Ravinia Festival Contributes Over $1 Million to Highland Park

Ravinia Festival, a not-for-profit music and education institution that raises about half its annual budget through ticket sales and the remainder through private donations, has contributed $1,012,038 to its hometown of Highland Park. This figure represents 5 percent of Ravinia's gross ticket sales from its successful 2015 festival season. This was the seventh of a 10-year revenue-sharing agreement with the city that has added more than $6.2 million to Highland Park's income. This financial arrangement is unique in that arts venues from Waukegan to Los Angeles generally depend on financial support from the municipalities where they are based.

While most of Ravinia's annual contribution goes to the city's general fund, Highland Park turns over about a third of the Ravinia donation to the not-for-profit YEA! Highland Park, which distributes funds raised at Ravinia to organizations supporting youth, education, arts, and social programs in the community, such as Tri-Con Child Care Center, the Highland Park/Highwood Child Care Association, Midwest Young Artists, and the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center. Ravinia also donates an additional $14,000 in concert tickets and waives all rental fees for the YEA! benefit.

"Ravinia is proud of its relationship with our wonderful hometown and with the many supporters of the arts who also call Highland Park home," said Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman, who has been credited with revitalizing Ravinia's programming and investing in its aging infrastructure while also expanding its education programs. "The live music business has grown evermore challenging with fierce competition for entertainers and audiences, higher artist fees, declining support for classical music, and changing demographics and musical tastes. Ravinia's and Highland Park's fates and fortunes are bound. When Ravinia does well, Highland Park does well."

This annual donation to the city is just one example of how the music festival works well with the city, Kauffman said.

"Ravinia brings around 600,000 visitors to Highland Park each year. That means 600,000 potential customers for our local businesses. Ravinia leadership regularly shares ideas with our business community on how to access these customers. Other communities covet that exposure," said Virginia Anzelmo Glasner, Executive Director of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce. "Conventional wisdom says that for every dollar spent at a major cultural institution, $7 is returned in its neighboring community, according to the Americans for the Arts comprehensive study Arts and Economic Prosperity IV."

"Ravinia exemplifies what it means to be a good neighbor," said Mayor Nancy Rotering. "In addition to this annual contribution to the City, the not-for-profit invests and partners with the City to improve the quality of life and increase the vibrancy of our community for residents and visitors. Ravinia is more than a community asset; it's a community cornerstone."

Music education is a crucial part of Ravinia's mission, and the festival worked closely with the District 112 Foundation, providing an additional $44,000 for local music education, bringing programs into classrooms, and providing an annual "Kids Go Classic" outing for students and families to the festival. Providing both instruments and teachers, Ravinia also just launched its first El Sistema orchestra, based at the festival, for underserved, mostly Spanish-speaking Lake County students. Additionally, all children and students through college are admitted free to the lawn for all classical programs at Ravinia, most Pavilion seats to all Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts are only $25, and free concert passes are available through the Highland Park Public Library. Furthermore, Ravinia waives $100,000 in facility and rental fees for both Highland Park and Deerfield graduation ceremonies.

As an economic engine for Highland Park, Ravinia is one of the city's largest employers, especially when it comes to providing local young people their first jobs as ushers, parking attendants, restaurant staff, or paid interns. Ravinia pays additional salary to local emergency officials for duties to the festival, allowing the city to attract the best applicants. The festival's governing and volunteer boards are heavily represented by Highland Park residents. Ravinia also engages Highland Park businesses whenever possible-from gelato makers to photographers.

Ravinia is located at Lake Cook and Green Bay Roads in Highland Park, IL. For more information, visit Ravinia.org. Ravinia welcomes all festival fans to follow, connect and interact online at backstage.ravinia.org, facebook.com/RaviniaFestival, and twitter.com/raviniafestival. Ravinia is a not-for-profit organization.

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