The Rex Foundation was created by "members of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and Friends" in 1983 as a

charitable The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

to "proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education." The organization is named after Rex Jackson, a Grateful Dead

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

and later road manager until his death in 1976.

History

In the fall of 1983, the Rex Foundation was established as a non-profit charitable organization by members of the Grateful Dead and friends. The Rex Foundation enabled the Grateful Dead to go beyond responding to multiple requests for contributions, and proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education. The first benefit concerts for the Rex Foundation were held in the spring of 1984 at the Marin Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium. Since 1984 the Rex Foundation has granted $8.2 million to some 1,000 recipients. Virtually all grant recipients are selected through the personal knowledge of decision makers – as a result, grant requests are not solicited. Grants are made once or twice a year.

Mission

The Rex Foundation's stated mission is "to help secure a healthy environment, promote individuality in the arts, provide support to critical and necessary social services, assist others less fortunate than ourselves, protect the rights of

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and ensure their cultural survival, build a stronger community, and educate children and adults everywhere."

Artists participating (incomplete)

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

Donna Jean Godchaux Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American singer who was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1972 until 1979. Biography Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a ses ...

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued ...

The New Riders of the Purple Sage ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Keller Williams Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' d ...

* Grateful Grass (collaboration of Keller Williams, Keith Moseley, and Jeff Austin) *

Dark Star Orchestra Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Illinois. They serve as a tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Grateful Dead concert experience." Overview Dark Sta ...

Zen Tricksters The Zen Tricksters are an American Grateful Dead cover band. For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead covers and jam band music, as well as derivative original songs. The band started out as the Volunteers, play ...

Donna Jean and the Tricksters Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People * Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), I ...

moe. Moe (stylized as moe.) is an American jam rock band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are Rob Derhak ( bass, vocals), Al Schnier (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Chuck Garvey (guitar, vocals), Vinnie Amico (drums), and J ...

Tea Leaf Green Tea Leaf Green is an American four-piece jam band from the San Francisco Bay Area, composed of Josh Clark (guitar and vocals), Trevor Garrod ( keyboards, vocals, guitar, and harmonica), Scott Rager ( drums), and Eric DiBerardino (bass). Histo ...

Assembly of Dust Assembly of Dust (also known as AOD) is an American rock band formed in 2002 by former Strangefolk frontman Reid Genauer. After the breakup of Strangefolk, Genauer decided to record a solo album, and he recruited some friends from Strangefolk's ...

Ryan Montbleau Band Ryan Michael Montbleau (born June 18, 1977, in Peabody, Massachusetts, Peabody, Massachusetts, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He annually tours across the U.S. with the Ryan Montbleau Band. Background Although he ...

Beneficiaries

The Rex Foundation has contributed to: * The Achievement Academy at Simon's Recreation Center *The

American Indian College Fund The American Indian College Fund is a nonprofit organization that helps Native American students, providing them with support through scholarships and funding toward higher education. The fund provides an average of 6,000 annual scholarships for ...

* American Music Theater Festival *

Bethesda Project Bethesda Projectis a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, housing, and programs reaching out to individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From humble beginnings as a small group of volunteers, Bethesda Project ha ...

(My Brother's House) *

Camp Winnarainbow Camp Winnarainbow is a circus and performing arts camp for all ages, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization co-founded by American entertainer and peace activist Wavy Gravy and his wife Bonnie Beecher. Wavy, Bonnie and Txi Whizz jointly co-directed ...

*The Committee for a Better North Philadelphia *

Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is an American nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1991 to challenge mandatory sentencing laws and advocate for criminal justice reform. FAMM promotes sentencing policies that give judges the disc ...

*The Family Assistance Program *The

Farm School A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

Fishery Foundation of California Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

* Food and Friends * Greater Philadelphia Food Bank *

Hanford Education Action League Hanford may refer to: Places *Hanford (constituency), a constituency in Tuen Mun, People's Republic of China *Hanford, Dorset, a village and parish in England * Hanford, Staffordshire, England *Hanford, California, United States * Hanford, Iowa ...

* Huichol Sierra Fund for Community Development * Lithuanian Basketball Team * Mainstream Foundation *

Musicians United for Superior Education A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

* National Handicapped Sports * Native American Women's Health Education Center *

O'Neill Sea Odyssey O'Neill Sea Odyssey is an American non-profit organization located in Santa Cruz, California (California Non-Profit Corporation ID#77-0464784). It was founded in 1996 by wetsuit innovator Jack O'Neill and provides students with hands-on lessons ...

* Peer AIDS Education Coalition *The Poetry Project at St. Marks *

Project AVARY A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

* San Quentin Mass Choir * Sunburst Projects (Music from people with HIV/AIDS) *

Wave Hill Wave Hill is a estate in the Hudson Hill section of Riverdale in the Bronx, New York City. Wave Hill currently consists of public horticultural gardens and a cultural center, all situated on the slopes overlooking the Hudson River, with exp ...

- Putting Children in Touch with Nature *

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

, London - John Virtue Exhibition * United Indians of All Tribes Foundation *

Zen Hospice Project San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...

and many others.

Board Members

, Tim Walther, Cameron Sears, Sage Scully, John Scher, Cliff Palefsky, Roger McNamee, Nick Morgan, John Leopold, Michael Klein, Rosalie Howarth,

, Freddy Hahne,

Carolyn Garcia Carolyn Elizabeth Garcia (née Adams; born May 7, 1946), also known as Mountain Girl, is an American Merry Prankster and the former wife of Jerry Garcia, the lead vocalist and guitar player with the American rock band, Grateful Dead. Biogra ...

, Andy Gadiel, Kristin Dolan, Stefanie Coyote, Barry Caplan, Diane Blagman, Steve Bernstein, Tim Duncan, Dawn Holiday, Jay Caauwe Bill Graham (1984 – d.1991),

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

(1984 – d.1995) ;Executive Director Cameron Sears ;Advisory Board

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

, Jon McIntire,

Larry Brilliant Lawrence Brilliant (born May 5, 1944) is an American epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author, who worked with the World Health Organization from 1973–1976 helping to successfully eradicate smallpox. Brilliant, a technology pate ...

John Perry Barlow John Perry Barlow (October 3, 1947February 7, 2018) was an American poet, essayist, cattle rancher, and cyberlibertarian political activist who had been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He was also a lyricist for the ...

(d. 2018), Bernie Bildman, EMERITUS:

Hal Kant Harold Sanford "Hal" Kant (July 29, 1931 – October 19, 2008) was an entertainment industry attorney who specialized in representing musical groups. He was best known for his 35 years as principal lawyer and general counsel for the Grateful Dea ...

References

Rex Foundation History and Mission

Additional sources

* {{cite web , url=http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/47726/the-rex-foundation-life-after-dead.html , title=The Rex Foundation: Life After Dead , publisher=Glide Magazine , date=January 25, 2005 , access-date=January 1, 2013 , author=Sabatini, Joshua

External links

Rex Foundation
Foundations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Arts foundations based in the United States