The Columbia Orchestra is striking all the right chords with its fundraising campaigns.

For three years now, the orchestra has bucked a declining economy by pursuing and nailing down corporate sponsorships to pay for increasing costs.

Since 2005, the orchestra has gained sponsorships from big-name retailers Target and Wal-Mart, while also grabbing sponsorships from local companies such as The Columbia Bank, Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors, The Rouse Co. Foundation and a host of other companies, according to Tedd Griepentrog, the orchestra's executive director.

The success is impressive because in the current, uncertain financial climate corporate sponsors are a lot pickier about where they spend their money, said Coleen West, executive director of the Howard County Arts Council, a nonprofit art organization that also provides grant money to the orchestra.

"It is really remarkable what The Columbia Orchestra has done," West said Sept. 15. "Specifically, with this economic climate, it is really difficult to raise corporate sponsorships."

Change for the better

Facing financial difficulties in 2005, the orchestra's management made a decision to court corporate sponsors, Griepentrog said.

"As the cost for the production of our concerts increased we had to look for additional areas of support and branch out into the community," he said.

The move paid off. In fiscal year 2009 the Columbia Orchestra is expecting between $22,000 and $25,000 in corporate sponsorships, Griepentrog said. That's up from $4,000 in 2005, according to Griepentrog, who declined to state how much each of his sponsors contributed.

Theresa Colvin, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council, said that if a Maryland arts company is raising between 5 and 6 percent of its total budget from corporate sponsorships in the current economic climate, it should consider itself a success. The Columbia Orchestra is expecting between 13.75 percent and 15.62 percent of its total budget to come from corporate sponsorships, according to Griepentrog.

Colvin added that many corporations have cut back on arts sponsorships and are expected to continue cutting back, she said.

"I think it's the small and mid-size organizations that will have difficulty raising money," she said.

Supporting quality work

West said that by providing a strong product, the orchestra has managed to stand out.

"They can be counted on to do quality work. They've gained a reputation for a high-quality orchestra and they deliver," West said.

The corporate sponsorships are still a fraction of the orchestra's proposed total budget of $160,000 in fiscal year '09, but is growing, according to Griepentrog. Grants from Howard County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council and The Columbia Foundation still make up the bulk of the orchestra's financing, Griepentrog said.

Although the orchestra, founded in 1977, is a volunteer organization whose musicians do not get paid, the annual budget pays for expenses such as salaries for three part-time staff members, guest artist fees, rehearsal and performance space, and ticket printing and distribution, Griepentrog said.

Scot Millen, director of client services for the Columbia-based Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors, said sponsoring the orchestra was an important way for the investment management firm to gain notice in the community. Company officials were motivated in part to sponsor the orchestra because of its quality, he said.

"It's a high-quality organization with volunteers that have grown this from a very small start," he said.

"A lot of businesses ... are looking for a better way to get better known in this community, and that's a great way to do it," Millen said.

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