This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! What is the Waterwheel Foundation? Intro - Origin - Giving - Contact - On Tour - Beneficiaries Most of this content taken from WaterWheel flyers distributed on the Fall 1997 and Summer 1999 tours. Contact: Send email to waterwheel@phish.com Send snail mail to P.O. Box 4120, Burlington, VT 05406 Leave voice mail at (831) 429-2205 Official website Intro: Phish created the non-profit WaterWheel Foundation in 1997 to oversee the band's charitable activities. Initially established to oversee contributions toward the Lake Champlain clean-up, the foundation now continues an established touring program and now manages Phish's long-standing Vermont-based giving program. Giving Program: The Phish Organization has been actively involved in numerous philanthropic projects (benefit concerts, grant making, hosting organizations at shows, etc.) since the early 1990's. Phish has performed a number of benefit concerts over the years, most recently Farm Aid in Chicago and the Bridge School Benefits near San Francisco. Closer to home, the band sets aside a portion of each year's net profits for direct grants to charitable organizations close to home, working on environmental concerns, social issues, and the arts in Vermont. Greenpeace: Phish first met Mike Hayes in the summer of 1992 when they toured with Santana for several weeks. At the time, Mike was staffing the Greenpeace table on the Santana tour, signing up new members and raising awareness. When the Santana tour ended, Mike expressed interest in hosting a Greenpeace table on future Phish tours and we agreed. Along the way, Henry Schwab joined Mike at the table and the two became fixtures on Phish's tours (essentially beginning 4/17/92, although they were not at some shows for the first two years, e.g. 7.17.93.) In addition to representing Greenpeace, their table also became a a source of positive energy for fans, a gathering place for activists, and (in Fall 1995) the audience's strategy headquarters for the Band vs. Audience chess match. Over the years, many have helped a the table, including Amy Noel, Matt and Mike Beck, Joeann Costa, Russ Kreitman, and Rick Stansby. Lake Champlain Lake Champlain, a long, slender lake that extends over one hundred miles between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondacks of New York, is one of the nation's most important and historically significant natural resources. Unfortunately, the Lake is plagued by several major problems: an overabundance of phosphorous from sewage discharge and agricultural/urban run-off, various types of toxic waste, and non-native nuisance species such as zebra mussels. There are a large number of organizations actively working on the clean-up project: local and regional, private and governmental, big and small. Some significant progress has been made toward stemming the various problems, but there is a long way to go. Phish Food: The opportunity for Phish to help Lake Champlaign arose in 1995 when Ben and Jerry's™ approached the band and proposed an ice cream flavor called "Phish Food". They were excited by the prospect. After much discussion and even more tasting of flavors, the band signed off on the concept and the eponymous ice cream was born. The band decided that they would donate all royalties due to Phish from the venture to assisting Lake Champlaign. In addition, Ben and Jerry's™ agreed to donate a percentage of their profits from sales of Phish Food™ merchandise. The band members have always believed in the adage, "Think Globally, Act Locally" and this was the perfect opportunity to implemenet it. Clean water is an issue vital to every human being; of major importance on the local front, but also resontating on the national level. The band decided to donate all profits due to Phish from "Phish Food"™, toward the clean-up of Lake Champlain. The foundation hopes that others are inspired to make a contribution to similar issues in their own communities. The Touring Division began in 1997, the same year that Phish became involved in the efforts to clean up Lake Champlain. (Look for their tables inside, one on each side of the arena -- aka Page-side and Fishman-side, which is now Trey-side.) Since the WaterWheel's Touring Division began in 1997, you, the fans, have raised over $77,000 and helped 70 non-profits! In the Fall of 1997, as part of a major restructuring, Greenpeace discontinued their touring division, and a philanthropic void was left that had to be filled. With Mike and Henry's assistance, the WaterWheel's Touring Division was born. Its mission is to help non-profits raise awarenesss and funds at Phish shows. Phish started the Touring Division to help non-profits in each city that the band plans, in particular, organizations working on issues such as homelessness, low-income health care, clean water, organic gardens, and women's and children's concerns. From these guidelines, Mike and Henry research organizations in the various cities on the tour and select a different local group to table at each show. All the proceeds raised at a particular show (including sales of WaterWheel t-shirts and other merchandise, raffles, and donation) go directly to the organization tabling at that show, after deducting a small fee to help cover the program's overhead. (For the Fall 1997 tour, they also invited Rock the Vote to join us at as many shows as they can attend to register voters.) If you are interested in helping out, talk to anyone at the WaterWheel table, and/or see contact info, below. Chris Prang ran the touring devision from 2002 to the end. (thanks to Libby!) Past beneficiaries: Thus far WaterWheel has given away $118,000 to Lake Champlaign environmental groups. Three organizations received funding for general operating expenses: the Lake Champlaign Committee, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and the Lewis Creek Association. The Lake Champlaign Land Trust received money to keep an island free from development. Equipment was purchases for the University of Vermont's new Ecosystem Science Laboratory, and Rural Vermont received a grant to study the impact of agricultural pollution from factory farms. More donations were planned for later in 1999 -- check out www.phish.com for more information as it becomes available. Please note that at this time, the Foundation only accepts donations on behalf of local organizations tabled at shows. Invitations: To local organizations interested in working with Waterwheel, Henry Schwab wrote (May 1999), "Our foundation invites local non-profit organizations to each concert that we play around the U.S.. Four people from the invited organization sit with us behind two tables in the hallway, and we spend the night raising money and awareness for the invited non-profit. Waterwheel invites organizations that work on clean water, organic farming, homelessness, low-income housing, health care, domestic violence, runaways, and women's issues. Please send us some information on your organization and any organizations that you like. Also, send us a copy of your non-profit status, 501-(c)-(3) or likewise and a copy of your budget. It also helps us if you tell us in a paragraph what you would do with the $300 to $1500 dollars." Thanks also to Rich Bob, Marcie Vogel, and Mike. This page last updated February 03, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.