The band, of course, hit it big and has now sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Matthews, though, has remained dedicated to helping the Charlottesville community.
In 1999, the band established the Bama Works Fund with the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. Since then, the band has donated a portion of every ticket sold at every concert to that fund, raising more than $52 million for more than 2,000 grants supporting charitable programs in the Charlottesville area. A 2016 benefit concert at John Paul Jones Arena, celebrating the Dave Matthews Band’s silver anniversary, raised more than $1 million for the fund in a single night.
In the wake of the violent white supremacist demonstrations on Aug. 11-12, 2017, Matthews hosted A Concert for Charlottesville, raising money for a fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation supporting victims of the violence, first responders and organizations dedicated to promoting equality and tolerance. The performers – many recruited by Matthews – included Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Chris Stapleton, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, The Roots, Cage the Elephant, Coldplay and surprise megastar guest Stevie Wonder.
Then, in 2018, Matthews and the band donated $5 million to support the renovation and redevelopment of public housing in Charlottesville, as well as the construction of additional affordable housing.