“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra balanced its budget for the fourth consecutive year in 2016, the longest sustained run of black ink for the institution since the 1990s,” writes Mark Stryker in Saturday’s (12/10) Detroit Free Press. “The DSO finished the 2016 fiscal year with a small surplus of $130,000 on $28.8 million in operating expenses, according to figures released Thursday at the orchestra’s annual meeting of governing members. A key factor in balancing the budget was raising $18.2 million for operations, beating the orchestra’s original goal by more than $1 million.… At the same time, however, shortfalls in endowment dollars and ticket income and an unexpected uptick in operating expenses [occurred] … despite significant financial and artistic growth…. The centerpiece of the DSO’s [10-year strategic plan] is raising $125 million in new endowment funds by 2023…. In the meantime, the orchestra has been raising about $4.5 million annually … to keep the budget balanced.” In 2016, “The orchestra saw year-over-year increases in individual giving, subscription sales, gross ticket revenue and number of donors.… Classical sales and jazz sales grew at a healthy clip.”
Posted December 12, 2016
