The PayCheck Cavalry Fund

My family has been in country music for over eighty years. I spent close to twenty years in the Army, in the air and in intelligence, with a combat tour in Afghanistan. Today, my wife and I run a farm and have been part of the agricultural community for over 20 years. This fund is where those things meet.

My father was known as an "outlaw" country artist. I want to bring a little more of the white hat cowboy back to our family name, to preserve the history of the American West, keep the American cowboy alive, and make sure my great grandchildren know why Texas and the Western way of life will always matter.

Without the U.S. military and American ranchers and farmers, we would not have this great country we call home. I want to make sure we give something back and help those who have given us so much in their respective lines of service and professions. Those who understand that they may never truly be whole after the sacrifices they have made for our country, for Texas, and for the people who benefit from their work.

The PayCheck Cavalry Fund is a grantmaking fund, not a program. We don't run anything ourselves. We raise money and hand it to the people already doing the work in three areas:

Texas veterans and their families. Service animals, veteran organizations, and the people who take care of the ones who came home.

Western heritage. Museums, historic forts, living history and reenactment units, cowboy arts and crafts, Western music, and the working cowboy.

Ranching and agriculture. Horse rescues, FFA and 4-H kids, cowboy rescue organizations, and ranch and farm families in a hard year.

The rules are simple. We give to organizations small enough that our check matters: a county museum, a reenactor unit that needs tack, a rescue with a hay bill, not to anything with a marble lobby. Every grant is announced from the stage and listed on this page with a running total, so you can see exactly where your money went. Nobody on the board is paid, and my company covers the Fund's operating costs, so every dollar you give goes out the door.

Where the money comes from: a dollar from every ticket at many of our shows, all profits from the sale of Fund merchandise, part of the proceeds from "Battles You Never Knew," a benefit show once a year when we are able, and gifts from fans and businesses who want to put their name on a grant.

"Cavalry" is where the West and the soldier were the same person. It's also the name of my band. "PayCheck" is my family, and this Fund is built to outlast me and be run one day by my children and grandchildren.

Every show, every song, a check for somebody who earned it.

The PayCheck Cavalry Fund is a Texas nonprofit corporation. Its application for recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization is pending with the IRS. Contributions made after the formation date are expected to be tax deductible retroactive to that date upon approval.