SWAN SONGS® ANNOUNCES GIFT FROM TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA

TO FUND NATIONAL EXPANSION

Thanks to a $50,000 Gift from Austin-Based Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Swan Songs will launch Swan Songs Affiliates and impact communities across the country

(AUSTIN, TEXAS - May 31, 2023; source: Juice Consulting) - Austin music nonprofit Swan Songs is proud to announce a $50,000 gift from Tito’s Handmade Vodka in support of the nonprofit’s National Expansion Initiative, intended to build community and spread the Swan Songs mission across the country. Swan Songs will receive the funds over the course of two years as they develop the national model. Established in 2005, Swan Songs fulfills musical last wishes™ in the central Texas region. The organization has received over 2,000 unique requests from music lovers nearing the end-of-life and is continually refining the process of delivering the program, informed by experience. In 2020, Swan Songs Founder & CEO Christine Albert, the board and staff began actively building a model to allow the creation of Swan Songs affiliates in other communities.

“This generous gift from Tito’s allows Swan Songs to cover the expenses involved in an undertaking of this magnitude without using donations intended to support the local Austin community,” said Swan Songs Founder & CEO Christine Albert. “Tito’s recognizes that the support they provide now is laying the foundation for countless communities to create something very special in the not-too-distant future.”

 Aaron McDonnell and the Neon Eagles performing for Swan Songs

(Photo credit: Stacy Warner)

Tito’s Handmade Vodka began supporting Swan Songs in Austin in 2014, and they have witnessed Swan Songs’ impact and growth first hand.

“We’ve seen the incredible impact Swan Songs has had in the Austin community over the years for individuals, families, and musicians,” said Lindsey Bates, Director of Philanthropy Operations at Tito’s Handmade Vodka. “We’re excited to help them expand their mission and commitment to fulfilling musical last wishes to communities across the country.”

By the end of 2023, after undergoing a rigorous approval process, a limited number of communities will be invited to establish a Swan Songs Affiliate, a separate legal 501(c)(3) entity that aligns with Swan Songs’ principles and vision. The founding project managers will engage in robust training in Austin before facilitating concerts in their towns. This initial “beta-test phase” will provide valuable information to refine the model before opening the opportunity to more communities when the infrastructure is in place to support the growth.

By empowering others to create the structure around the mission and take ownership of its success, each Swan Songs location can be a community effort, infused with the unique culture and characteristics of the region.

“Since day one, I have received emails and phone calls inquiring, ‘How can I start Swan Songs in my town?’” said Albert. “It has become a personal calling to answer that question. With the support of Tito’s and so many others, the vision is becoming clearer and the dream a reality.”

Swan Songs is committed to sharing its mission and creating a movement that recognizes the power of music at the end of life, helps to bring conversations about death out of the shadows, and supports regional musicians by compensating them for their participation.

Swan Songs Founder & CEO Christine Albert

(Photo credit: Mary Bruton)

About Swan Songs:

Swan Songs was officially established in 2005 as an Austin, Texas-based 501(c)(3) organization, although the concept was born in the early ‘90s when Austin musician Christine Albert (Swan Songs Founder & CEO) was asked to sing for a dying fan. The idea to bring music directly to someone facing the end of life resonated with Austin psychotherapist Gaea Logan (Swan Songs co-founder), and the two women began informally organizing the bedside concerts. The organization is committed to utilizing professional musicians whose expertise and experience are central to the success of the program. They recognize the importance of compensating these artists, therefore a nonprofit was created to raise the necessary funds to offer an honorarium, with no financial obligation on the part of the recipient, their family or the healthcare facility. The name Swan Songs was chosen, inspired in part by John Swann – the terminally ill man Christine first sang for in 1992.  

Swan Songs has worked with dozens of regional hospices and care facilities and compensated over 500 musicians through the years. As the program evolved, it became apparent that there was a more compelling desire to request a certain style of music than a specific artist, although some regional artists have been requested by name (Guy Forsyth, Eliza Gilkyson, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy LaFave, Bob Schneider, Ray Benson, Carolyn Wonderland, Marcia Ball, The Flatlanders and more). 

Swan Songs works diligently to match the style of music requested with the appropriate musician(s). The variety of requests over the years reflects how deep an individual’s connection with music can be – based on a lifetime of memories, culture, heritage and geography. Whatever connects the recipient to those memories, their family, their joy – that is what Swan Songs brings. For more information on Swan Songs, visit www.swansongs.org.

About Tito’s Handmade Vodka:

Tito’s Handmade Vodka was founded by sixth-generation Texan, Bert “Tito” Beveridge. In the mid-nineties, on a plot of land in rural Austin, he built a 998 square foot shack, rigged a pot still with spare parts, and created Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Tito’s corn-based vodka is certified gluten free. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is distilled and bottled by Fifth Generation, Inc. in Austin, Texas, and is available in Liter, 1.75L, 750ml, 375ml, 200ml, and 50ml sizes. For more information, visit www.titosvodka.com.

SWAN SONGS MEDIA CONTACTS:

Madelyn Coleman

830-556-2791

[email protected]

Tyler Ostby

210-854-9119

[email protected]

TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA MEDIA CONTACT:

Sunshine, Sachs, Morgan & Lylis

[email protected]