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The MJF, Pinhook Bourbon, Athletic Brewing Company, Lallemand, and ProBrewer and have partnered to help bring diversity to American brewhouses and distilleries. Thanks to the generosity of Pinhook, Athletic, and Lallemand, the first $100,000 in donations received through April 21st will be matched in full by the three organizations. Please help us make the most of this challenge grant by donating to the MJF leading up to this year's Craft Brewer's Conference in Las Vegas.

What's this "challenge grant"?

Pinhook Bourbon, Athletic Brewing, and Lallemand have offered to fund a dollar-for-dollar match on all donations made to The MJF in the run-up to the Craft Brewer's Conference (April 21-24, 2024).

For every dollar you donate, the three companies will match the first $100,000. This means that if you donate $25, the MJF receives $50; if you donate $2,500, the MJF gets $5k, etc. It's really that simple... but it's a challenge grant, so we only get these funds if the industry steps up to support us by making donations that Pinhook, Athletic, and Lallemand can match.

We can only do this with the support of people like you!

A diverse, inclusive and equitable brewing industry is a healthy brewing industry, and it's what we all want to see. So please join The MJF and ProBrewer as we work with Pinhook, Athletic Brewing, and Lallemand to help make this industry the kind of inviting place we always wanted it to be.

What is the MJF?

The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling (MJF) is a grant-making 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that funds scholarship awards for technical education in brewing and distilling to Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the United States.

The program is open to candidates at the beginning of their careers as well as those looking to continue their education. The MJF awards present an opportunity for members and patrons of the brewing and distilling industries to directly fund a more just and dynamic future.

Fewer than 2% of brewhouse personnel in the United States are people of color. Meanwhile, people of color make up more than 40% of the U.S. population, many of whom are deeply passionate about the brewing and distilling arts. Technical brewing courses cost up to $27,000 and financing is a major barrier; the MJF is here to knock that barrier down. So far we have sent more than 20 brilliant people to brewing and distilling school in the past year. Let's keep it going!

The Michael James Jackson Foundation awards two named scholarships: the Sir Geoff Palmer Scholarship Award for Brewing and the Nathan Green Scholarship Award for Distilling.

The Sir Geoff Palmer Scholarship Award for Brewing funds the tuition and course materials for well-recognized practical courses in brewing science and technology. These include the courses offered by the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), American Brewers Guild, UC Davis, The Siebel Institute of Technology, Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh) and others.

The Nearest Green Scholarship Award for Distilling will fund education in the science and technology of distillation. The award is named for Nathan “Nearest” Green, an African-American man now recognized as the first "head stiller" of the Jack Daniel's Distillery in the 1800s.

In addition to the financial awards, the scholarships will also pair grantees with an industry-specific mentor, who will provide hands-on coaching on professional development and career advancement.

About your tax-deductible donation: the proceeds from this campaign will be disbursed by The MJF. The organization, through its board committees, awards scholarship grants and makes direct payments to the educational institutions on behalf of the awardees.

2024 MJF Matching Campaign