The Denton Arts & Jazz Festival has started a fundraiser with a $75,000 goal after the city proposed to reduce funding for special events amid budget cuts.
Organizers for the festival learned in June they would be losing some funding and would have to pay a higher rental fee for Quakertown Park where the event is held, giving them just four months to adjust.
The festival announced the fundraiser in a Facebook post Tuesday, saying "Denton has a special way of coming together when there’s a need, and the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival needs you to help make this year’s event successful."
Kevin Lechler — executive director of the Denton Festival Foundation, which runs the event — said the fundraiser has raised $2,011 in under 24 hours.
"To me, that's pretty amazing," he said.
The fundraiser is being held directly on the Arts & Jazz Festival's website where supporters can donate.
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth asked people to support the festival in a Facebook post. He has previously suggested the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) could help special events like the festival in Denton.
DCTA has "expressed interest in participating in the sponsorship program," according to a July 18 informal staff report responding to his suggestion. The report states city staff will continue to work with DCTA and provide updates in the future on what they can do.
That same staff report said the Denton Police Department is assessing how private security firms could be used for the festival as an alternative to police resources being used and whether it's feasible.
The city is proposing to reduce its total in-kind spending — a type of spending that goes toward providing services like police, EMS and fire personnel — for special events from $400,000 to $200,000. Last year, the Arts & Jazz Festival got about $200,000 of that in-kind funding.
Exactly how much of that $200,000 will be cut this year is unclear, creating challenges for organizers as they prepare for this year's festival.
Dustin Sternbeck, Denton's chief communications officer, said the exact numbers will be decided at budget workshops on Aug. 9 and Aug. 19. The full city council will vote on whether to adopt the budget on Sept. 16.
People interested in donating to the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival fundraiser can donate here.
Dylan Duke is KERA's summer 2025 SPJ news intern. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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