Since the Festival has become its own non-profit organization under the leadership of Gretchen Carhartt Valade and Executive Director Terri Pontremoli it has, in fact, grown exponentially and is now America's largest, free Jazz Festival. Jazz Times noted that the Detroit International Jazz Festival is one of the top five festivals in North America, in a 2007 Readers' Poll.
Corporations including Chase, Absopure, Carhartt Clothing Company, MGM Grand Detroit Casino-Hotel, Future Brands, Budweiser, MotorCity Casino-Hotel, Mack Avenue Records, Big Boy, Glaxo Smith Kline, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, Starbucks Coffee Company, Art Van, Greektown Casino and institutions such as Wayne State University have become key partners in its growth.