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 ca ...

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 to ...

* The New Riders of the Purple Sage *

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' ...

* 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 S ...

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, playi ...

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. *

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). Histor ...

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 d ...

* Ryan Montbleau Band

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 (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 *The Family Assistance Program *The Farm School * Fishery Foundation of California *

Food and Friends Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

Greater Philadelphia Food Bank Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film * Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 * Greater Bank, an Austra ...

* Hanford Education Action League * Huichol Sierra Fund for Community Development * Lithuanian Basketball Team * Mainstream Foundation * Musicians United for Superior Education * National Handicapped Sports * Native American Women's Health Education Center * O'Neill Sea Odyssey * Peer AIDS Education Coalition *The Poetry Project at St. Marks * Project AVARY * 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 f ...

, London - John Virtue Exhibition *

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation United Indians of All Tribes (also known as the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, or UIATF) is a non-profit foundation that provides social and educational services to Native Americans in the Seattle metropolitan area and aims to promot ...

* Zen Hospice Project 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, 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 nation ...

, 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 th ...

(d. 2018), Bernie Bildman, EMERITUS: Hal Kant

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