LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA SELECTED AS A GRANTEE OF BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES’ ARTS INNOVATION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Orchestra Will Receive Part of $30 Million Investment to
Strengthen Programming and Organizational Capacity
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra announces that it is a grantee recipient of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. Through the two-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing $30 million across 262 small and mid-sized nonprofit cultural organizations around the country to help strengthen their operational and programming efforts, including training in fundraising, audience development and board member engagement.
“Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is deeply grateful to be selected for this prestigious and highly impactful grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies,” says LACO Executive Director Scott Harrison. “It will enable the Orchestra to focus on some of its highest strategic priorities and share our music with even more audiences. We applaud the major commitment Bloomberg Philanthropies is making to support the arts in the Los Angeles.”
LACO will use the grant to help expand strategic fund raising efforts and enhance the artistic excellence and community programs for which the Orchestra is recognized. It will enable the Orchestra to bolster audience engagement and capacity building in anticipation of its 50th anniversary and beyond.
The invitation-only program supports nonprofit cultural organizations based in six cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco. All organizations are locally or internationally recognized nonprofits that have been in existence for at least two years. The grantees are required to participate in a management training program; secure matching funds; ensure 100% board participation in fundraising; and maintain up-to-date information in the Cultural Data Project, an online financial & data collection platform that assists arts organizations across the country to collect, learn from, and use data effectively. The grants are unrestricted so that recipients can use them to address their greatest needs.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is partnering with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland to develop curricula and conduct trainings for the AIM program in each city. The comprehensive workshops engage organizations around activities that strengthen their long-term health and goals and include consultations and implementation support for arts managers and their boards.
First piloted in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies supported 245 grantees through AIM from 2011-2013. Participating organizations reported improvements in audience development, board engagement and fundraising over the two-year program.
About Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” by Public Radio International and “resplendent” by the Los Angeles Times, has established itself among the world’s top musical ensembles. Since 1997, LACO has performed under the baton of acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, hailed by critics as “visionary” and “a conductor of uncommon intellect, insight and musical integrity” with “undeniable charisma,” “effortless musicality and extraordinary communicative gifts.” Under Kahane’s leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 47-year history, the Orchestra has made 31 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents its Orchestral Series on Saturdays at Glendale’s Alex Theatre and on Sundays at UCLA’s Royce Hall; Baroque Conversations at downtown Los Angeles’ Zipper Concert Hall and USC’s Bovard Auditorium; Westside Connections chamber music series, designed to illustrate the relationship between music and other artistic disciplines, at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica; and an annual Discover concert, which features an in-depth examination that sheds new light on a single piece of music, at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium. LACO also presents a Concert Gala; LACO @ the Movies, featuring the Orchestra performing the score live; and several fundraising salons each year. Additionally, LACO outreach programs, Meet the Music, Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings Mentorship Program, reach thousands of young people annually, nurturing future musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies works to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. It focus on five key areas for creating lasting change: arts, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. The arts are a valuable way to engage citizens and enhance communities. Through innovative partnerships and bold approaches, the Bloomberg Philanthropies arts program works to increase access to culture using new technologies, empowering artists and strengthening cultural organizations to reach broader audiences. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.
About the DeVos Institute of Arts Management
The DeVos Institute has served more than 1,000 organizations from over 80 countries since Michael M. Kaiser founded it during his tenure as President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Institute has designed its services to assist a wide range of institutions, from traditional performing and presenting organizations, museums and galleries, arts schools and libraries, to botanical gardens, glass-making studios, public art trusts, and non-profit cinemas, to name a few. The DeVos Institute transferred its activities and offices from the Kennedy Center to the University of Maryland in September 2014. The move enables the Institute to expand its global training and consulting programs, enhance its fellowships for North American and international arts managers within the context of a major educational institution, and create a Master’s program that leverages both University and Institute resources.
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