The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras by Robert J. Flanagan

Author:Robert J. Flanagan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2012-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

Who Provides Private Support?

As direct government support for symphony orchestras declined between 1987 and 2005, private support increased and was mainly responsible for offsetting the growing performance deficits of orchestras. There is no guarantee, however, that private contributions will exactly offset those deficits in any given year or that they will grow sufficiently to completely offset growing performance deficits. After all, donations flow from the largely uncoordinated decisions of thousands of individuals, businesses, and foundations.

Public policies can influence the flow of private support in important ways. The previous chapter discussed the powerful effect of tax policies on philanthropic donations. The importance of tax expenditures effectively blurs the distinction between private and public support. But government policies do much more. Through their effects on general economic conditions and hence the well-being of potential donors, fiscal and monetary policies also influence the level of private contributions. Yet these policies cannot guarantee that private support will match symphony deficits.

Motivations beyond the reach of public policy also influence private support. Individuals are moved to donate by the quality of an orchestra’s artistic expression and the belief that it raises the quality of life in a community. Some businesses focus their philanthropy on orchestras and other nonprofit organizations in their headquarters city, perhaps as a matter of civic pride or to raise their local profile. A business presence may also influence the level of individual contributions by signaling the value of the arts to their staff. Support from foundations is frequently tied to particular projects or foundation objectives.

While contributions to orchestras from all private sources have increased in both money and real terms since 1987, they have increased at different rates. The pie charts in Figure 8.1 summarize how the structure of private support has changed since 1987 in the wake of those trends. The evolution of overall private support has been driven by the growth of individual giving, which now accounts for fully half of the private support received by the average orchestra. The share of private support provided by foundations has also increased, while the shares of businesses and “other” private support has declined. (Other private support includes in-kind or donated services, volunteer services, contributions from United Arts Funds, and the proceeds of special events.)

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