Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) believes all students, regardless of their age, gender, or socioeconomic background should receive equal opportunities to participate in music education and develop musical skills. MJF is committed to making music education accessible and affordable to any students who wish to participate. To support this vision, our Financial Assistance Program provides need-based financial assistance. MJF grants financial assistance based on family annual income, monthly expenses, and the student’s commitment to MJF’s education programs. The level of financial assistance may vary from family to family and may require the Parent/Guardian and/or Student to provide MJF with volunteer services.

Please read the following guidelines carefully before applying for financial assistance.

Please understand that applying for financial assistance does NOT guarantee approval every year. To ensure a fair process for all families, all applicants must submit a completed Financial Assistance Request Form and supporting document(s) each year for each program in which they are planning to participate.

Application and Review Process

Families applying for financial assistance to support their students’ engagement in MJF’s education programs must complete the Financial Assistance Request Form and submit it to MJF Education. The request form will be available upon request. Please contact Claire Kim-Shin, Education Specialist at [email protected] or call 831.373.8842.

• Supporting documents for Summer Jazz Camp: Please submit a copy of your most recently completed tax return with the application.
• Supporting documents for Next Generation Jazz Orchestra or Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo include but not limited to: airfare receipt(s), ground transportation receipt(s), and a copy of most recently completed tax return. Please contact Claire Kim-Shin, Education Specialist for more details.

Any application without the required supporting document(s) will not be considered.

On the second page of the Financial Assistance Request Form, please describe any special circumstances the committee should be aware of when evaluating your application. These may include personal and/or financial challenges or low family income.

The Financial Assistance Program Committee will review each application and the supporting documents to determine the recipients and the amount of assistance for each request.

Application Deadlines and Review Timeline:

• Summer Jazz Camp:
  • Deadline: June 1
  • Application Review Period: June 2- June 9
  • Each recipient will be notified individually via email after June 9
• Next Generation Programs
  • Deadline: June 15
  • Application Review Period: June 16-June 23
  • Each recipient will be notified individually via email after June 23

Any submissions after application deadline will NOT be accepted or considered.

Financial Assistance for Summer Jazz Camp

MJF provides partial or full tuition grants to qualified students who submit a completed application and supporting documents. Assistance recipients will receive an invoice and will be required to pay the balance all at once if partial tuition is granted. Volunteer service is required for ALL Summer Jazz Camp financial assistance recipients. Any recipient who does not meet the required volunteer service hours will NOT be considered for the future Financial Assistance Program.

MJF provides a discount to students of Monterey Jazz Festival Regional All-Star Band and Vocal Ensemble who participate in Summer Jazz Camp.

Financial Assistance for Next Generation Programs

For those who qualify for financial assistance, MJF partially reimburses the student’s travel costs to Monterey. Students who are selected to be part of Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and Next Generation Women In Jazz Combo and wish to receive financial assistance must submit a completed application and supporting documents.

The assistance recipients of Next Generation programs will be required to provide receipts of flight and/or ground transportation reservations to receive a partial reimbursement for the student/applicant’s traveling expenses. The total of the applicant’s traveling expenses must exceed the assistance amount MJF provides. MJF will not provide assistance without the required supporting documents.

Reimbursements will happen only after the student participated in the in-person Next Generation program during the festival for which they’ve received the financial assistance.  Receipts can be sent to MJF Education at any time prior to the event, but the check will be sent to the student only after the festival is over. This is because MJF cannot make a partial reimbursement if the student has some last minute changes and decides not to participate.

For each student of Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and Women in Jazz Combo, MJF provides festival tickets to the annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September.