Excellence:

• Goal & Objective 1: This is an admirable aim, however it is hard to quantify an "artistic profile."  How will the programming and artistic collaborations directly impact the artistic profile in a different/new way than previous seasons?  For example: Is Beethoven's Fifth a work the orchestra has previously been unable to perform?  Surely not, however this alone does not speak to raising an artistic profile.  Specifics here are important.
• G&O 2: Here, the greater amount of specifics are appreciated.  However, while diversity in programming was cited and diversity was also mentioned in the mission, it still seems as though the scope of programming is narrow compared to this objective.  The educational outreach is admirable of course, but there appears to be no mission to hire guest soloists or perform works of individuals from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.  Therefore, the mission appears to be incongruent to the stated objectives.

Impact:

• Similarly here, the population most directly benefitting from programming are those who are white.  If the mission includes diversity of audience, this needs to be reflected in your current activities or planning for future activities.
• The detail reflecting local economic impact is excellent.  It would be good to expand details relating to the 80,000 individuals reached via community programs as that may be the most important aspect of this narrative section, but was nestled in at the end and glossed over.
• M/P: The structure is very sound, however more details are needed to assess reach.  For instance, how many social media likes and followers does the organization have?  Is that number growing or shrinking?  Was is the average post reach?

Management:

• Excellent pace to double your endowment in just over 10 years and eliminating bank debt.
• Evaluation plan: The strategic plan was mentioned, but not included. Details about this evaluation process and ways in which changes are made with representative examples would be greatly beneficial.  Additionally, how does the organization measure patron response, if at all?  The patron experiences does not appear to be party of this grant application.
• Budget: While there appears to be small next savings this fiscal year and projected for next, it would be advantageous to see greater fiscal restraint to avoid the apparent deficit from the previous fiscal year. At times the stated issues with this fiscal year are unavoidable, measures to prevent this from happening again as well as being cautious with future planning are incredibly important.