Jazzego kickstarts Barbot Bernardo’s free Mentorship Programme for Social Enterprises and Not-for-profits

Jazzego, an independent jazz label, kickstarted our new free mentorship programme for not-for-profits and social businesses in the Porto region (Portugal).

Jazzego was created by André Carvalho and Hugo Oliveira, later joined by Rui Martins. Ana Muska, also a key member of the association running this label, will join the rest of the crew in this project. 

With an expanding catalogue and superb taste, the label was founded a few years ago to be a platform for local musicians exploring more underground sounds, as you can read from Andre Carvalho words for the Mesa de Mistura Substack:

"Our jazz does not necessarily appeal to the purists of the genre. It ends up being very contaminated with the most diverse musical ramifications. I find that funny; I feel we're in a kind of limbo where we're too "intellectual" for the mainstream (and even the more indie scene ) and too mainstream for the jazz scene. I grew up with my father's collection of jazz classics, but I only really began to appreciate the genre through hip-hop and electronic music. For me, Jazzego's jazz is a reflection of that."

This project will provide strategic support to Jazzego, focusing on fund-raising and revenue stream optimization to expand the catalogue and support artists, fund research and creative processes, launch education and capacity-building projects and expand their distribution internationally.

The first meeting was hosted by Circus Network. Located in Porto’s art district, Circus Network is a creative agency, art gallery, record shop and creative hub dedicated to urban art, illustration, music and design.

Our Mentorship Programme

We designed our new mentorship programme to help not-for-profit organizations to expand their reach and positive impact. It is inspired by Barbot Bernardo's short strategic design model. This model consists of 3 to 4 working sessions covering a situation analysis to identify opportunities, market strategy, fundraising and strategic guidelines/roadmap, with lots of "homework" and sharing of experiences and knowledge. 

The mentorship programme, without any cost to the beneficiaries, is aimed at organizations working in culture, urban transition, craft, and local small-scale production (our key areas) and is a way of giving back to our fantastic community. 

We intend to expand the support provided to these organizations by creating a match-making system that connects them with potential donors/patrons. 

During this pilot phase, we accept applications from only four new beneficiaries until the end of the year. In the coming weeks, we will launch a dedicated page on our website with detailed programme conditions, an application form, and a link for potential donors to express their interest. 

Part of the superb Jazzego catalogue