Symphony Seeks $40M

The Charlotte Symphony says it needs to raise $40 million over the next decade to get back on solid footing. In 2009, the Symphony's already shaky finances caved under grant funding cuts and the flight of donors hurt by the recession. Without revenues from an endowment to lean on, the Symphony looked to bridge funding from several major donors. Symphony President Jonathan Martin says most of the $40 million he hopes to raise will go toward creating an endowment, but the Symphony also has a pressing need for money right now to overcome a $2 million dollar annual deficit. "So our focus initially is going to be - over the next five years - bringing in approximately $2 million a year in operating capital to replace the money that we lost in the recession," explains Martin. He adds the Symphony has already trimmed expenses by $1 million and can cut no further without harming the organization.