We just got a good news/bad news update from Terry Pinkham. She and her husband, Jeff, are managing the grass-roots effort to raise money to assist Tony Rice with living expenses while he is trying to recover his voice, and receive treatment for the arthritis that has taken away his ability to play guitar.

The good news is that since this campaign started less than a month ago, they have received donations of $44,000. In that number are 40 people who have agreed to a recurring monthly donation via PayPal (or credit card).

What a great response in such a short time!

The bad news isn’t really all that bad. It’s just that Terry has received about $2,000 in checks made out to the Tony Rice Foundation, and they need to be made out to Tony Rice. All are being sent back to the donors with a return SASE, so if you sent a check made out to the Foundation, be on the lookout for the check coming back. If you will destroy your original check and send one back made out to Tony, it will be much appreciated.

For more details on Tony’s condition, you can read our previous posts:

Earlier this month, I threw around the number of $50,000 – which I simply pulled out of the air – suggesting that it would be wonderful to raise that amount by the end of the year. If folks make a big push today and tomorrow, that goal is within reach.

If you’d like to contribute to the Tony Rice fund, you may do so by clicking the PayPal button below, or by sending a check (made out to Tony Rice) to:

Tony Rice Foundation/Pinkham

PO Box 914

Odessa, FL 33556

Peter Cooper had a great story last week in The Tennessean, spreading the word within the Nashville community. Here’s a sample:

As music fans, we are regularly being asked to give our favorite artists more than the cost of an album, a song download or a concert ticket. In 2013 thousands of musicians paid for recording projects and marketing campaigns through crowd funding platforms such as Kickstarter. They ask supporters to donate at various levels, often in exchange for various goods and services, such as autographed albums, demo recordings or house concerts. I’ve contributed (albeit at skinflint-ish levels) to a few such campaigns, and have felt good in doing so, though I understand people who refuse to contribute, feeling that they don’t owe anything to folks who’ve chosen a fiscally insane career path: Who on earth would devote most waking hours to a pursuit where odds are stacked against ever making a minimal living? Why purchase more pipe for somebody’s pipe dream? My answer is simply that I like music and want people to make it. And I’m bummed that Tony Rice gave his life to doing something that he is now unable to do. I know life isn’t fair, but I wish it were, and in a fair and just world Tony Rice would be living in comfort and receiving medical help that would allow him to play his beautiful music without searing pain.”

Read the full article online.

Thanks to everyone who has assisted in this campaign.