Caribou Gets Charitable With Polaris Money

It's been more than a month since Caribou won the Polaris Music Prize, but Dan Snaith has just revealed how he'll spend the $20,000 he received for last year's Andorra.

Snaith, who lives in London, England, wrote in a Nov. 7 post on his website that he'll spend part of the money recording Andorra's follow-up. The rest will go to two Canadian charities, Ecojustice and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

"I have always thought of Canada as an environmentally progressive place, something which I believe was reflected in my education in the Canadian public school system," Snaith writes on his decision to dole out some money to Ecojustice. "However, recently the Canadian government has acted as a global obstacle to climate action. In a study this year Canada ranked 29th out of 30 industrialized nations for tackling climate change."

"With another term of Conservative government beginning that looks unlikely to change which is why I believe it's important to not only address climate change individually but also to fight for environmentally sound legislation in Canada."

Snaith chose the Stephen Lewis Foundation as his second charity of choice because of its "excellent track record and thoughtfulness" in using money where it will make the most difference.

"They fund community based projects in Sub-Saharan Africa which address the fact that the AIDS epidemic affects not only those infected but their care networks and communities as a whole, emphasizing women, orphans and grandmothers," he wrote.

Check out some of our video footage from the 2008 Polaris gala, and see Snaith win the giant $20,000 cheque.