The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - Four years ago, the Saint Louis Symphony was nearly bankrupt, with year after year of operating losses and a pitiful endowment for a world-class orchestra.
The symphony needed "a transformational gift," board chairwoman Virginia Weldon recalled Monday. "Something like fairy dust."
The symphony found its fairy godfamily in the Taylors, St. Louis philanthropists who made their fortune with Enterprise Rent-a-Car.
In May 2000, the symphony launched a capital campaign and secured a $40 million challenge grant from the Taylors. On Monday, the news came that the capital campaign had matched the challenge grant.
Weldon said financial challenges remain, but that the Symphony is now on firm financial footing.
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