Citing a loss in sponsor revenue and donations, the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society has issued an appeal to members and volunteers to raise $50,000 to meet 2017 Music Festival expenses, cover current monthly operations and pay down existing debt.
Describing the situation as “dire,” STJS president Dave Becker explained the need for this financial infusion in a letter to the membership. He writes:
“All non-profit organizations are constructed like a 4-legged piano bench. The four legs are: 1) Fund-raising events (such as our Music Festival); 2) Memberships; 3) Sponsors; and 4) Donations. If even one of the legs falls short, the bench cannot stand solidly. That is the position in which STJS finds itself this year.
“We made a modest profit from the 2016 Music Festival and continue to make modest profits on other events such as our Second Sunday concerts. Also, our Membership has been slowly growing again. However, we have fallen short on Sponsorships this year, and Donations have been nearly nothing.
“If we don’t raise money immediately, we may be forced to close our doors, and if that happens, we will lose our beloved STJS and the Sacramento Music Festival, a tradition in Old Sacramento over Memorial Day weekend for the past 46 years.
“Sadly, many Festivals across the nation have faced similar circumstances and have had to close their doors forever. But with YOUR help, OUR story doesn’t have to end that way. OURS can conclude with a happy ending. Our plight is no different from that of any other non-profit organization.
“Our campaign’s goal is to raise $50,000. All donations are tax-deductible. The funds generated from this campaign will be used to meet 2017 Music Festival expenses, current monthly operating expenses, and to pay down our existing debt.”
Ed Note: The Sacramento Festival is no more, and efforts to revive the society are ongoing. You can trace the story through these related items from our paper:
Sacramento Music Festival Defunct after Four Decades
Sacramento Jazz Society Reboots
Sacramento Capital City Jazz and Swing Association Folds
We have also featured long essays about transitions in the festival scene generally, and the way forward:
Festival Scene in Flux
“A Crisis of the Old Order”
What Is to Be Done?
And it isn’t all doom and gloom, we have continued to bring you good news from the still healthy Sacramento Jazz Education Foundation.
The former Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society Foundation has a new name.
Sacramento Jazz Education Foundation Launches Instrument Match Program
Sacto Jazz Ed Foundation: “Reno, Here We Come!”
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Lew Shaw started writing about music as the publicist for the famous Berkshire Music Barn in the 1960s. He joined the West Coast Rag almost thirty years ago and has been a guiding light to this paper through the two name changes since then as we became The Syncopated Times. 47 of his profiles are collected in Jazz Beat: Notes on Classic Jazz. Volume two, containing profiles from 2013-2016 will be available on Amazon soon. He taps his extensive network of connections and friends throughout the traditional jazz world to bring us his Jazz Jottings column every month.
