The 2026 Grateful Guitars Foundation and Music Heals International Annual Benefit Auction will wrap up on Friday, June 26 at 9 PM PT. Both of these nonprofits are focused on the future.

The Grateful Guitars Foundation “obtains world-class musical instruments for talented players who seek to carry on the tradition of jam band music into the 21st century and beyond, while also supporting music-education non-profits in seeding the next generations of talented players nationwide.”

Music Heals International is currently assisting “Children facing trauma and poverty in Haiti, India and Venezuela.” The organization “has used music to build confidence, belonging, and opportunity – reaching thousands of youth while training local leaders to carry the impact forward.”

The marquee item in the auction is the Doug Irwin designed and certified “Dire Wolf” Bass Guitar #2, crafted by renowned luthier Bill Asher of Asher Guitars and Lap Steels. It was donated, played and signed by Oteil Burbridge during the Unbroken Chain weekend at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium in March 2026.

As Irwin Guitars notes:

More than fifty years ago, Doug Irwin built a guitar for Jerry Garcia known as Wolf. It became one of the most storied instruments in rock history and the foundation for everything that came after.
When Oteil Burbridge set out to create a bass in that lineage, he worked with master builder Bill Asher and Doug Irwin to bring the vision to life. The result was the “Dire Wolf” Bass: a six-string bass built on Doug’s body core design, and made to the exact specifications Oteil and Bill worked out backstage at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

After Oteil received his Dire Wolf, a second instrument was commissioned to give back in its honor. Dire Wolf 2 is being offered to benefit the Grateful Guitars Foundation, which supports music education for underserved youth while placing world-class instruments in the hands of exceptional players, and Music Heals International, founded by Sara Wasserman, which brings music programs to children in Haiti, India, and Venezuela. Former students are now leading classrooms, indigenous youth are reclaiming their cultural identity through music, girls are forming the first all-female bands their communities have ever seen, and the work will carry on beyond a generation.

At Irwin Guitars, we are proud to see Doug’s design legacy support a cause that reflects the spirit of music itself. This instrument was built from a love of music and a belief that instruments belong in as many hands as possible.

Other auction items include: a personal Jam Room Tour with Grateful Guitars Foundation Founder Andy Logan, an online guitar lesson with Eggy’s Jake Brownstein, an online guitar lesson with Nate LaPointe of Cubensis and a Bob Weir/Rob Wasserman print and book package by Jay Blakesberg.

Again, bidding closes on Friday, June 26 at 9 PM PT.