Eugene Opera Must Raise $230K To Survive

By April Baer (OPB)
Eugene, Oregon Feb. 10, 2017 4 a.m.

The Eugene Opera laid out a dire fiscal situation to the public Thursday night during the first of two public meetings.

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Eugene Opera Board Chair Barbara Wheatley presents revenues and liabilities during the first of two public meetings.

Eugene Opera Board Chair Barbara Wheatley presents revenues and liabilities during the first of two public meetings.

April Baer / OPB

The company is facing $156,000 of debt. Accounting for staff and office expenses, it will need to raise $230,000 to finish the year in the black. Opera board members said productions at the Soreng Theater also contributed to cost overruns. The organization actually benefited from relatively robust donations in 2016 and 2017.

Eugene accountant Randy Wells, who volunteered to look at the opera's books, says one challenge is that the more operas the company produces, the more money it loses.

"I have no experience of nonprofits," Wells said, "only in business. In the business world, the administrative and support expenses are much much higher. The opera spends very frugally, possibly too frugally. There's not much money spent on getting donations."

At this point, there's no talk of the company going under, although the board acknowledged it will take a big lift to raise the needed cash.

The opera is considering several measures going forward, including moving productions to small venues, streamlining sets and mounting musical theater productions to attract a broader audiences.

A second meeting is planned for Feb. 14.

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