Mockingbird Foundation, Inc

Mission Statement

The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1996 by fans of the band Phish to raise funds for music education. With no salaries, staff, office, or endowment, the 11 directors live in 8 states, have supported grantees in 43 states, and work with volunteers worldwide. It exists almost exclusively online, using the Internet for publicity, fundraising, all internal communications, and even to develop, produce, and distribute intellectual property. Borne from a Usenet newsgroup, and started in a mailing list, Mockingbird now utilizes blogs, forums, RSS feeds, Twitter, and Facebook; publishes content to a dozen other sites through a set of APIs, and to four mobile device "apps" through strategic partnerships; and develops internal guidelines and draft content in Google Docs. The Foundation recently announced that Phish fans have donated over one million dollars to charity.