In celebration of Phish’s four-show New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden, the Mockingbird Foundation is announcing four unsolicited Tour Grants supporting music programs in and around New York City. As with previous Tour Grants, each $1,000 grant has been awarded to a music program near a venue Phish plays.
This $4,000 in grants is part of a long-standing Mockingbird effort to help bring music from the Phish community to the local community, and is one of many ways fans contribute to the areas in which the band performs. Mockingbird has now made $172,500 in tour grants, 12% of all disbursements made.
The four recipients include two schools and two non-profits:
- Education Through Music of New York, NY (near MSG, December 28th) – blog post
- William A. Shine – Great Neck South High School Performing Arts Department of Great Neck, NY (near MSG, December 29th) – blog post
- Harmony Program of New York, NY (near MSG, December 30th) – blog post
- New York City Charter School of the Arts of New York, NY (near MSG, December 31st) – blog post
The Mockingbird Foundation is an all-volunteer, fan-founded and -managed 501c3 supporting music education for children. It is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through phish.net since 1994. A leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has now made 425 grants in all 50 states, totaling more than $1.4M. Funds for grants are generated through donations from a loyal base of fans, as well as through books, recordings, artwork, merchandise, and special events. The Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff, since its inception in 1996.