The Material World Charitable Foundation, also known as the Material World Foundation (MWF), is a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

founded by English musician George Harrison in April 1973. Its launch coincided with the release of Harrison's album '' Living in the Material World'' and came about in reaction to the taxation issues that had hindered his 1971–72 aid project for refugees of the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. Harrison assigned his publishing royalties from nine of the eleven songs on ''Living in the Material World'', including the hit single "

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the opening track of his 1973 album '' Living in the Material World''. It was also issued as the album's lead single, in May that year, and bec ...

", to the foundation, in

perpetuity A perpetuity is an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash payments that continues forever. There are few actual perpetuities in existence. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) government issued them in the past; these were known as cons ...

. The MWF's purpose is to donate to various causes and promote diverse artistic endeavours and philosophies. Its first project in the latter regard was sponsoring a 1974 revue of

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

– the Music Festival from India – led by

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

and featuring world music pioneers such as Shivkumar Sharma,

Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (officially called Prayagraj) in the ...

L. Subramaniam Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. Early years Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, Brit ...

and

Sultan Khan Sultan Khan may refer to: *Sultan Khan (chess player) (1903–1966), Indian chess player *Sultan Khan (musician) (1940–2011), Indian sarangi player *Sultan Mohammed Khan (1919–2010), Pakistani civil servant and British India Army officer *Sult ...

. A year after Harrison's death, proceeds from the 2002

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arran ...

, along with accompanying album and film releases, went to the foundation for dispersal to appropriate charities. The Material World Charitable Foundation continues to operate under the objectives outlined by Harrison in 1974, funded by income from his donated copyrights.

Establishment

George Harrison founded the Material World Charitable Foundation, or MWF, on 26 April 1973, close to two years after he had organised

the Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...

in New York as a benefit for refugees of the

. As effective as this relief effort had been in raising awareness in the Western world and helping to stop the war between what was then

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, the revenue it generated for the refugees had been denied tax-exempt status in America and the UK. In addition, up to $10 million of the funds remained in

escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...

, subject to an

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

audit. Speaking to British DJ

Nicky Horne Nicky Horne (born 3 September 1950) is an English DJ, who has worked for a variety of radio stations, including Capital Radio. Career Horne worked as a road manager for Emperor Rosko in 1969, before presenting shows on BBC Radio 1, from 197 ...

, Harrison recognised that the existence of a foundation or trust in 1971 would have ensured that all the revenue had reached

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

immediately, but that "there was no real planning

or the Concert for Bangladesh Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mi ...

… it was an emergency." Harrison named the foundation after the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

to his 1973 album, '' Living in the Material World'', a composition in which he contrasts the temptations of the material world with the pursuit of spiritual goals. To fund the MWF, Harrison donated his copyright for nine of the eleven songs on the album, ensuring a perpetual stream of income through his publishing royalties.Schaffner, p. 160. The album enjoyed considerable commercial success, topping America's ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart for five weeks, and produced one of Harrison's most popular hit songs, "

". Harrison similarly assigned to the MWF his copyright to " Sunshine Life for Me", a track he recorded with

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

for the latter's '' Ringo'' album, another bestseller over 1973–74. For the foundation's logo, Harrison used an adaptation of the traditional Om symbol in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

, as it appeared on the artwork for ''Material World'' and his subsequent album, ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

'' (1974). According to the stated mission of the Material World Charitable Foundation, its purpose is twofold: to serve as a

making donations to various causes, and to sponsor and encourage artistic endeavours and "alternative life views and philosophies".''Collaborations'', p. 32. About">"Material World Charitable Foundation" > About
, georgeharrison.com (retrieved 29 October 2013). During the same conversation with Horne, in August 1974, Harrison explained that, as with his recently launched

record label,Madinger & Easter, p. 442. his inspiration for the foundation was similar to what

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

had intended for their

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

organisation in 1968: "a foundation in which we could help eople. The establishment of the Material World Charitable Foundation ensured that all the money he personally made through music and wished to donate could find its way to the cause of his choice,Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How ''Dark Horse'' Whipped Up a Winning Tour", ''

CIrcus Raves A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicycl ...

'', March 1975; available a
Rock's Backpages
(''subscription required''; retrieved 22 October 2013). whereas otherwise, to donate £10 he had to earn at least ten times that amount.
Contra Band Music, 21 August 2012 (retrieved 22 October 2013).

Activities

Harrison credited his friendship with Indian musician

as being instrumental in his aims for the MWF, since Shankar had led him to a greater appreciation of other cultures and their music. The foundation's first venture was to sponsor Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India,Olivia Harrison, p. 302. the debut performance of which took place at London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

on 23 September 1974.Badman, p. 133. Harrison had first envisioned such a festival of

in 1967–68, as a means of presenting India's musical and cultural heritage to a Western audience.''Collaborations'', p. 15. The Music Festival brought together established pioneers of the genre, such as Shivkumar Sharma and

, and future international stars including

and

. The foundation also sponsored a series of European concerts by this ensemble of musicians and singers. Harrison biographer Simon Leng writes of the achievement in staging the Music Festival: "In effect, this was the first Indian orchestra to appear in Europe." Three of the concerts on Harrison and Shankar's joint North American tour at the end of that year were benefits for the Material World Charitable Foundation. After Harrison's death in November 2001, his hit song "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album '' All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was t ...

" was reissued as a charity single, the proceeds from which the MWF distributed to organisations such as

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. ...

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospi ...

and Britain's

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Y ...

. The foundation then sponsored the 2002

tribute, and the funds raised through associated film and

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

releases in 2003 similarly went to the MWF for distribution to charitable causes. In his 2009 book ''

You Never Give Me Your Money "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney) and documented the financial and personal difficulties facing the band. The song is the firs ...

'', author

Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...

wrote that the Material World Charitable Foundation "continues to fund worthy causes to this day". Another humanitarian initiative resulting from the Concert for Bangladesh, the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, remains active with international projects to help provide emergency relief for children in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

in 2011 and fundraising challenges through the Association of College Unions International."The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF: 'Help Us Save Some Lives' Campus Challenge"

, 13 October 2011 (retrieved 30 October 2013). As Harrison had intended, the perpetual donation of his 1973 copyrights has continued to benefit the foundation. Commercial re-releases for the songs include the remastered ''Living in the Material World'' in September 2006, which added the long-unavailable

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

" Miss O'Dell",John Metzger
"George Harrison ''Living in the Material World''"
''The Music Box'', vol. 13 (11), November 2006 (retrieved 4 October 2014). another composition that Harrison assigned to the MWF in 1973; the career-spanning compilation '' Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison'' (2009), containing "Give Me Love"; and '' Early Takes: Volume 1'' (2012), which includes a demo of "

The Light That Has Lighted the World "The Light That Has Lighted the World" is a song by English musician George Harrison released on his 1973 album '' Living in the Material World''. It is viewed as a statement on Harrison's discomfort with the attention afforded him as an ex- Bea ...

".Album credits, '' Early Takes: Volume 1'' CD (

UMe ''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...

, 2012; produced by George Harrison & Giles Martin).

Notes

Citations

Sources

* Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). * ''Collaborations'', book accompanying '' Collaborations'' box set by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison (

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' projects whil ...

, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; package design by Drew Lorimer & Olivia Harrison). * Peter Doggett, ''You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup'', It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ). * The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ). * George Harrison, ''I Me Mine'', Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002; ). * Olivia Harrison, ''George Harrison: Living in the Material World'', Abrams (New York, NY, 2011; ). * Ian Inglis, ''The Words and Music of George Harrison'', Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ). * Peter Lavezzoli, ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * ''The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'', Fireside/Rolling Stone Press (New York, NY, 1995; ). * Nicholas Schaffner, ''The Beatles Forever'', McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ). * Bruce Spizer, ''The Beatles Solo on Apple Records'', 498 Productions (New Orleans, LA, 2005; ). * Gary Tillery, ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ). * Bob Woffinden, ''The Beatles Apart'', Proteus (London, 1981; ). * ''World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific)'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2000; ).

External links

MWF page at georgeharrison.com
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522201554/http://www.georgeharrison.com/mwf/main.html , date=22 May 2017 George Harrison Foundations based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1973