Even as it gathers pledges for a financial-recovery campaign, the Philadelphia Orchestra can't count on the support of the city's largest foundation - at least for now.
The Pew Charitable Trusts has passed on giving money to the orchestra's rehabilitation plan, several sources familiar with the decision say.
Pew president Rebecca W. Rimel confirmed that the foundation has made a decision, though she would not say what it was, or whether it was irrevocable.
An orchestra spokeswoman also declined to speak about the decision, releasing only a short statement:
"Few could rival the generosity of the Pew Charitable Trusts to so many cultural institutions and nonprofit organizations. They have been consistently supportive of the Orchestra over the years, for which we are grateful . . ."
Despite being among Philadelphia's largest and most ambitious cultural institutions, the orchestra has not enjoyed the same kind of support from Pew as similarly sized local organizations.
According to the foundation's database, Pew since 2001 has given the orchestra about $4.3 million, while awarding the Philadelphia Museum of Art approximately $23 million during the same period.
Rimel disputed the orchestra figure. Saying that "the orchestra gets funding through the Pew Center on Arts and Heritage and through a couple of other sources that would not have been evident on our website," Rimel put the orchestra figure at $8 million compared with the Art Museum's $22.6 million.
In the same decade, Pew has been generous to a number of other local cultural organizations, awarding the Barnes Foundation $24.4 million; the Kimmel Center $14 million; the Franklin Institute $10.4 million; Opera Company of Philadelphia $5.1 million; and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts $4.3 million, according to figures provided by Rimel.
The orchestra, facing declining attendance and inadequate philanthropic support, is in the midst of simultaneously seeking to lower labor costs though ongoing negotiations with its musicians - wages and pension remain the primary areas of disagreement - while pursuing a bailout plan that could include filing for bankruptcy and reorganization.
