SAN DIEGO – San Diego Opera’s board of directors elected new officers during a board meeting Monday, April 28, 2014. The new executive committee includes Carol Lazier as president, Courtney Ann Coyle as executive vice president, James A. Merritt, M.D. as vice president of finance and Frances R. Marshall as secretary/parliamentarian. This election fills roles left vacant by recent board resignations.
Prior to this board meeting, a special meeting of the Association Membership was held in the Copper Room. Approximately 200 members attended. In this meeting, the Membership passed a motion approving that no sales of the Company’s assets be allowed outside the ordinary course of business. The vote was overwhelming in favor of passing, with only two opposed and one abstention. The Company had originally announced last month that it planned to sell assets in a plan to cease operations.
The Membership also passed a motion to increase the quorum from 10 to 25 at future Association Membership meetings. Again, members voted overwhelmingly in favor of adopting this motion, with only eight voting against, and 14 abstentions.
The Company also announced that in just three days of crowd sourced fundraising through its newly created escrow account, over $300,000 has been raised. Over 85 percent of these donations are gifts less than $1,000 and many are from first time donors, showing the widespread public support the Company has.
San Diego Opera announced last week that fundraising options for the Company’s 2015 season, its 50th, were available after the creation of an escrow account approved by the board of directors. This account enables the Company to begin collecting funds that are restricted to the production of a 2015 season.
If the 2015 season is not announced, or the $1 million goal is not met by May 19, donations will not be released to the Company and will be returned to the donor. The creation of this account allows the Company to explore moving forward while protecting donor money and giving supporters the security that their gift is being applied to the future of San Diego Opera which is now actively analyzing sustainable business models and various plans for future seasons.
Tax deductible donations restricted to the 2015 season can be made online at http://www.sdopera.com/moveforward (anytime) or by phone at 619.533.7000 (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.). San Diego Opera is also accepting unrestricted tax deductible donations for the 2014 season.
San Diego Opera announced its closure and the sale of its assets last month. The original closure date was scheduled to occur April 14, the day after the Company’s final sold-out performance of Don Quixote. A vote by the board March 31, delayed that closure by two weeks until April 29. Another vote by the board April 18 extended that closure date to at least May 19.
