Richard is right on the mark. We need to think creatively not only about ways to spend money but ways to raise it as well. To that end Interlochen Center for the Arts recently created what I think may be the first endowed chair of piano technology in the country. There isn't enough money in the account at this time to fund an entire position, but I can either turn the money back to increase principal or use the interest every year to supplement the base salary the administration allocates for that position in order to make the salary more competitive. At some point there could very well be a million dollars in the account from which $50K a year could be drawn to fund a second position. Charitable gift annuities (which virtually every non-profit in the country is selling these days) is another way to creatively supplement a program as one can designate a specific beneficiary at the time they're set up. The bottom line with any of these methods is to creatively find ways to fund programs through donations, savings and investment rather than increased allocations from the general fund. If you want to see doors fly open at your school this is one way to do it. People will donate to building campaigns and endowed faculty chairs as monuments to their philanthropy -- less to unspecified projects and operating funds. We should be pushing school administrators to think about funding the piano technology function the same way they do opera, musical theater and chamber music. The more positions that can be funded through endowments and restricted funds the more operating funds can be allocated for such things as instrument acquisition, restoration and higher salaries for faculty and staff. Rolf von Walthausen > "rwest1@neb.rr.com" <rwest1@neb.rr.com> wrote: > Your statement below gets to the heart of the matter/problem. I don’t > think administrators have any problem understanding how they need to spend > money on maintaining some aspect of their university be it pianos, > building, grounds, physical plant, etc. Ideas to spend money are legion. > The problem is to find ways to raise money. We need to do our homework and > provide the information for administrators to justify spending money on > pianos, but we need to also help in the money raising department and that’s > where Fred’s email about universal health care comes in. If an > administrator can have help to fund a piano technician position via > creative budgeting, (funding health care, foundation support, private piano > purchases, etc.) then the position is more likely to be successful.
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