The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, led by Assistant Conductor Ryan Tani, in a February 2025 concert featuring student singers from area high schools. Photo by Jonathan Kirn.
In Tuesday’s (3/11) Milwaukee Public Radio, Nick Rommel writes, “Three Milwaukee arts institutions may each have $10 million more in the bank by the end of 2026. The Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Milwaukee Repertory Theater each received a gift of $5 million from philanthropists Ellen and Joe Checota … The $5 million payments are ‘challenge gifts,’ the institutions’ statement said. That means they’re contingent on the institutions raising matching funds on their own…. The gifts are meant to grow each institution’s endowments—investment funds that provide an income stream. Currently, the art museum’s endowment is about $68 million, the theater’s is about $18 million and the orchestra’s is $40 million, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported…. Gifts matched to the $5 million are limited to $350,000 per household to ‘grow the base of donors who will support the arts in Milwaukee,’ the institutions’ statement said. That matching campaign’s deadline is the end of 2026.”
