This is the primary fundraising initiative of the FSSO, launched in June 2016. After many years in which the FSSO reliably received generous multi-year funding grants from the Lotto (the National Lotteries Commission), supplemented by an annual grant from the NAC (National Arts Council), these public funding sources have become rather uncertain.

If its core funding is uncertain, the FSSO cannot plan annual concert programmes properly, cannot engage top performers and conductors timeously and cannot market its annual programme to music lovers. The FSSO’s crucial educational role in mentoring and developing a next generation of young musicians, whether as teachers or as performing artists, comes under threat.

• A vibrant classical music scene and educational programme needs a vibrant and financially sustainable FSSO. Free State classical music lovers and aspiring young musicians need a symphony orchestra for living, for life.
• The FSSO needs a more diverse, more secure long-term funding stream. We must secure substantial private funding from individuals and companies as well as foundations/trusts (of which a couple had been accessed before).

We can reduce the FSSO’s vulnerability only if private individuals and the business sector take joint responsibility, in conjunction with government where possible, for the long-term viability of the Free State’s only professional symphony orchestra and orchestral training programme. (This includes a youth symphony orchestra.)

The FSSO has obtain Section 18A status from the SA Revenue Service (SARS) on the basis of its music-educational pipeline. This implies that donations to the FSSO are fully tax-deductible. This greatly reduces the after-tax cost of a donation to any donor.