San Jose Jazz
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The purpose of the Organization is to enrich the community through music education and performance. San Jose Jazz is an innovative educational organization whose commitment to education and the community goes back over thirty years.
- Income
- $3.3 million
- Spending
- $3.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 89%
- Reserves
- 7.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 69%
- Employees
- 153
- Volunteers
- 400
- Highest pay
- $162,660, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 88 out of 100.
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 7.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 95 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2518 of 18 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $1.8 million spent. FestivalThe San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is one of the leading urban music festivals in the nation. It draws in excess of 40,000 diverse attendees annually and features legendary Jazz, Blues, and Salsa, Latin Jazz artists while providing performance opportunities for emerging and local musicians. With over 90 performances and events over 3 days, Summer Fest celebrates the diversity of jazz, America's great contribution to global culture, with a wide variety of music and performing arts disciplines, all with an international flair reflective of the Silicon Valley community. Attracting visitors from all over California, the U.S. and internationally, the festival promotes San Jose as an essential arts, cultural and entertainment destination in Silicon Valley.Summer Fest's primary goals are:1. To bring people together through music, arts and culture in an affordable format that is accessible for all.2. To provide performance opportunities for emerging and local musicians (enabling artists to be exposed to audiences who enjoy discovering new musicians and great music.)3. To continue being widely known as one of the leading jazz/live music festivals in the United States.Mission: Summer Fest exemplifies SJZ's mission as it promotes jazz through performance and education. Summer Fest explores and celebrates the musical and cultural heritage of San Jose's rich diverse community. Modest admission prices and free performances ensures accessibility for everyone to attend the festival.
- $541,201 spent. Youth DevelopmentSan Jose Jazz Education Programs Progressions is San Jose Jazz's year-round in-school youth development program that uses music to connect with low-income, at-risk students, challenges them with a rigorous music education program, and helps them to build a pro-social community. The program focuses on helping to keep participants in school, out of gangs, and on the road to becoming better students and contributing citizens. Progressions is taught by professional musicians/educators/mentors who teach students to read music, master instruments, and collaborate in ensembles, bands, and choirs which help them: develop as individuals, learn to set and achieve goals, and understand what it takes to succeed in life and in the classroom. In addition to music instruction the program provides homework support, nutrition (a supper meal), mentorship, and recreation opportunities. Summer Jazz Camp (100-130 students) propels student-musicians forward as musicians and individuals. The two-week camp enables young students to work closely with professional Jazz musicians to help them achieve a greater mastery of performance and improvisation techniques while advancing their knowledge of music theory, arranging, composition, performance, and Jazz history. San Jose Jazz High School All Stars big band program provides motivated, young jazz musicians in the South Bay region with an advanced opportunity to grow and develop as musicians and young adults. Participation is accomplished through a competitive audition process.
- $396,186 spent. Concert SeriesSan Jose Jazz's first venue, the SJZ Break room provides a unique and intimate way to experience live music. With a capacity of just 100, almost every seat is within 30 feet of the action. With the performers on the same level as the audience, each show has the intimate feel of a private concert. The SJZ Break Room is a unique setting for live music, shaped by the evolution of audience habits and technology. As you arrive, youll recognize the bold new aqua entrance vestibule painted by San Jose artist Ben Henderson to reference the venues symbolic water cooler icon. Inside, professional theatrical lighting and audio turns an office-by-day space into a hip, bar-appointed club space-by night with video projection mapping behind the performance stage area, and a welcoming jazz club seating arrangement for patrons. Most performances are live streamed, with the live feed also projected onto a towering bank of windows for an immersive experience not found anywhere else.The SJZ New Works Festival, April May, feature nine nights of live and streamed performances by some of the most exciting artists in jazz, blues, R&B, soul and electronic music in the SF Bay Area and New York. The festival is an outgrowth of SJZs Jazz Aid Fund initiative, which provided grants individually to 33 artists, each to produce a new work. A direct response to the Coronavirus pandemic, these grants provided immediate funds to these musicians, who had been largely excluded from regional and national aid efforts. The works submitted have proven to be extraordinary, and weve chosen 10 artists to present 45-minute segments available to create great evenings of music . The Fest also includes a free International Jazz Day live stream on April 30. These concerts will be captured in the SJZ Break Room, a popup video recording studio and venue that SJZ has developed in its ground floor offices at first and San Carlos in San Joses SoFA District. The technology of the space is first-class with marvelous sound, lighting and video, and all the action is projection-mapped to a 35' X 14' bank of windows, providing the show free to the public and enlivening downtown street life.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending March 2026.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 1988.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.