With a recent gift of $500,000 from Halifax philanthropists Margaret and David Fountain, Symphony Nova Scotia’s Listen to the Future Endowment Campaign has just exceeded $5 million. “We are extremely grateful for the Fountains’ generosity,” says Dale Godsoe, Chair of Symphony Nova Scotia’s Listen to the Future Endowment Campaign. “Margaret and David have a long history of nurturing and inspiring the arts community; such a generous gift will have an impact on Nova Scotia for generations to come.”

These funds are stewarded by Symphony Nova Scotia Foundation, an independent endowment fund begun in 1992 to create a steady source of funding for Symphony Nova Scotia. Prior to the Campaign’s launch in 2008, the Foundation held $2.6 million in assets. Today, the Foundation stands at over $5 million, and when all the confirmed gifts, pledges and expected match grants are received, it will exceed $8 million.

“What this means is an annual source of stable, sustainable funding,” says Erika Beatty, CEO of Symphony Nova Scotia. “Today, the Foundation transfers more than $170,000 every year to help cover our annual costs, 72% of which are artistic and production costs. By the time the Campaign reaches completion, the amount provided by the Foundation will exceed $360,000 each year.