FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded by Phish fans, has announced ten new grants, totaling $46,200, supporting music education for children. The grants come from the Mockingbird Foundation’s 16th round of competitive grant-making, and bring total Mockingbird disbursements to over $700,000.
These newest grants support programs at two schools and eight non-profit organizations in eight states:
- $5,000 for various expenses at Alaska’s Kids (Anchorage, AK)
- $5,000 for instruments at Anointed Praise & Worship Ministries, Inc. (Pine Bluff, AR)
- $5,000 for instruments at Arcola Elementary School (Silver Spring, MD)
- $5,000 for staffing at Guitars In The Classroom (Encinitas, CA)
- $4,000 for instruments at Linwood Center, Inc. (Ellicott City, MD)
- $5,000 for staffing at Miami Lighthouse For The Blind And Visually Impaired, Inc. (Miami, FL)
- $5,000 for various expenses at Pathways For Exceptional Children (Montville, NJ)
- $5,000 for instruments at The Roots Of Music (New Orleans, LA)
- $3,000 for equipment at Roseville Home Start (Roseville, CA)
- $4,200 for instruments at San Antonio School For Inquiry And Creativity (San Antonio, TX)
Significant portions of these grants were funded due to the generosity of fans, including $1800 in donations in memory of Bob Glushko, father of Mockingbird volunteer Chris Glushko, as well as a user-driven effort on the Phish.net forum which raised $2,400 during the final weeks of 2012; and through several events held to benefit the Foundation, including The Lawn Boys’ benefit at NYC’s Canal Room in November 2012, which raised $1,200, and the Atlantic City Poster Show held by Mothership Art Collective and Phanart, which raised $2,000.
These ten grantees were selected from among 1,303 initial applicants who requested a total of more than $3.8 million. Due to such high demand, the Foundation’s two-tiered online 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 so that we can continue to increase the percentage of applicants whom we are ultimately able to fund.
The Mockingbird Foundation, run entirely by volunteers, supports music education for children by fundraising through Phish-related projects. The Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was organized by Phish fans in 1996, formally incorporated in 1997, and has since then distributed over $700,000 through 241 grants in 43 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 and having published two editions of the popular trade paperback books The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and Their Music. The third edition of The Phish Companion will be published later this year. The Foundation is able to disburse more than 98% of the funds raised to important and innovative programs serving diverse populations.
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.com and phish.net.
-30-