Director of Development Kevin Causey discusses the different challenges of raising funds for social service, education and arts organizations, and how the SFJAZZ community strengthens the art of jazz. Kevin Causey began his career in theater as an actor, director and producer. He has broad experience raising funds for nonprofit organizations, having served Naropa University, the Kempe Children’s Foundation, the Center for American Theatre, and Outward Bound, and currently serves as the Director of Development of SFJAZZ, the largest presenter of Jazz programming in the Western United States.Founded in 1983 as Jazz in the City by Randall Klein, SFJAZZ presents and underwrights some of the best jazz in the world.
The organization has over 3,000 members and growing and well over 100,000 attend SFAZZ performances annually. The range of artists that have presented at SFJAZZ is breathtaking in scope and depth. The organization also provides rich educational programming which reaches over 10,000 children, youth and adults, and sponsors The SFJAZZ Collective was founded in 2004 as a hybrid organization which combines aspects of an artists-in-residence and a more traditional resident company/orchestra program.