Rex Foundation

From their earliest days, the Grateful Dead received countless requests for help from community organizations, and became known for their generosity and their numerous benefit concerts. In the fall of 1983, members of the band, with family and friends, established the Rex Foundation — named after Rex Jackson, a Grateful Dead roadie and later road manager until his untimely death in 1976 — as a non-profit charitable organization, allowing the band to proactively support creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education. The band played the first of many Rex Foundation benefit concerts in the spring of 1984.

Following Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995 and the subsequent dissolution of the band, the Rex Foundation has continued to make grants funded by the very elements that hold our community together: music, connection, fun, creativity and community spirit. Since 1984 the Rex Foundation has granted $9 million to over 1,300 recipients.

In pursuit of its Mission, the Rex Foundation Board established the following Guiding Principles and Values:

Support organizations committed to grassroots action.
Identify entities doing good work that might otherwise be overlooked.
Help people who are helping others and are trying to make a difference.
Benefit the broader community and the broader good.
Respect individual rights and differences.
Respect traditional wisdom cultures.
Be a catalyst for change where our involvement helps leverage greater impact.
Provide support beyond direct funding by boosting the visibility of the recipient’s work.
Help people develop bold new solutions to problems.
Exercise appropriate risk-taking while practicing trust, inclusiveness and open-mindedness.
Promote an active, informed citizenry.
Remain non-partisan.

Categories: Nonprofit

Events from this artist

February 2026
Sat, February 21st, 2026 @ 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Eyes of the World Benefit: Cubensis + Great Divide + Shaky Feelin’

Lodge Room 104 North Avenue 56, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Experience the authentic Grateful Dead sound with Cubensis, a premier tribute band touring extensively across the southwest. Enjoy improvisation-rich performances spanning all eras of the Dead and Jerry Garcia Band’s legendary catalog.
$37.50