PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The founder of the celebrated Newport jazz and folk festivals is taking them non-profit in an effort to make sure the events he’s been producing for six decades live on after he is gone.
George Wein, 85, said Tuesday he has established a new non-profit group, the Newport Festivals Foundation, an umbrella organization that will oversee the summertime events.
“I want the festivals to go on forever,” Wein told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “With me it’s not a matter of business. This is my life.”
Wein sold the festivals in 2007, but stepped back in to run them in 2009 after the company that bought them ran into financial troubles. In recent years, amid the economic downturn, they have had trouble attracting sponsors.
Wein said the festivals’ conversion under a non-profit group probably won’t make a difference attracting corporate sponsors, although those who give could gain tax benefits, and he sees challenges in raising money for a non-profit.
But he said the change means foundations and music lovers can now make tax-deductible contributions, just as they would to any other cultural or arts organization.
“That is the way culture in America survives. Without that, there’d be a wasteland,” he said.
The Newport Jazz Festival began in 1954.
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Online:
Newport Festivals Foundation: http://www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org/
Folk festival: http://www.newportfolkfest.net/
Jazz festival: http://www.newportjazzfest.net/