If you’re a band that’s survived 50 years, the best thing you can do is throw the biggest concert party ever … and that’s exactly what the remaining members of the Grateful Dead did at the end of June and over the July 4th holiday weekend in Santa Clara, California, and in Chicago, Illinois, respectively. Luckily, Fare Thee Well co-producer and RtE Advisory Board member, Peter Shapiro, made sure that charity was a central part of the event and enlisted our friends in Headcount to organize 17 charity beneficiaries to help share in the financial gains reaped from these historic shows.
Representing the allegedly last shows by the “core four” remaining members of the Grateful Dead, the shows quickly became the concert event of the century, with tickets being sold in the secondary market for thousands of dollars. Headcount leveraged donated tickets, a custom guitar, and a handful of other rare items to raise money for the charitable beneficiaries which included Rock the Earth.
Going a step further, the voter registration organization also commissioned artists to design limited-edition postcards that every participating nonprofit received in order to encourage actions by attendees at the show. Rock the Earth, for example, only awarded these coveted mementos to those who either signed a Roan Plateau petition postcard, signed our mailing list, or signed up for membership in Rock the Earth. To that end, hundreds of actions were taken by visitors to the Rock the Earth tables at the shows!
Overall, the Headcount auctions raised over three quarters of a million dollars for charity and Rock the Earth expects to receive an equitable portion by summer’s end.
Big thanks to Peter Shapiro, Madison House Presents, Headcount, our volunteers in Santa Clara and Chicago, as well as each and every person who came by the Rock the Earth tables and took action!