Cantabile Choral Guild and You

The relationship continues!

by Sonja Wohlgemuth, executive director

I just thought I would share our progress on the Campaign for the Next Quarter Century. Our goal in the first year of the three-year campaign is to raise $50,000 in individual contributions. Well, you have donated enough in the first five months that we are more than halfway. Thank you!

A non-profit business is a strange animal. Essentially, we must operate like a for-profit business. We have expenses that must be covered. If we fall short, we put ourselves at risk. The Cantabile Choral Guild prides itself on prudent planning and fiscal management, but we are not immune to rising costs, a weak economy, and so on. Business savvy is a must.

Last season we decided to focus our energy on building relationships and extending our reach to the community. We are, after all, a public benefit corporation. We are here for you. And we want to get to know all of you and share our beautiful music with you. You are the people who make us possible.

The relationship continues. Last season, we witnessed increased donations, increased attendance at concerts, and increased enrollment. And this season, they are still on the rise helping us help us to support our operation through several revenue sources!

Just to be accurate, I want to correct a misstatement in my last article. I wrote that although last season’s original budget had projected a $20,000 deficit for all the anniversary celebrations, we “dipped into our reserves for less than $1,000.” Now after the final close of the books for our tax filing, it turns out we made it through the season without tapping the reserves at all and actually had a modest surplus of $682. Nice doing business with you!