“EQT Inc. and the Giant Eagle Foundation have put forward a $600,000 challenge grant to help the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra balance its books,” reads an unsigned Sunday (11/24) article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania). “Over the next two fiscal years, the organizations will match 50 cents on every new or increased dollar given to the PSO. ‘When community partners, such as EQT and Giant Eagle Foundation, recognize and support the value of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, it raises awareness of how important the arts are to the health of a region,’ said PSO president and CEO James Wilkinson in a statement. The PSO reported a roughly $1.5 million deficit at the end of the 2013 fiscal year, almost halving the previous year’s deficit. It has a financial incentive to eliminate its deficit. If the symphony balances its budget by 2015 and then does so for three consecutive years, it becomes eligible for $17 million—$5 million from the Heinz Endowments for achieving the first goal and $12 million from the Simmons Family Foundation for reaching the other.”
Posted November 26, 2013
