“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is projecting a deficit of roughly $1.4 million at the end of its 2014 fiscal year, which concludes Sunday,” writes Elizabeth Bloom in Thursday’s (8/28) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The figure is higher than last year’s shortfall of approximately $1.1 million…. If the PSO balances its roughly $30 million budget by the end of next fiscal year, it will be eligible for $5 million from the Heinz Endowments; if it does so for three consecutive years, it will receive $12 million from the Simmons Family Foundation…. Scott Michael, the PSO’s senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer … noted that the PSO board is working on a strategic plan that will focus on increased revenue generation…. ‘We have been very good over the last several years of maintaining expenses relatively flatly,’ [President and CEO James] Wilkinson said, ‘but we haven’t been able to increase revenue to build any kind of a cushion…. The senior staff has been on the 10 percent salary reduction since March of last year.’ … Despite the looming deficit in its operating budget, the PSO’s endowment grew about $10 million since last year to $125 million, Mr. Michael said.”
Posted August 28, 2014
