The Ottawa Jazz Festival is looking to raise $400,000 over the next month as part of a major fundraising push. Organizers say rising costs and an increasingly challenging funding environment have put financial pressure on the festival, and their goal is to raise $400,000 by Dec. 1. “The music world has changed, and we are changing with it. We’re launching a new chapter,” Petr Cancura, the executive director of Ottawa Jazz Festival, told CTV News Ottawa. “It’s been really difficult to get up to the same sponsorship levels and the same funding levels as we were before COVID, and as we know, the price of everything has skyrocketed.” According to Cancura, the festival has relied on three primary modes of funding: ticket sales, sponsorships and philanthropy. The new fundraising campaign is part of an effort to build a more sustainable funding model, the festival said in a news release. “This campaign is really about strengthening that philanthropic portion of it, so that we don’t have to rely so much on the on the tickets, which is weather-reliant,” Cancura said. “So here we are, and we need your help.” The Dec. 1 deadline is self-imposed, but Cancura says the funds will help provide the festival with a solid foundation for the future. “We’ve been around for 46 years. We’re resilient. We’ve lasted through a lot of financial hardship and will last again, but having said that, it is important that we raise as much money as we can,” he said. While it’s too early to share the details, Cancura says festival goers can expect “some exciting news about how the format’s going to change.” “We’re working on a lot of other things, and we really believe that there’s a viable future for the festival,” he said. For more information, visit the Ottawa Jazz Festival’s website.
