The Board of Directors of The Mockingbird Foundation is excited to announce that, as of today, it will begin accepting inquiries for grants of up to $10,000. This amount represents a doubling of the Foundation’s maximum grant size, which had been set at $5,000 since the Foundation’s incorporation in 1997.
The previous maximum grant size was chosen in order to benefit a larger number of diverse music programs nationwide. By some measures, diversity has been achieved, as the Foundation has made 261 grants in nearly every state, to many different types of organizations, in diverse genres, for diverse populations, and with diverse goals. Over the last 18 years, however, inflation (38.2%, cumulatively) has reduced what grant recipients can do with $5,000.
Today, after years of successful fundraising, including through new projects and an improved ability to leverage funds (e.g., through matches from other, supportive foundations), the Foundation is financially able to distribute more funds for music education programs. The Board has thus adjusted the maximum grant size, not only in light of inflation, but also to amplify the direct support the Foundation gives to music education.
The new $10,000 maximum is effective for grants in our 21st round of competitive grants, for which inquiries are being accepted beginning today, for funding by year-end 2016. Although proposals for Round 19 (funding on or about December 20th, 2015) and Round 20 (funding on or about April 20, 2016) were invited under the previous maximum of $5,000, some awards in these Rounds will be matched or doubled, thanks to generous support from both the Kristy Anastasio Manning Memorial Fund (via the Vermont Community Foundation) and Phish’s own charity, The WaterWheel Foundation.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through www.phish.net since 1994. Soon, the Foundation will publish the third edition of the popular trade paperback book The Phish Companion. A leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has made 261 grants in 45 states to date, distributing more than $843,000. Proceeds are generated by celebrating the music of Phish through comprehensive books, innovative recordings, special art prints, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish fan community. The Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff, since its inception in 1996.
For more information about Phish, see the official phish.com or Mockingbird’s own fan-run phish.net.