#morejazz
Let's Make it Happen
Since 2010 we have been investing in live jazz: sponsoring events, raising money, developing tools, and supporting professional musicians and the students who play beside them. Whether you want to start a club for jazz, fund the music at your venue, or support your band, we are here to help you make it happen.
See the ways to partner Start a conversationThe math doesn't work on its own.
At Boxley's we learned that we could never sell enough cheeseburgers to pay for live jazz all the time. That's how we got started.
In North Bend, WA, the patrons solved this by building a nonprofit to pay for the music directly, through memberships, sponsorships, donations and events. Since then we have helped launch jazz nonprofits in Bellingham and Tacoma, started chapters in Edmonds and Snohomish, and we are currently helping communities all across the Pacific NW.
Venues run on thin margins.
Food and drink sales rarely cover a professional band, so it is hard for a venue to keep paying for live music.A cover charge only goes so far.
For a lot of communities a ticketed show isn't an option because the price it takes to pay the band keeps the audience away and hurts the venue's already thin margins.Tips aren't enough.
A big band can have 16 or more musicians. Tips alone can't pay them all, so community big bands rarely get paid to perform.Starting a nonprofit is a lot of work.
The filings, the bookkeeping and the fundraising systems all have to be in place before you can raise your first dollar.We bring the people and nonprofit machinery to support you.
JazzClubsNW brings
Plans that work
We have been running a jazz club for 17 years. We have tried plans that failed, kept the ones that worked, and refined them into a path from startup to sustainable, recurring programming. There is more than one way to make it work, and we help you find the one that fits your community.
You are not alone. We are here to help.
A 501(c)(3) home
Gifts and donations to your program are tax-deductible from day one and qualify for corporate matching. No need to form your own nonprofit.Membership and sponsorship
The model that has paid for live jazz in North Bend since 2010, ready to run in your town.Ticketing and fundraising
Online tickets, door sales, donation pages and campaigns with goals and matches.Books kept, musicians paid
The bookkeeping, the reports, and payouts to the bands and individual band members.Festival Playbooks
Step-by-step playbook, tools, resources and a team to help produce special events to fund programming year round.A growing audience
Our calendar, newsletter and social channels across the Northwest.Every partnership looks a little different.
Here is what it looks like today in a few of the places we work.
Snohomish
Snohomish CountyHow it started
A local jazz musician reached out to us and said, "I want to do what you do."What we did together
We helped organize a festival, the Paseo de Jazz, a Latin jazz festival. Now we are launching monthly programming for both professionals and students.Next: Our second festival is being planned, and we are helping recruit volunteers, sponsors, members, venues and donors.
Snohomish Paseo de JazzButter Notes
Coffee shop, 902 N Broadway, EverettWhat was there
A cafe whose owner hosted live jazz music periodically.What we do together
Ticket sales alone were not enough to pay the musicians fairly or keep the music going. As a partner venue, Butter Notes now has support behind it: we help raise money, and it goes straight to paying the musicians, and we can even help him sell the tickets.Next: We are working with the owner to help find sponsors and donors for the student and community jam sessions, as well as market his events.
See what's on in EverettEdmonds
South Snohomish CountyHow it started
An Edmonds band director and professional musician asked if we would help him. We launched a jazz festival to raise money and we were off and running. We started a chapter, launched the Edmonds Jazz Walk, and went to work alongside the team at the Jazz Colony.What it runs now
Four years later, we have 3 festivals a year in the area supporting programming all year long, with professional jazz programming, a monthly Pro-Am Big Band Night at the Edmonds Opera House, student jam sessions and more.Edmonds Jazz WalkPony Boy All-Star Big Band
Plays at Boxley's, North BendWhat they needed
Funding to help pay the 16 members of the band for their performances.What we do together
The band raises money through JazzClubsNW: donations and concert tickets come in under our 501(c)(3), and we keep the books and pay the musicians.Result: The big band regularly performs at Boxley's and other places throughout the NW and is able to pay their band members.
Which one sounds like you?
Start a chapter
Organize live jazz and student programming in your own community.
Start a chapterHost jazz at your venue
Present live music in your venue, and raise money to support the artists.
Host jazzFund your community big band
Your band raises money through JazzClubsNW, so gifts are tax-deductible and the paperwork is handled.
Fund your bandWant to start something of your own? Some communities want their own independent nonprofit, the way Bellingham and Tacoma did. We are happy to help. Tell us about it.
What people usually ask
All partners
Does it cost anything to partner?
No. It doesn't cost anything to partner with us or to get started.
Do we have to be in Washington?
No. You do not need to be in Washington State.
What happens after we send the form?
Someone from JazzClubsNW reads it and gets in touch within a week. The first conversation is about what you already have and what you want to build. If it is a fit, we agree in writing on what each side does, then help you plan your first event or night.
What's Boxley Music Fund?
We started as Boxley Music Fund in 2010 and our DBA is JazzClubsNW. Our financials, including the Form 990, and our volunteer board are public.
We just want to sponsor or volunteer.
Sponsors have their own sponsorship page, and volunteers can sign up on the volunteer page. Both go straight to the right people.
Chapters
Do we need to start our own nonprofit?
No. A chapter runs under JazzClubsNW's 501(c)(3), so donations are tax-deductible from the first day and you skip the filings. We do the paperwork and tax returns.
Who decides what happens in our town?
You do. We can help you if you want. We know lots of musicians. We do not arrive to run somebody else's scene. Your team picks the music, the venues and the programs, and we bring the systems and the experience. We are here to help.
Where does the money we raise go?
Money raised by a chapter is tracked for that chapter and spent on its programming. Every chapter can see its own income, spending and payouts.
How many people do we need?
Just you, and we'll help you from there.
Where do we start?
It depends on the plan we work out together. Usually with one event. In Snohomish it was the Paseo de Jazz; in Edmonds and Everett, a Jazz Walk. An event raises the money that pays for regular programming the rest of the year.
What if we want our own independent nonprofit instead?
That is a good outcome too. We helped Bellingham and Tacoma launch their own, and we are happy to be your example and sounding board.
Venues
Does my venue need to be a nonprofit?
No. Venues of any kind partner with us: coffee shops, restaurants, wineries, breweries, art galleries, listening rooms.
How do donations reach the musicians?
Your audience gives through JazzClubsNW, so their gifts are tax-deductible, and that support goes to the artists on your stage. We keep the books and pay the musicians.
Is this legal?
Yes. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we can accept tax-deductible donations and use them to pay the band members, which a business can't do on its own. We follow the IRS rules for this, and we'll work with you on how it all works.
Who books the bands?
You do, or we can help you. We will also help market your events on our calendar, email newsletters, and social media platforms.
Can we host a student jam?
Yes, and we would love that. Our jams are led by paid professionals who work with the students, because the bandstand is the best teacher.
Do we need a piano or a PA?
No. We can help you figure that out too.
Bands
Are donations to our band tax-deductible?
Yes. Gifts come in under JazzClubsNW's 501(c)(3) for your band's program.
Who handles the money?
We keep the books, take the donations, help with corporate matching and/or ticket sales, and pay the musicians. You see everything that happens and tell us who to pay how much in your band.
Does our band keep its name?
Yes. Your band keeps its name and gets its own page on our site.
What kind of bands?
Right now we are focused on helping community jazz ensembles with 10 or more players, including Pro-Am big bands, where students and amateurs play alongside professionals.
Can we sell tickets to our concerts?
Yes, through the same ticketing we use for our own shows and festivals.
Tell us what you have in mind.
It does not need to be a plan. "We want jazz in our town" is how every chapter we have started got started.
We read every note and reply within a week. A first conversation is about what you have, what you want, and whether partnering makes sense.
Looking for something else?
Sponsor our programming. For businesses supporting a festival, series or the full season.
Volunteer. Help at a jazz night or festival near you.
Become a member. From $15 a month, free for students.
Partner with us
A few questions, two minutes.