Westmoreland-based nonprofits bide time through fundraiser cancellations

Both the Westmoreland Cultural Trust and Old Joe Club Charities were able to hold their largest annual fundraisers before the coronavirus prompted a statewide lockdown.

The Trust’s Party at the Palace and Old Joe’s Men’s Night Out both took place in February, about a month before event cancellations began to multiply.

Other Westmoreland County-based organizations weren’t as fortunate.

Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra postponed its annual Spring Rhapsody until Sept. 25 and renamed the 1920s-themed event Roaring Rhapsody. Its Hat Luncheon, a much-anticipated June event, may be staged as a virtual event.

The symphony also canceled its final two concerts of the season, along with all educational programming for the time being.

“All that together puts a big hole in our budget,” said Endy Reindl, executive director of Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra. “We’re talking about a large loss of revenue.”

Fundraisers and individual giving account for about one-third of the symphony’s annual budget, Reindl said.

A dent in funding

“About 60% of our fundraising is attributed to our gala,” said John Gdula, board president for Irwin’s Lamp Theatre.

Cancellation of the event planned for March 20 “definitely put a dent in our operating funds,” he said. “March was going to be our biggest month ever, as far as the shows we had booked and the gala.”

Latrobe Art Center canceled its Art of Fashion fundraiser that had been scheduled for March 28. Executive Director Lauren Buches described the event as a “minor” fundraiser, but the art center spent money on it that cannot be recouped.

Buches said she is more concerned about the upcoming Yellow Tie Gala, which is held annually in August in conjunction with Latrobe’s Great American Banana Split Celebration.

“Obviously, if the banana split festival is canceled, there will be no Yellow Tie Gala,” Buches said, “and that’s a not insignificant portion of our budget.”

Adapt to survive

Even though Party at the Palace and Men’s Night Out went ahead, that doesn’t mean their respective sponsoring organizations aren’t fretting over revenue.

Westmoreland Cultural Trust operates Greensburg’s The Palace Theatre, which has suspended operations for the duration of the shutdown. The next show on the schedule, featuring former Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, is set for June 21.

“Party at the Palace revenues represent roughly 35% of our net fundraising efforts annually,” said trust CEO April Kopas. “Total revenue lost is potentially 40% of our total.

“The world has changed, so we have to adapt to survive. At this point, that includes participating in a payment protection plan, taking advantage of emergency funding for artists and a lot of grant writing.”

The trust has created a donation program through which proceeds are split between Westmoreland County Food Bank and the WCT Artist Fund, in support of its Incubator for the Arts participants.

“We’re creatively trying to figure out revenue streams in the meantime,” Kopas said. “The community is really stepping up. That’s not the long-term plan, but that’s the positive in all of this. We’ll have to be a leaner business, look at debt, renegotiate contracts. We’re preparing a business plan for when we go to yellow.”

According to Kopas, changes may include smaller live performances to incorporate social distancing rules and expansion of virtual programming. Videos and livestreams are being posted on social media with the hashtag #MusicNeverStopsPalace.

Bolstering community

In addition to Men’s Night Out, Old Joe Club Charities hosts an annual Derby Day for Charity that aligns with the Kentucky Derby in May and the Westmoreland Croquet Club Tournament in June. The latter two events have been canceled this year.

Run entirely by volunteers, the charity retains only what is needed to produce the following year’s events, according to co-founder and committee member Ernie Vallozzi. Other funds go to an endowment and are disbursed to organizations and nonprofits through the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County.

In 2019, Old Joe made grants of $283,000 to more than 50 organizations, from small local groups such as Beverly’s Birthdays and Feeding the Spirit, to national organizations such as the American Cancer Society. The net from croquet was $13,000, Vallozzi said.

While croquet attendance ranges from 1,000 to 2,000, making it the most visible of the charity’s events, Vallozzi said, “it’s a very costly event to produce. The payoff is more in how it brings the community together.”

‘Rethink what we do’

“We know we’re going to lose money, but this gives us an opportunity to rethink why we do what we do,” Reindl said of the symphony. “Are we still resonating with the community? The overwhelming response we’ve gotten is that we do.

“We know we will see people again with the traditional large concert experience, but we have to think of ways to incorporate more engagement with smaller, more nimble events.”

That includes this year’s virtual Hat Luncheon, which has an unexpected benefit during the shutdown.

“If people thought it was kind of a frivolous thing before, you can see how hats are helping us to cover up our big, moppy hair right now,” he said.

Reindl said organizers are shooting for a date in June, and details should appear on the symphony website soon.

“We’re going to feel the pinch like everyone else, but we do a lot with a little,” Gdula said of the Lamp. “We started a rainy day fund awhile back to pay for fixed costs for a period of time. We weren’t on the hook for any contracts. We had some shows under contract, but they’re pretty far out in the future.”

As for Latrobe Art Center, “Right now, (losses) are recoverable, but it depends on how long this goes on,” Buches said. “Every nonprofit is in similar circumstances.”

Coming together

“We’re very fortunate,” Kopas said. “We’re going to come out of this, but some businesses and nonprofits may not make it through.”

She said she is heartened by the spirit of cooperation she’s seen among community organizations throughout the shutdown, and she believes the trust should be at the forefront of that.

“We’re the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, not the Greensburg Cultural Trust,” she said. “This is about more than us staying alive. It’s about trying to help everyone through it. If any positive comes out of it, it’s seeing people coming together to help each other.”

One other thing works in nonprofits’ favor, Gdula said, especially those that provide entertainment.

“We’re social organisms,” he said. “People need each other, and they need engagement. They’re really going to appreciate things when they do open up.”