The WaterWheel Foundation is a non-profit organization created by the rock band

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

on April 22, 1997, to oversee their charitable activities. Initially, the Foundation included The Touring Division, The Giving Program, and the Lake Champlain Initiative. The Lake Champlain Initiative continues to donate proceeds from the sale of

Ben and Jerry's Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin (name), Benjamin, Benedict (given name), Benedict, Bennett (name), Bennett, Benson (given name), Benson or Ebenezer (given name), Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its ...

Phish Food ice cream to support the environmental well-being of Lake Champlain and its watershed.

Lake Champlain Initiative

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

, a sizeable lake on the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

border, is currently plagued by several major problems: an overabundance of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

from sewage, agricultural/urban run-off, toxic waste, and invasions of non-native species. Over half of the lake is considered to be too polluted to be of full use, and yet sees over $1 billion in tourism each year. Fellow Vermonters

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

approached the band in 1995 regarding a flavor called ''Phish Food''; Phish decided that they would donate all royalties to help Lake Champlain. WaterWheel has given away over $1 million to 29 organizations working on issues affecting Lake Champlain covering a wide variety of issues: land conservation, environmental advocacy, activism, education, and so forth. Phish drummer

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer and co-founder of the band Phish, which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo credit. Early life Fishman was born in Ph ...

said the band was inspired to found the Waterwheel Foundation by actor

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

, who founded the

Newman's Own Newman's Own is an American food company headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. Founded in 1982 by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner, the company donates all of its after-tax profits to charity through Newman's Own Foundation, a pri ...

food company and donated all profit from their products to charity.

Touring Division

The primary mission of WaterWheel's Touring Division is dedicated to raising funds for one selected non-profit in each community to which Phish toured. The proceeds from the sale of WaterWheel merchandise is donated directly to the organization table of the charity at that particular show. WaterWheel has donated over $400,000 to more than 189 organizations. During the band's hiatus (10/00 - 12/02), the Touring Division continued to tour with

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, composer, and singer-songwriter best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 ...

side-projects ( Anastasio's first project,

Oysterhead Oysterhead is an American rock supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police, with both Claypool and Anastasio providing vocals. The band's eclectic sound has ...

). Original Touring Division directors Mike Hayes and Henry Schwab left the organization at the commencement of the hiatus. The division's activities were carried forward by Chris Prang & Matt Beck through the hiatus and into Phish's first two years back on the road.

Local giving

Comprising the organizations in which a band member takes a personal interest, Local Giving is concentrated on Vermont-based non-profits. Past recipients have included the Vermont Youth Orchestra, Women's Rape Crisis Center, Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts, The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, and Vermont Public Television.

References

# # # # #
WaterWheel Foundation, Inc. The
. ''Corporations Division''. Vermont Secretary of State. Accessed on May 5, 2016. #
Form 990-PF: Return of Private Foundation
. ''The Waterwheel Foundation''.

Guidestar Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center. ...

. December 31, 2014.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:WaterWheel Foundation Vermont culture Phish Charities based in Vermont Organizations established in 1994