As a Friend of the Festival, you support the Monterey Jazz Festival with a gift of $150 or more annually. Your gift will sustain the important programs and initiatives that nurture and inspire young people each year. You'll join a special community of jazz supporters, receiving regular updates on the jazz education initiatives and invitations to special Monterey Jazz Festival events.
Meet a Friend of the Festival
- Seat renewal from previous year
- First tier, VIP access to exchange renewed seats, after renewals period ends, for any available seats including available Gold Circle seats*
- Access to VIP presale to purchase tickets for those without a renewal order or to purchase additional tickets**
- Concierge ticket service
- Post-performance photo opportunities/meet and greet with various festival artists when possible and if arranged in advance, pending artist’s participation
- Invitations to special programs during the festival and throughout the year
- Discount on MJF merchandise
- MJF Lapel Pin
- Seat renewal from previous year
- Second tier, VIP access to exchange renewed seats, after renewal period ends, for any available seats including available Gold Circle seats (limit two)*
- Access to VIP presale to purchase tickets for those without a renewal order or to purchase additional tickets**
- Concierge ticket service
- Discount on MJF merchandise
- Autographed festival poster if requested in advance
- MJF Lapel Pin
- Seat renewal location from previous year
- Third tier, VIP access to exchange renewed seats, after renewal period ends, for any available seats (does not include Gold Circle seats)*
- Access to VIP presale to purchase tickets for those without a renewal order or to purchase additional tickets**
- Discount on MJF merchandise
- MJF Lapel Pin
- Seat renewal from previous year
- Fourth Tier, VIP access to exchange renewed seats, after renewal period ends, for any available seats (does not include Gold Circle seats)*
- Access to VIP presale to purchase tickets for those without a renewal order or to purchase additional tickets**
- MJF Lapel Pin
- Seat renewal from previous year
- Access to VIP presale to purchase tickets for those without a renewal order or to purchase additional tickets**
- MJF Lapel Pin
Qualifications & Restrictions:
To qualify for the above benefits, new festival ticket buyers must join one of the above levels to secure same seats or better for next year. Contributions are cumulative through the calendar year and can support various initiatives and need not be paid all at once. At time of purchase, new ticket buyers are invited to join one of the donor levels in order to qualify for priority renewal the following year. Single-day and one-time purchasers are not eligible for priority renewal next year. Friends of the Festival donor gifts are tax deductible.
* Original order must be renewed to qualify for the exchange for different seat opportunity. There may be a balance due if exchanging for seats at a higher price level.
** Presale is after renewal and seat exchange period, but before public on-sale or other pre-sales.
***Guests that renewed arena package seats in 2019 and again in 2022 and every year since are grandfathered into being a Friend of the Festival as long as you continue to renew your full weekend arena package annually. If renewals are not kept annually, the grandfathered status will be lost. The grandfathered status does not transfer with the transfer of seats to another guest. Guests purchasing arena packages for the first time in 2022 or after or a break in renewing will be required to make the minimum $150 donation annually in order to renew.
Your support will mean more young people than ever before will have access to world class musicians and have the opportunity to fall in love with jazz. Thank you for your continued investment in this music and these young people.
*Please ensure the browser pop-up blocker is turned off to complete payment.
If you would like to mail your gift, please fill out and return the printable Donation Form. Mail to the Monterey Jazz Festival, P.O. Box JAZZ, Monterey CA 93942. Monterey Jazz Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our Federal Tax Identification Number is 94-6036515. Your donation is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Questions? Call 831.373.3366 or contact us.
The Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo and the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra were unlike any honor bands that I have ever experienced. I can say that I had some of the best times in my life while playing with these ensembles. These fellow musicians made the Next Generation tour an experience of a lifetime. The fact that I was surrounded by musicians that were all at such a high level was unlike any other. I met and talked to people in the jazz industry and created relationships that never would have been possible if I had not been performing with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.
Become an active part of the Monterey Jazz Festival family by sponsoring a Monterey Jazz Festival Artist. Whether you sponsor a jazz great or an up-and-coming talent, your gift maintains our world-class Festival and brings international and national talent to Monterey while encouraging the next generation of jazz artists.
As a sponsor, you have the opportunity to make a personal connection with an MJF musician, while ensuring the professional and artistic growth of all MJF artists and tomorrow’s rising stars. Your contribution goes to support the Monterey Jazz Festival’s comprehensive, year-round jazz education and mentorship opportunities. The Monterey Jazz Festival is committed to giving our young people direct access to work one-on-one with true jazz legends and professional jazz artists in a way that only Monterey Jazz Festival can.
To become an Artist Sponsor in, please contact us at [email protected] or 831.373.3366
For more than 60 years, Monterey Jazz Festival has been among the world's preeminent artistic and cultural organizations. As the world’s longest continuously-running jazz festival, Monterey Jazz Festival takes great pride in presenting outstanding performances and providing year-round Jazz Education Programs to student musicians regardless of financial need. To ensure the continued success of the Festival's educational programs, Monterey Jazz Festival offers an array of planned giving opportunities accessible to all who value our work and passion towards continuing the legacy of jazz for future generations. We invite you to join the Jazz Legacy Circle with a planned gift to Monterey Jazz Festival.
The mission of the Jazz Legacy Circle is to ensure the perpetuity of Monterey Jazz Festival by supporting its delivery of quality performances and year-round Jazz Education Programs through planned giving opportunities. Membership requires completion of the Jazz Legacy Circle sign up form indicating your commitment to make a provision for Monterey Jazz Festival through a bequest or other planned gift.
If you have included Monterey Jazz Festival in a bequest, we thank you for your generosity and hope that you will inform the Development Office at 831.373.3366 or e-mail [email protected] to be listed as a member of the Jazz Legacy Circle, inspiring others to follow your example.
Jazz Legacy Circle members: - Appreciate the contribution of Monterey Jazz Festival as one of the premier arts organizations producing quality jazz performances
- Value Monterey Jazz Festival’s efforts in offering life-changing Jazz Education Programs to youth of all socioeconomic backgrounds
- Enjoy the music known as jazz
- Believe that the art of jazz should be experienced by future generations
- Have informed Monterey Jazz Festival of their interest
Make a gift of stock and receive tax benefits while supporting the music and educational programs of the Monterey Jazz Festival
The simplest way to donate publicly traded stocks to the Monterey Jazz Festival is to have your broker transfer shares electronically to MJF’s brokerage account:
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Attn: Securities Operations
Receiving Account Number: 6987-2485]
Schwab DTC: 0164 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
1945 Northwestern Drive
El Paso, TX 79912
Tax ID: 94-6036515
Once you've made the decision to transfer stock MJF, we ask that you notify our Development Team at 831.373.3366 or [email protected].
Notifying us that the transfer is occurring is very important; it is the only way we can credit you for the donation, as your name does not transfer with the stock.
The Monterey Jazz Festival will credit you for the value of the stock based on an average of the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the day that your stock donation is received into MJF’s account. We make every effort to sell the stock immediately upon receipt. For your income tax purposes, your donation is completed on the day your broker transfers it to MJF’s account. Thus, you should always consult your tax advisor regarding the actual amount of your deduction and the date of the contribution.
The Monterey Jazz Festival does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax advisor on the tax implications of your charitable gifts.
Biff Smith, a director on Monterey Jazz Festival’s Board from 1993-95, was a beloved Monterey Peninsula English teacher, coach, composer, and jazz pianist who passed away this summer. Biff had a 60-year career in jazz and helped form the band Along Came Betty in 1998 to celebrate the spirit of hard bop. Along Came Betty played MJF five times from 1999-2017. Known for his wonderful sense of humor and the Corgis who often accompanied him, Biff’s memory and influence will be felt for many years to come in the hearts of the jazz pianists he inspired at Berklee College of Music and on the Monterey Peninsula.
His loving wife Camille has established the Biff Smith Jazz Piano Endowment Fund at the Monterey Jazz Festival in his memory. Click here to contribute to the fund.
