In celebration of Phish’s 8-show spring tour, the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending an unsolicited $1,000 Tour Grant to a music education program near each show Phish performs. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities that Phish touches.

The recipients announced thus far include:

This is the 23rd round of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals over $230,000, which is 11% of all disbursements made by the foundation. Additional Tour Grants will be announced through the summer, in association with those 23 additional shows.

The Mockingbird Foundation is an all-volunteer, fan-founded and -managed 501(c)3 nonprofit organization supporting music education for children. A leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has now made 581 grants in all 50 states, totaling more than $2.1M. Funds for grants are generated through donations from a loyal base of fans, as well as through books, recordings, artwork, merchandise, and special events. Mockingbird is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through phish.net (and three associated books, so far) since 1994. The Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff, since its inception in 1996.