Its launch coincided with the release of Harrison's album Living in the Material World and came about in reaction to the taxation issues that had hindered his 1971–72 aid project for refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

The Material World Charitable Foundation was established by George Harrison in 1973 to sponsor diverse forms of artistic expression and to encourage the exploration of alternative life views and philosophies.

[3] As effective as this relief effort had been in raising awareness in the Western world and helping to stop the war between what was then West and East Pakistan,[4] the revenue it generated for the refugees had been denied tax-exempt status in America and the UK.

[8] Speaking to British DJ Nicky Horne, Harrison recognised that the existence of a foundation or trust in 1971 would have ensured that all the revenue had reached UNICEF immediately, but that "there was no real planning [for the Concert for Bangladesh] … it was an emergency.

[18][nb 1] For the foundation's logo, Harrison used an adaptation of the traditional Om symbol in Devanagari, as it appeared on the artwork for Material World and his subsequent album, Dark Horse (1974).

[32] The Music Festival brought together established pioneers of the genre, such as Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia,[33] and future international stars including L. Subramaniam and Sultan Khan.

[39] After Harrison's death in November 2001, his hit song "My Sweet Lord" was reissued as a charity single,[40][41] the proceeds from which the MWF distributed to organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Britain's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.