About

The Gonzo Foundation

How We Started

In November 2004, Ralph Steadman was visiting Owl Farm in Woody Creek, Colorado, with his wife, Anna Steadman, and print artist Joe Petro. During a late-night kitchen conversation, Ralph suggested the concept of the Gonzo Foundation. Hunter liked the idea, and his wife, Anita Thompson, secured the domain and began outlining the Gonzo Foundation’s mission: To promote journalism, American literature, and political activism through the work of Hunter S. Thompson. The concept worked its way through the conversation, but it was later shelved.

After Hunter’s death in 2005, Anita officially founded the Gonzo Foundation to honor what he stood for. The nonprofit sprouted from its roots planted in the kitchen that night. Ralph, one of the first board members, has been carrying on with the work that he and Hunter started with their first Gonzo collaboration, “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.”

Where We Are Today

The Gonzo Foundation hosts political debates in conjunction with local Grassroots TV and after-school programs for area students. We contribute to University endowments to lighten the financial load of students going into the important profession of Journalism in a changing world. Although we are a small nonprofit, we are growing steadily with help from friends and those who loved the work of literature, journalism and the activism inspired by Hunter S. Thompson.