{"id":2696,"date":"2009-06-15T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2009-06-15T07:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=2696"},"modified":"2009-06-16T10:02:40","modified_gmt":"2009-06-16T17:02:40","slug":"obt-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/15\/obt-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"obt: now what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dance United was an unqualified success, and if what I’m hearing through the grapevine is true, then the $750,000 bridge goal has been met and perhaps exceeded by some modest amount<\/span> has nearly been met [as of June 15th OBT reports $710,000 raised so far].\u00c2\u00a0 So, good – we have OBT for one more season, at least.\u00c2\u00a0 But without its live orchestra.\u00c2\u00a0 Now there are some tough questions that must be asked, and honest answers must be given.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s my short list:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I’ve been hearing that finances were not in order for the previous several seasons, and there have been two different development directors in as many years.\u00c2\u00a0 Why haven’t they been successful in meeting the funding needs of the organization?<\/li>\n
  2. The 2009-2010 season looks to be on track – but that’s without the $300,000 expense of the OBT orchestra, which is beloved by the dancers and audience alike.\u00c2\u00a0 How does OBT plan on regaining its footing without permanently losing a live orchestra in the pit?<\/li>\n
  3. What sort of long-range planning, if any, has OBT been working on shaping over the last five years?\u00c2\u00a0 I ask this because once an arts organization gets into the desperate begging mode at the end of each season, the end is in sight.<\/li>\n
  4. What role has the board played in overseeing their fiduciary responsibilities to date?\u00c2\u00a0 Is it a matter of fundraising fatigue, or lack of interest on their part?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There are many more questions that could be asked, and that should be asked.\u00c2\u00a0 First and foremost, however, OBT must ensure that it does not arrive at the same place next May as it did this May.\u00c2\u00a0 Foundations will look the other way, supporters will not answer phone calls, and the public opinion will quickly sour.\u00c2\u00a0 That will be a fatal day for OBT.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s make sure that it does not happen by asking tough questions and bringing some transparency and accountability to the governance process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Dance United was an unqualified success, and if what I’m hearing through the grapevine is true, then the $750,000 bridge goal has been met and perhaps exceeded by some modest amount has nearly been met [as of June 15th OBT reports $710,000 raised so far].\u00c2\u00a0 So, good – we have OBT for one more season, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1335,103],"tags":[936,1633],"class_list":["post-2696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dance","category-fundraising","tag-executive-director","tag-oregon-ballet-theatre"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-Hu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2727,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/18\/obt-meets-exceeds-fundraising-goal\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":0},"title":"obt meets, exceeds fundraising goal","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon Ballet Theatre has surpassed its $750K goal by over $100,000 as of today.\u00c2\u00a0 That's great news!\u00c2\u00a0 So, how are they going to continue past the next season, and will that involve a live orchestra?\u00c2\u00a0 Not sure.\u00c2\u00a0 But Bob Hicks has an excellent post at Artscatter concerning the current dilemmae\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"obttherm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/obttherm-200x263.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2668,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/09\/obt-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":1},"title":"OBT update","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"OBT is just past the halfway mark in reaching their critical $750K goal.\u00c2\u00a0 Please give if you are able, or buy tickets to DANCE UNITED.\u00c2\u00a0 Sorry, the $50 seats are all gone, however.","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"obt_thermometer2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/obt_thermometer1-400x521.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2298,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/04\/06\/obt-pit-goes-dark\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":2},"title":"OBT pit goes dark","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"From today's Oregonian: In yet another round of bad news for Portland's arts scene, Oregon Ballet Theatre is cutting its budget 28 percent. The ballet will go on. Just don't expect a live orchestra at any OBT performances or quite as many dancers on stage next season. Approved by OBT's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2674,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/10\/obt-crosses-the-500000-mark\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":3},"title":"obt crosses the $500,000 mark","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As of 1pm this afternoon, Oregon Ballet Theatre has raised $524,800 - not too shabby with 30 days to go until the end of the fiscal year... Keep digging deep, people, and tell your friends, too!","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4148,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/02\/28\/obt-orchestra-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":4},"title":"obt orchestra returns","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Bob Hicks (a.k.a. Mr. Scatter) has a review of the Oregon Ballet Theater's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which featured the return of the OBT orchestra after being absent due to budget cuts for all of the 2009-2010 season.\u00a0 Here's the portion of the review that deals with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/obtfb-400x47.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2597,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/28\/dance-united-a-benefit-for-obt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2696,"position":5},"title":"DANCE UNITED: a benefit for OBT","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're a supporter of the arts in Portland (either as a loyal audience member or as a donor), you owe it to yourself to attend their extraordinarily important benefit DANCE UNITED.\u00c2\u00a0 The benefit takes place on June 12, 2009 at 7:30pm Keller Auditorium. Performances will be given by members\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dance"","block_context":{"text":"dance","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/dance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}