Pair of last-minute
gifts put symphony
in winner’s circle

Unity House donated
$50,000 and Lexus came
up with $20,000

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

Honolulu Symphony officials are playing a very happy tune today after raising more than $500,000 in donations and meeting yesterday's deadline to get another $500,000 in matching funds.

In May, an anonymous mainland donor pledged to contribute the money to the symphony if it could raise the same amount. Though it came down to the wire, it was the guarantee of a $50,000 gift from Unity House Tuesday and a $20,000 donation from Lexus of Hawaii that put the symphony over the top.

More than 4,000 individuals, organizations and corporations made donations ranging from $3 to $50,000.

Unity House President Tony Rutledge said union members were proud to make the contribution. "The musicians of the Honolulu Symphony make our community a finer place in which to live," he said.

The $1 million will be used to pay existing loans and to stabilize the symphony's financial situation, which has been shaky for more than a decade because of reduced government funding.

Symphony Executive Director Michael Tiknis said Unity House's donation largely was secured through the musicians and their union president, Milton Carter.

"I am so glad, man," Carter said. "The symphony can finally operate without a dark financial cloud over its head."

Tiknis said the donation and the musicians' efforts mark "a real deepening of the partnership" among symphony's board, staff and musicians.

"It heightens our mutual respect for each other and our united efforts to overcome challenges successfully and cooperatively and it sends the strongest message about our future cooperation to the entire community," Tiknis said.

The $20,000 gift from Lexus of Hawaii, a major corporate sponsor of the symphony for the last three years, "solidifies an already strong partnership."

Mark Fukunaga, chairman and chief executive officer of Lexus of Hawaii, said the reason behind his company's contribution is because "everyone benefits from having the Honolulu Symphony become a strong and permanent part of our community."

Since 1995 the symphony's operating budget has been reduced by about $1 million annually, and its season shortened from 42 to 30 weeks. The upcoming 30-week season will operate with a balanced budget of about $5 million.

The anonymous donor insisted that all future operating budgets are balanced and that the organization commit itself to operate in a financially responsible manner, symphony officials said.

The $1 million pushes the symphony's endowment fund assets to more than $6 million.