Detroit Symphony Gets $1 Million to Boost Fundraising

June 3, 2009, DETROIT, Associated Press — The Ford Foundation has given a boost to the struggling Detroit Symphony Orchestra -- a three-year, $1 million grant to help it expand its donor base.

The money from the New York-based foundation will support the symphony's fundraising and marketing initiatives based around music director Leonard Slatkin.

Symphony President Anne Parsons tells the Detroit Free Press that Ford foundation officials see the symphony "going in the right direction, and they think that the (2008) Slatkin appointment was pivotal to the ongoing success of the orchestra."

The symphony has seen its donations fall, endowment shrink and ticket sales soften. In response, it has made $1.6 million in cuts this year, including layoffs, pay cuts and canceled programs.