Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra Endowment Fund
Why We Need an Endowment Fund
The Endowment Fund is designed to secure the future of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra and its community activities in the face of increasing costs.
- Our ticket prices cover only 35% of our costs – typical for all symphony orchestras.
- Our ticket prices would more than double for ticket sales to cover all costs.
- We now play to a full house and consequently cannot sell additional tickets to our performances.
- At present, our fundraising events and donations offset the difference between ticket revenue and expenses. However, our Board of Directors is at the limit of its capacity to organize fundraising events, and fewer people are making large donations.
- Our volunteer musicians are also operating at capacity, which rules out the option to offer a weekend matinee performance.
- Our costs for goods and services are increasing faster than ticket prices: Personnel and travel expenses have increased 105% in 11 years, while ticket income increased only 56%.
- Give this trajectory of falling income and rising expenses, we anticipate that at some point in the future, we will need income from the Endowment Fund to help meet our operating expenses.
- Our goal is to raise $1,000,000. Currently we are at the 30% mark. Our Endowment Fund policy is to pursue a growth strategy for this fund until we reach our goal. Once we reach our goal, we will evaluate our growth investment strategy in light of our needs for operating income.
We invite you to join us to secure the future of our fine community orchestra – a charitable organization organized under section 501(3)(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please click here to download a form outlining some of the options for a planned gift to our Endowment Fund. Please click here for a presentation about our Endowment Fund.