1400 to be used for other musical needs, bringing the total to $5,000. This is the Foundation’s first grant in Nebraska, a state in which Phish has performed only twice (10/21/95 and 11/16/96)
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. Since its inception in 1996, the Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff. It fundraises for music education for children by celebrating the music of Phish through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish
fan community. Funds are distributed through a two-tiered application process that has provided over 150 grants, in 36 states, totaling over $500,000.
The second edition of The Phish Companion (the Foundation’s 928-page authoritative encyclopedia) is available from major book outlets nationwide. Its double-disc tribute album Sharin’ in the Groove is available in CD format through Amazon, CDBaby.com, and Homegrown Music Network, as well as in digital format from iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Napster, BuyMusic, MusicMatch, Sony Connect, MusicIsHere, Liquid Digital Media, PassAlong, MusicNet, Puretracks, MusicNow, and LoudEye! For more information about Mockingbird, or to make a donation, please visit www.mbird.org.
You can support the Mockingbird Foundation – and music education for children – by credit card, debit card, Paypal account, or bank debit, through the link below; or, by check made payable to The Mockingbird Foundation and sent to The Mockingbird Foundation, c/o The Godards, 6948 Luther Circle, Moorpark, CA 93021. Every dollar counts and will support music education programs for children, and your donation is fully tax-deductible.
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing concert acts before its farewell (a.k.a. “last” or “final”) show August 15, 2004. The band took an earlier (815 day) hiatus, and will end its breakup with shows March 6, 7, & 8 at Hampton Coliseum, in Hampton, VA. For more information about Phish, please visit the official http://www.phish.com and the fan-managed Phish.net.
