CHANGING THE FACE OF

BREWING & DISTILLING

THE FOUNDATION

The core mission of the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling is to promote technical education and create career opportunities for people of color in the brewing and distilling industries across the United States.

The foundation advances its mission through two key approaches: 1) Funding scholarship awards for accredited brewing and distilling technical courses. 2) Providing personalized mentorship to grantees from industry professionals.

The MJF operates under a traditional foundation board structure. The inaugural chair, Garrett Oliver, appointed initial board members, and subsequent members are nominated and elected by the board. The board reviews and evaluates scholarship applications, discusses them during team meetings and ultimately selects recipients.

The MJF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in New York City. All funds donated to the foundation are exclusively allocated to and utilized for its mission.

OUR NAMESAKE

Michael James Jackson (1942-2007) was widely regarded as the world’s greatest beer and whisky writer. His books, which have sold over 3 million copies in 18 languages, played a pivotal role in launching the craft beer movement in the United States and globally. His groundbreaking taxonomy of beer styles remains a cornerstone for understanding the complexity and diversity of modern beer.

In addition to his contributions to the "beer family," Michael cultivated an equally devoted "whisky family," writing with the same depth, humanity, and passion he brought to beer. Though not a person of color himself, Michael was profoundly and actively anti-racist. It is with immense pride that we name this foundation after the 20th century’s foremost advocate for grain-based beverages.

Board of Directors