We're the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation - a nonprofit community development organization that was set up more than 30 years ago to preserve and promote the musical culture of New Orleans.
Maybe you've heard of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (www.nojazzfest.com). It's a world-famous event that attracts many thousands of visitors to our city each year, always on the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May. We own it.
That's right - it's ours. The festival - known universally as Jazz Fest - is our signature asset and primary fund-raiser. The profits from Jazz Fest go to the Foundation, which uses them for a range of community development activities.
These include:
* Radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM (www.wwoz.org), the main community radio outlet in New Orleans. It plays (and streams on the web) a steady diet of New Orleans music, 24/7.
* The Heritage School of Music, a free after-school program that teaches the children of New Orleans how to master an instrument.
* A Community Grants Program, which has distributed more than $1 million since the mid-1980s to individuals and arts organizations.
* S.E.E.D. (Supporting Enfranchising Economic Development), a micro-lending program for disadvantaged businesses in the creative industries.
* Raisin' the Roof, a housing initiative that trains first-time home buyers and assists with closing costs.
* The Foundation Archive, which is the home of a huge assortment of artifacts from the amazing history of the festival and the foundation. The wealth of photos, documents, audio and video are a valuable resource for scholars, historians and students.
We also have various free public events that we put on throughout the year - such as the New Orleans Blues Festival, a Latin music event called Fiesta Latina, a scholarly symposium called the Tom Dent/Congo Square Lecture Series, the Jazz Journey concert series and many more.
And we give away thousands of tickets to Jazz Fest each year so that school kids, church groups and others can attend for free.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. We would welcome your tax-deductible contribution, which will help us continue the many programs that enrich the culture of New Orleans - the birthplace of American music.
For more information, please see our web site, www.nojhf.org.
Thank you!
