In the Arts: Met Sought Donor Consent to Free Endowment Funds - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

In the Arts: Met Sought Donor Consent to Free Endowment Funds - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "In the Arts: Met Sought Donor Consent to Free Endowment Funds

Facing financial pressure last year, the Metropolitan Opera asked donors to lift restrictions on how the organization used their gifts, allowing the group to shift money from its endowment to cover operating costs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Met freed about $22-million from its restricted endowment and used about a third of the money for operating expenses during the current season. The group's general manager, Peter Gelb, said the organization 'felt it needed to take these steps to address its mounting financial burden' during the 2009 fiscal year, during which its costs were more than double its earned revenue."