Jazz for Peace Foundation offers innovative Empowerment Grant specially designed to help a wide variety of causes.
 
By Timothy Singer
 
The Jazz for Peace Foundation Empowerment Grant provides a world class cultural event/fundraiser to help a wide variety of outstanding causes at no cost to the recipient in their own city or town which raises funds, publicity and awareness and opens doors to new partnerships and sponsors.
 
The Empowerment Grant, already receiving support and praise by President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Senator John McCain, Philosopher Noam Chomsky, actor Ed Begley Jr., New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, consumer activist Ralph Nader and many others has given over 750 Grants to an extraordinarily wide variety of causes listed on their website at www.jazzforpeace.org/testimonials.html.
 
With average awards ranging between $1000 and $60,000, the innovative Empowerment Grant is a response to the growing problem of just giving funds ALONE to outstanding causes.
 
This “give an organization a fish” method that has been in place for many decades has now become extremely perilous to those organizations who now find those funding sources diminishing or cut altogether in our current economic environment.  However as one can easily see from their “Empowerment Tree” visual perspective shown at their Empowerment Tree Link: www.jazzforpeace.org/jfptree.htm, this innovative grant “Empowers” the recipient by raising not only funds but publicity and awareness, sponsors, new friends and contacts, prestigious supporters, new fundraising skills, and integrates them better with their community. And by “teaching their grant recipients to fish” this grant endeavors to put outstanding organizations on a more sustainable path forward.
 
Though most of their Grants are given primarily in the United States, Jazz for Peace has also begun an international component giving grants so far in Mexico, Canada, Europe, Brazil and in Feb. 2011 will travel to Africa for the second time to give a series of grants in Nairobi, Kenya.
 
To apply for the Jazz for Peace Empowerment Grant: www.jazzforpeace.org/grant
 
Here is a recent interview of their founder Rick DellaRatta on NBC Television outlining the concept of this grant : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaIEXtXQtvE
 
For questions and to find out if you qualify please contact: John De Angelis – Grant Administrator – The Jazz for Peace Foundation  – Phone: 212-947-1104  email info@jazzforpeace.org    Web-site:  www.jazzforpeace.org