Thanks to external support from a corporation that doesn’t even want attention for it, the Mockingbird Foundation is sending four unsolicited $1,000 checks to music education programs in and around New York City. These are unanticipated matching grants for the $1,000 checks that Mockingbird sent those programs just three months ago, and bring the total number of Foundation grants to 450.
All eight of these new grants are in celebration of Phish’s four-show New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden and continuing a long-standing effort of awarding unsolicited grants to a music program near each venue at which Phish performs. Mockingbird has now made $178,000 in tour grants, 11% 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 450 grants in all 50 states, totaling more than $1.6M. 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.