In celebration of Pride Month, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded and run entirely by Phish fans has announced an unsolicited $1,500 grant to the Los Angeles LGBT Center‘s Youth Services. The Mockingbird Foundation grant will support musical arts programming for approximately 120 youth.

Upon learning of the grant, the Center provided this statement: “The Los Angeles LGBT Center has been a safe haven for vulnerable LGBTQ young people for over 50 years. The Center’s Youth Services provides musical arts programming dedicated to nurturing youths’ creative aspirations, skills, growth, and talents. The mission here is to foster individual identities through self-expression while encouraging the creative process and collaboration. Regardless of background or skill level, the Center’s music programs offer space for youth to find and explore their voice, passion, and community. Thank you, Mockingbird Foundation!”

The Mockingbird Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans, with no salaries or paid staff, since its inception. Mockingbird is now a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through phish.net since 1994. Also a leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has now made 509 grants, in all 50 states, totaling $1,962,157.40. Proceeds are generated by celebrating the music of Phish through books, recordings, art, donations, and special events, including the recent Mockingbird Sessions.

For more information about Phish, see the official Phish.com or Mockingbird’s own fan-run Phish.net.

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