The University of Texas created the new Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities to honor the country star's decades of fundraising work for small farms.
Nelson has raised more than $70M for small family farms through Farm Aid over the years.
- The new endowment will be housed at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs.
- Larry
Temple, Chairman of the LBJ Foundation Board of Trustees, said that
Nelson "is a national treasure who gained fame through his sheer musical
talent and won hearts as someone who truly cares about the lives of his
fellow Americans."
- The 89-year-old country singer-songwriter helped to start the first Farm Aid benefit concert in 1985 during a period in which many U.S. family farms were closing due to financial pressures.
- Nelson will receive the LBJ Foundation's Liberty and Justice for All award, joining an illustrious list of former winners that includes the late Rep. John Lewis, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.
- Nelson won the Grammy for best country album for "A Beautiful Time" in February.
- He also won the Grammy for best country solo performance for "Live Forever," bringing his lifetime total to a dozen Grammy wins.
