“The 2019 annual report released by the Cleveland Orchestra Tuesday is the reflection of a thriving institution, a group with a balanced budget, growing endowment, and burgeoning audience,” writes Zachary Lewis in Tuesday’s (11/5) Plain Dealer (Cleveland). “For the first time since 2015, the orchestra this year is in the black. On a budget of $53 million supporting everything from concerts and touring to outreach and special presentations under music director Franz Welser-Möst, the orchestra in fiscal 2019 reported a surplus of $24,000. That’s in marked contrast to fiscal 2017 and 2018, when the orchestra fell short of its budget by $4.2 and $1.3 million, respectively. Several factors contributed to the balancing … including the appointment of new trustees and a larger endowment draw. Two factors… were of special significance: an exceptionally robust Annual Fund and a dramatic increase in unrestricted bequests stemming from a redoubled campaign asking patrons to consider leaving gifts to the orchestra in their wills.” To President and CEO André Gremillet and others, “the brightest light in the 2019 report is the $14.2 million leap taken by the endowment. On June 30, the orchestra’s financial safety net was worth $205.7 million, up from $191.5 million in 2018.”
Posted November 8, 2019
In photo: The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst in Severance Hall. Photo by Roger Mastroianni.
