a n n ual rep ort - Rock the Earth

President’s Message
“Like a steam locomotive rolling down the tracks....”
In a year in which the majority of environmental organizations faced challenges from all sides, Rock the Earth rose
up to meet those challenges and shine. It was our first full year as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization, and what a
year it was! 2005 was a non-stop year of enormous growth for our infant organization, and I’m proud to say that we
exceeded all expectations. This phenomenal growth was largely due to the hard work, perseverance and generosity
of our all-volunteer Board and Staff. Consider the following achievements from 2005:
• Rock the Earth now has over 750 members in 42 states, more than doubling our 2004 membership.
Over 6,000 people are now on our mailing list.
• Nearly 43% of our members and people on our mailing list have volunteered to assist Rock the Earth in some
way – from helping us out by tabling concerts and festivals, to providing legal or technical assistance, to grant
writing
• Rock the Earth volunteers logged more than 7,000 hours.
• Rock the Earth had a presence at over 136 concert dates throughout the United States and Canada in
2005, and had a full-time team that traversed the country for 17 weeks between May and September.
• Over 100 unpaid volunteers worked these concert and festival events in 2005.
• In 2005, Rock the Earth raised over $70,000 from memberships, sponsorships, donations, grants and auctions.
• 2005 marked a turning point in which the music industry began to embrace Rock the Earth financially. Jack
Johnson, The String Cheese Incident and Michael Franti all donated proceeds from
concerts to Rock the Earth, and the Rex Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the Grateful Dead)
provided us with an unsolicited grant as well.
• In 2005, Rock the Earth’s volunteer legal and technical Staff reviewed and/or worked on over 14 separate,
substantive issues and projects brought to our attention by folks in the music community (artists and fans).
• As 2005 came to a close, Rock the Earth formed a coalition of wilderness groups and prepared to engage in
its first litigation battle – a lawsuit against the National Park Service over the mismanagement of
the Colorado River as it flows through Grand Canyon National Park. The outcome of this matter will have a
significant and far-reaching impact on how wilderness is treated in the United States.
• In March 2005, Rock the Earth moved into a dedicated office space in the Alliance Center, a downtown
Denver building owned by the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. The Alliance Center provides a base of
operations for over 25 like-minded, non-profit organizations, facilitating collaboration on substantive issues and
reducing common costs.