The Green Hills Symphony Orchestra Inc was set up in Mundaring by Peter and Mary Stedman as a non-profit organisation in December 2005 to provide opportunities for emerging musicians to practice their classical music skills as part of a community based orchestra through training and public concerts. The Stedmans provided the initial funding of $20,000 for the orchestra in memory of Peter's mother, Violet who had been an accomplished violinist. The organisation quickly realised they needed more ongoing funding and in 2007 rebadged itself as the Green Hills Symphony Orchestra Foundation, encouraging supporters to became Friends of the Orchestra by payment of an annual membership fee of $100, which also entitled them to discounts of 10% on the orchestra's concert tickets. Membership was taken up by friends and family of musicians who played in the orchestra and at its peak in 2015, there were 200 members. The Foundation was governed by a board of directors and Peter Stedman had been Chair since its inception in 2007. There were 2 other longstanding directors, Jayne Frampton and Henry Crawford who are both now considering retirement and three new directors had recently been elected to join the board: Jane Cassidy, an accountant by profession; Marcus Hyde, who was well known for his involvement in live arts productions; and Tiffany Smith, a young musician (violinist) who had played in the orchestra for five years since 2018. The Foundation set up a number of programs, including: A classical orchestral concert series twice a year - 4 concerts in each series held at the Perth Concert Hall. Each season had a different theme with aspiring conductors invited to lead the orchestra. Volunteers acted as stage management and ushers etc. The orchestra became semi professional in 2015 and the musicians and the conductor were employed on casual, seasonal contracts to develop the program, practice and perform. Ticket sales were brisk and income from tickets sales covered 50% of the costs. Another part of their mission was to enable primary schoolchildren to access private/small group music lessons at school using instruments hired from the Foundation for a small hire fee. The pilot project was set up in January 2015 in 4 local primary schools in Mundaring and surrounding areas with 26 students. A public appeal seeking donations of suitable secondhand instruments was well supported and the pilot program ran for three years. Volunteers collected and serviced the instruments and run the hire service. Music teachers were paid by the Foundation for provision of private/small group lessons during school hours using the hire fee income and other funding set aside for the purpose. In 2018, the program was expanded to 10 primary schools and the Foundation was successful in their application for some government arts funding to fully support this program for another 5 years to November 2022. Two wealthy philanthropists had approached the Foundation in 2010 with a view to setting up an investment fund to purchase professional standard instruments for the orchestra. This fund had been set up and by 2020 had purchased two violins worth $2.4million and they are currently negotiating to purchase a 16th century viola for $1.4million. Musicians are lent the instruments to play on a long term basis while they are members of the orchestra. In 2010, the Foundation also negotiated 5 year sponsorship agreements with 2 large businesses in WA, the Grey Ghost Transport Company Ltd and Tim Brown Holdings Pty Ltd. These sponsorship and funding agreements were reviewed every five years and both companies had continued to support the orchestra until now. Under these agreements, the sponsors had previously committed funding of up to 50% of the estimated costs of the Concert Program (about $50,000). Sponsors were recognised in concert programs and on the website. In 2020, Covid hit Western Australia and due to lock down and the restrictions on face to face activity, both the concert program and the school music program had to be put on ice. Children were allowed to continue hiring their instruments and some teachers managed to deliver online music lessons. The program is just starting up again in schools in 2022 but has some shortfalls in funding that need to be covered. Given the almost 3 year restrictions on public activity in WA, increasing business costs and labour shortages, Grey Ghost Transport Company Ltd has advised the board that it will be unable to fulfil its sponsorship undertakings in 2022 and for the foreseeable future. Over the same period, annual membership renewals for the Friends of the Orchestra had been reduced by 40%, thus reducing income from this source. While there had been no concerts, there had been little communication with their members which had lead to many not renewing. Membership demographics were mainly in the 60+ age range. It was noted by the new board that that the orchestra would have to alert their membership and patrons about the funding crisis and any solutions if they were to survive. Another community based orchestra, the WA Jazz Symphonia had suffered similar issues over the Covid period and were also looking for ways that their programs could continue in the future. At the recent board meeting, the new directors, Jane, Marcus and Tiffany were asked to carry out a full review of the Foundation's programs and funding status and report to the board with recommendations for reviving the future of the Foundation.

Question:

You are a management consultant from Theo Warnes and Associates who specialise in reviewing and evaluating non profit organisations and their programs. Jayne, Marcus and Tiffany have commissioned you to assist with the review of the Orchestra's situation post Covid and to make recommendations including reviewing current financial structure and suggestions for future funding options; understanding the viability of the various programs; and growing the membership base with a younger demographic. What would your recommendations be?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Based on the provided information here are recommendations for the Green Hills Symphony Orchestra Foundation 1 Review of Current Financial Structure Conduct a comprehensive analysis of income sources ... View the full answer