“During the Jacksonville Symphony’s gala Friday night, President and CEO Robert Massey announced an ambitious fundraising campaign intended to generate $50 million in donations over the next five years,” writes Charlie Patton in Saturday’s (2/18) Jacksonville News (FL). “One goal of the campaign, called Vision 2020, is to more than double the symphony’s endowment to about $40 million…. A second goal is to increase annual giving … from about $4 million to $5 million. If those two goals are achieved, ‘We’ll be able to operate in the black and build reserves,’ Massey said…. Some of the money raised will also be used to upgrade facilities in the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts and to underwrite recording projects and touring performances under the leadership of Music Director Courtney Lewis.… ‘We knew when we built [Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Times-Union Center] in 1997 we were only giving the symphony a home,’ [campaign co-chair Carl Cannon] said. ‘We knew it would need an infrastructure and sizable endowment to succeed. With this campaign, we’re finishing the job.’ … The campaign announcement came about three weeks after the Symphony Association and its musicians union agreed to a new five-year contract that includes raises.”
Posted February 22, 2017
