The Oregon Symphony, which is the largest performing arts organization in Portland, last week announced that it would receive grants from four charities totaling $1.5 million. The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation gave $1 million for 2009/2010 season operating costs, Portland’s Meyer Memorial Trust gave $300,000 for both the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 seasons, and the Collins Foundation and William Randolph Hearst foundations gave $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Three out of four foundations had recently refrained from donating money to the Oregon Symphony, with the Miller Foundation as the lone exception. The last time the Collins Foundation donated was in 2005, the Hearst Foundation hadn’t given since 2004, and the Meyer Memorial Trust had last donated in 2001. Oregon Symphony Association president Elaine Calder said that "[i]n addition to these significant grant awards, it’s encouraging to have the support of these foundations. They serve our entire community and are understandably prudent in their choice of recipients."
Contributed donations account for roughly half of the Oregon Symphony’s annual budget. The symphony has recently adopted several measures to help deal with the troubled economic times, including a restructured contract with the union representing their musicians, paying down their long-term debt, and a balanced budget for the coming season.
At a board meeting earlier this month, Symphony board chair Walter Weyler said that the organization managed to reduce its deficit over the 2008/2009 season, down to $519,000 from $590,000 in the previous year. Weyler also told the board that the symphony had taken in $6.61 million at the box office, fully a 35 percent jump over the previous season.