The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation

In 1970, the Foundation was set up as the nonprofit owner of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Jazz Fest – with a mission to sow the seeds of our unique culture for generations to come.

In the early days, the festival wasn’t the world-famous event that it is today – one that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans and pumps $350 million a year into the local economy. It is often said that at the first Jazz Fest there were more performers onstage than people in the audience. But the founders believed that Jazz Fest would one day grow into a major success. Everyone involved wanted to make sure that the festival’s proceeds would be redistributed into the local community. To that end, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established with the following mission:

“The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. promotes, preserves, perpetuates and encourages the music, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities.”

In service of this mission, the Foundation has developed numerous programs and assets. Click here to learn more about them, and here to contribute to the Foundation’s efforts.

The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Institute

The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) is Louisiana’s arts conservatory for high school students from across the state, offering intensive instruction in Classical Music, Creative Writing, Culinary Arts, Dance, Drama, Jazz, Media Arts, Musical Theatre, Theatre Design, Vocal Music, Visual Arts, and academics. The NOCCA Institute is NOCCA’s nonprofit partner, providing supplemental funding for NOCCA and advocacy for its world-class program. The NOCCA Institute champions NOCCA by building philanthropic, lasting partnerships. The Institute invests in young artists, their mentors and the community through programs that encourage educational and cultural innovation. Click here for more information.

WWOZ 90.7 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Community Radio Station

WWOZ's mission is to be the worldwide voice, archive, and flag-bearer of New Orleans culture and musical heritage.

WWOZ 90.7 FM is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, a community radio station operating out of the French Quarter in New Orleans. They are a listener-supported, volunteer-programmed radio station. WWOZ covers many events live in and around the city and across the United States. We also broadcast live from the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually.

Friends of WWOZ, inc. operates a noncommerical, educational radio station which celebrates the cultural diversity of New Orleans and its surrounding regions through music and information. The station is funded mainly by federal and state grants, support from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, community fundraising and underwriting contributions.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation

In 1970, the Foundation was set up as the nonprofit owner of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Jazz Fest – with a mission to sow the seeds of our unique culture for generations to come.

In the early days, the festival wasn’t the world-famous event that it is today – one that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans and pumps $350 million a year into the local economy. It is often said that at the first Jazz Fest there were more performers onstage than people in the audience. But the founders believed that Jazz Fest would one day grow into a major success. Everyone involved wanted to make sure that the festival’s proceeds would be redistributed into the local community. To that end, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established with the following mission:

“The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. promotes, preserves, perpetuates and encourages the music, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities.”

In service of this mission, the Foundation has developed numerous programs and assets. Click here to learn more about them, and here to contribute to the Foundation’s efforts.