The benefit concert headlined by Jackson Browne earlier this month raised $153,000 from ticket sales for the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona's Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding, concert organizer Ron Barber said Tuesday.
The district director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was one of those wounded in the Jan. 8 shooting at a Congress on Your Corner outreach event in front of a Safeway on North Oracle Road.
Barber expects the total to swell by another $20,000 to $25,000 from merchandise sold at the March 10 concert and afterwards. He said there are still concert T-shirts, tote bags and water bottles from the show available at Bohemia, 2920 E. Broadway.
There is also the potential for more income for the foundation if the decision is made to release a DVD of the video shot at the concert.
"I'm waiting to see the director's cut, which is near completion," Barber said. He said a decision would be made with Browne and his manager to determine "if it's good enough to produce a DVD."
The proceeds from that, and all subsequent income related to the concert, will go to the foundation, Barber said.
The concert and foundation were conceived by Barber and his family in the days after the shooting. Barber said the foundation would use the funds to help people at the shooting who were traumatized by the event even though they weren't wounded. Other goals for the foundation are promoting training to identify people in need of mental-health assistance, starting an anti-bullying program for schools and promoting civility in the community with the help of local congregations. There have also been contributions to the foundation from individuals, including a $50,000 gift from car dealer Jim Click.
The services of the concert performers, the use of the Tucson Arena, and many of the support services needed to stage the concert, including that of Phoenix promoter Danny Zelisko, were donated.
An estimated 4,500 people attended the March 10 concert.
Barber has said he wants to produce two more shows, one to raise additional money for the foundation and a second just to thank Tucsonans for their support after the shootings. But as yet he said there are no solid plans for subsequent shows.
