The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra Board has raised $25,000 for the community to match for a $50,000 goal.
Individuals and businesses are called to rise to this LCSO Matching Fund Challenge.
La Porte County Symphony Orchestra provides opportunities for area musicians to blend their talents in performances that would challenge many big city orchestras. Through the annual Children's Concerts, the orchestra has provided great exposure to wonderful music for thousands of boys and girls. The list of great performances and the orchestra's community involvement is long and distinguished, but like many orchestras of all sizes across the nation, it is facing a major financial challenge. Changes in patterns of philanthropic giving by large corporations and the sluggish growth of our community businesses have seriously eroded the base of support for the orchestra.
In a May letter from Marcia Morris, LCSO president, to LCSO supporters and musicians, she said:
"After an in-depth review of the orchestra's fiscal condition, the LCSO Board concluded that despite the generosity of our loyal supporters, the orchestra is facing a looming deficit and cash flow shortage that simply can't be minimized. The immediate need is for a cash infusion of $50,000. Through the generosity of several orchestra supporters and the assistance of the Unity Foundation, we have commitments to receive donations of $25,000 IF we are able to raise another $25,000 in matching contributions from other donors by the end of June. In addition, the Board has outlined a plan of action to broaden the ongoing base of support for the orchestra so that we can hopefully avoid this type of shortfall in the future."
The LCSO board has a short list of points for everyone to consider in meeting this goal:
1. Individuals and businesses are encouraged to generously donate to the Matching Fund Challenge immediately to achieve the goal of matching funds of $25,000 by June 30th.
2. To help with gift receipts and recordkeeping, the Unity Foundation of La Porte County has agreed to manage this project. Please make the check for your donations out to the foundation with a notation that funds are meant for the LCSO Matching Fund Challenge. A check can simply be mailed to: Unity Foundation of La Porte County, P.O. Box 527, Michigan City, IN 46361.
3. Gifts to this program are in addition to supporting the work of the upcoming season. When one person or business stops donating to this community resource, they are indeed missed very much. That is how this problem grew. The public is invited to support events such as Hoosier Star, give generously to the LCSO Annual Fund Drive later this summer, participate in Friends of the Symphony projects, give to the Children's Chorus program and purchase tickets to attend concerts.
Maggi Spartz, Unity Foundation president said, "We are delighted to provide a financial clearinghouse for this important project. We can monitor the challenge while at the same time taking on the administrative duties, allowing the LCSO staff and volunteers to continue their planning for a very busy concert season."
For more information about upcoming Summer and Fall events with the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra click here!