Through JazzNet, NFF assisted 14 regionally significant jazz presenting organizations in developing and managing endowments. The program was implemented using NFF's Building for the Future^SM (BFF) model, which helps nonprofits plan, build, develop and manage cash assets such as building reserves and endowments. It also encourages sound management practices by offering financial incentives, in the form of matching grants, to enact these practices.  The program was supported by more than $9.1 million from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Investment management services for the program's participants were provided by Bank of America. Through matching endowment re-grants, re-grants for jazz programming and administration, and advisory services, JazzNet's goal was to create a permanent stream of income to support jazz programming and administration, including the creation of new works and the establishment of residencies for jazz artists.

Participants included: American Jazz Museum (Kansas City, MO), Artists Collective (Hartford, CT), CityFolk (Dayton, OH), Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans), Earshot Jazz (Seattle), Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (Burlington, VT), Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (Pittsburgh), New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation (New Orleans), Newark Public Radio/WBGO (Newark, NJ), Outpost Productions (Albuquerque, NM), San Francisco Jazz Organization (San Francisco), Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (Washington, D.C.), Tri-C JazzFest (Cleveland, OH), and University Musical Society (Ann Arbor, MI). With its menu of advisory services, including workshops and consultations, JazzNet provided jazz presenters with the management support to help develop and maintain their endowments. Download a pdf of program components here.

Program Components

Initial Analysis and Work-Ups

For each applicant, NFF conducted an organizational and financial assessment and a site visit to meet with senior management. A national peer review panel was convened to review the application and organizational assessment, and assist in the selection of the recipients from among the applicants.

Asset-Building Technical Assistance

NFF provides coaching to assist in developing and achieving a schedule for fundraising and financial-related workplan objectives. Participants also attend annual convenings which include full-day workshops on topics such as capital structure, the role an endowment can play in (de)stabilizing an organization, and asset management in a bear market. A Bank of America portfolio manager assists participants to implement sound investment strategies for their endowment funds.

Asset-Building Matching Grants

Each organization makes contributions to its own interest-bearing account. NFF matches the participants's deposits quarterly on either a $1:$1 or $1.5:$1 basis. When an organization makes a contribution into its account, the match is immediately earned, and interest is credited to the deposit and the match. This creates an incentive for presenters to contribute early in the program to maximize interest income. Each organization also agrees to hold the endowment inviolate in perpetuity.

Programming and Administration Grants

During the five-year program, NFF provides annual re-grants of either $40,000 or $50,000 for jazz programming and administration. At the end of the five years, the organization can draw down a percentage of its endowment to fund its future jazz programming and administration costs.