Orlando Ballet Inc.

Continue to expand Community Enrichment programming by: growing the STEPS Program to 94 sites serving more than 2,000 students; growing the RISE program and RISE professional development Symposium to serve public middle and high school students; continuing Intro to Ballet in partnership with Orange County Public Schools serving approximately 15,000 OCPS second grade students each year; continuing and expanding Come Dance with Us! in partnership with Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Nemours Children's Health, and Unlocking Children's Potential and monthly Neon Club dances for adults with varying developmental disabilities at Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre; continuing Gentle BeMoved to serve seniors and those with limited mobility; and working to continue our establish a sensory friendly family productions.

Expand and solidify leadership by continuing to identify key constituents and skillsets for Board, artistic, and staff expansion.

Orlando Ballet has outlined the following strategies to reach the aforementioned goals:

Survive COVID-19
- The 2020-21 Budget has been approved based on conservative, even cashflow to preserve Orlando Ballet’s financial stability
- Compensation will be reduced by 10% organization wide to help mitigate reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Maintain mainstage Season, including five announced productions of The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Moulin Rouge The Ballet, The Premiere Collection, and Peter Pan
- Contracts have been executed to engage 23 professional company dancers for the 2020-21 Season
- Reimagine the performance hall to accommodate social distancing recommendations
- Orlando Ballet School summer 2020 programming is in process and surpassing anticipated targets
- Orlando Ballet School’s newly rebranded Fitness thru Dance offerings are open and available to the public throughout the summer; continue to expand offerings to all segments of the community
- Orlando Ballet School will offer a virtual Summer Intensive opportunity for students who may be unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Focus on cultivating current and new donor relationships to sustain contributed income
- Continue to emphasize donor appreciation across all efforts
- Continue to produce Barre Talk podcast and expand Dance Accelerator (virtual choreography competition)

Continue to expand Community Enrichment
- Director of Community Enrichment, Charmaine Hunter, is working closely with Orange County Public Schools, City of Orlando Families, Parks and Recreation, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida to make plans for STEPS to resume in the Fall and explore virtual opportunities to continue service to students no matter the circumstances
- Continue to expand community enrichment programs to meet community need

Expand and solidify leadership
- Invest in staff wellness programs to help retain current staff
- Work with national search firm to identify Orlando Ballet’s next Executive Director
- Grow the organization's board of directors to include members from key local industries, members from the artistic/education community, and members representing the diversity of Orlando (in age, ethnicity, and gender)

Additional Strategies:
- Enhance programmatic and institutional marketing efforts
- Digital marketing and social media strategies will continue with the goal of expanding OB’s reach to younger demographics and engaging the audience in a new way
- Continue to focus on efforts to diversify audiences, in part by continued engagement of the Hispanic Development Committee, now Amigos del Orlando Ballet
- Continue to engage Young Professionals through Orlando Ballet Ambassadors program and increase momentum in partnership with volunteer leadership
- Create and engage an Orlando Ballet School Parents Association to help evaluate school offerings and serve as ambassadors for the organization.
- Fulfill established Elevate Orlando Ballet Campaign goals

Board President Jonathan Ledden possesses both highly sophisticated financial acumen and ballet company production experience. Interim Executive Director, Cheryl Collins, CFRE joined the organization in 2016 as Director of Development. Since that time, she has led the cultivation of the vast expansion of individual, corporate and foundation relationships, securing major gifts and partnerships, and was a key contributor to the design and funding of Harriett's Orlando Ballet Centre. Orlando Ballet has significantly invested in personnel growth to establish a team that can support the organization into the future, operating under the belief that people are the organization’s greatest resource.

The Company is led by Artistic Director Robert Hill, a former principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, who is recognized for making ballet relevant to today's audiences. Mr. Hill celebrated his 10th season with Orlando Ballet during the 2018-19 Season.

Orlando Ballet School is led by Phillip Broomhead, former principal dancer with Royal Ballet Theatre and ABT certified instructor. The school faculty is certified to provide instruction per the criteria of American Ballet Theatre and is one of only five schools in the nation to achieve this standard.

Orlando Ballet received a $7.5 million gift from the Harriett Lake Family Trust as the lead gift to the capital campaign for the construction of Harriett's Orlando Ballet Centre, which opened to the public in January 2020. The building was completed on time and on budget, without debt. This unique situation presented the opportunity for Orlando Ballet to leverage naming rights to support operating costs and invest in future growth through the Elevate Orlando Ballet Campaign.

Thanks to substantial leadership gifts from Jonathan and Krista Ledden, The Yarmuth Family, and Orlando Health, the Elevate Orlando Ballet Campaign for Sustainable Giving officially launched in January 2020. Gifts to the Campaign will support the operation of our world-class home; expansion of our season; growth of the company repertoire; expansion of our School, including scholarships; retention of our professional dancers, faculty and staff; continued growth of our enrichment activities such as STEPS, Come Dance With Us!, BeMoved®, and more; and the establishment of cash reserves to ensure we are prepared for the future.

Orlando Ballet is also a member of Dance/USA, the leading organization for dance advocacy, research, and professional development. Dance/USA is a resource for information, allowing Orlando Ballet to find benchmarks that will help elevate the organization, as well as learning opportunities to examine industry best practices.

Orlando Ballet has restructured its team to deliver the appropriate caliber of support required for a renowned professional ballet company. This team includes a seasoned Managing Director, CFRE credentialed Director of Philanthropy and experienced philanthropy team, innovative and data driven Director of Marketing, Controller, and Patron Services Manager. Robust intern and fellowship programs are offered to college students and professional dancers in career transition. Orlando Ballet School has been completely restructured with the addition of a School Business Manager, Registrar and several new dance division heads to implement new and expanded dance programs. A Director of Community Enrichment was also added to enhance focus on these essential community programs. OB is now focused on improving the company’s employee value proposition to ensure staff retention.

Professionals on loan continue to provide legal, IT, production, and accounting expertise as the organization hones its professional environment to meet the expectations of patrons, students and their families, donors and the community at large.

Development efforts have been focused upon donor stewardship and cultivation with the goal of a largely expanded base of donors to support annual contributed income goals. Since 2017, OB has increased contributed income by 117% with expansion of corporate and foundation partnerships, as well as significant growth in individual giving. A new Sustained Giving Program – Elevate Orlando Ballet – was announced in January 2020, and will build on the success of the previous Ledden Challenge Match and Sustained Giving program established by the current board president and his wife.

OBS has returned to cash positive operations, and focus is now shifting towards growth and expansion across all areas, including the newly rebranded Fitness thru Dance program.

Construction on Harriett's Orlando Ballet Centre is complete. This state-of-the-art dance facility in Loch Haven Cultural Park not only offers a home for the company, school, and administrative offices but also a moderately sized performance space for local arts organizations. The cost of construction, owner's equipment and contingency was $13 million.

OB closed the 2019-20 fiscal year in the best cash position to date, despite challenges presented by the pandemic. Continued focus on expanding both earned and contributed revenue will assure financial stability for the future.

Once we have surpassed the uncertainty of the pandemic and in alignment with the organization’s long-range strategic plan, OB’s focus is on artistic growth to earn the national recognition of Orlando’s cultural excellence, including re-imagining The Nutcracker, expanding the performance season, creating a signature world premiere full length ballet, establishing at least two resident relationships outside of Orlando, and expanding the Mainstage Season to five series.