London Opera Guild

A survey for guild members.

We really value your opinions and the time you're taking to complete this survey. We look forward to reading your thoughts on how you think the London Opera Guild should proceed.

Keeping in mind the decrease in income for the LOG over the last few years and, in particular, during the last season (2015-2016), please answer the following questions:

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* 1. As a member of the Guild, do you participate in the Guild's activities, e.g., in attending its meetings, including the Scholarship Winners concert?

Yes

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* 2. Do you buy tickets for COC productions through the Guild?

For all COC productions

Occasionally

Never

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* 3. Do you use the opera bus?

For all COC productions

Occasionally

Never

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* 4. The Guild’s original mandate was to support the COC in whatever ways it could and to encourage the appreciation and knowledge of opera among its members. Perhaps fifteen years ago, this mandate was enlarged to include support for voice students at the Faculty of Music in the University of Western Ontario through scholarships. Over the years, we have awarded 77 scholarships to outstanding students, some of whom now have an active operatic career. In the past few years, the Guild has also supported the production of surtitles for UWOpera productions and bought tickets for these productions for many high-school students (perhaps an average of 25 students/year). In addition, the Guild has twice sponsored the presentation of operas for children by the COC, in each case for about 280 students.

Keeping in mind the paragraph above, please rate each item in the following list to indicate your view of its priority for the London Opera Guild.

	1	2	3	4	5
The Canadian Opera Company.	The Canadian Opera Company. 1	The Canadian Opera Company. 2	The Canadian Opera Company. 3	The Canadian Opera Company. 4	The Canadian Opera Company. 5
Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO.	Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO. 1	Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO. 2	Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO. 3	Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO. 4	Scholarships for voice students in the Faculty of Music at UWO. 5
Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students.	Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students. 1	Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students. 2	Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students. 3	Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students. 4	Sponsorship of opera for elementary-school students. 5
Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO.	Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO. 1	Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO. 2	Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO. 3	Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO. 4	Tickets for high-school students who wish to see operas at UWO. 5
UWOpera productions.	UWOpera productions. 1	UWOpera productions. 2	UWOpera productions. 3	UWOpera productions. 4	UWOpera productions. 5

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* 5. Question #4 assumes a continuation of the Guild, more or less as we have operated since 2010. However, there are other possible ways of operating and there is also the possibility that the Guild might either be forced to stop functioning or choose to do so. Other guilds, like the Western New York Guild (Buffalo), the Peterborough Guild and now the Oakville Guild (started 68 years ago), have folded.

Please order the various possibilities for the Guild (listed below) from those you like the most to those you like the least.

You may drag each box into the order you prefer or click the up and down arrows to change the sequence. Also, please add any comments about these ideas in the comment box in Question #6.

Our Guild should continue more or less as it has been doing until the money runs out.

Our Guild should consider options like sponsoring a series of recitals by opera students (instead of speakers). These singers would be paid small honorariums and the cost of the recitals would be met by charging admission or requesting donations.

Our Guild should continue for this year and then give its remaining money to:
The University of Western Ontario to establish a scholarship for an outstanding voice student in the Faculty of Music.

Our Guild should continue for this year and then give its remaining money to:
The Canadian Opera Company (which has a budget of approximately $60 million).

Our Guild should continue for this year and then give its remaining money to:
Some other organization (please leave your ideas of which organization below in Question #6).

Our Guild should apply for charitable status with Revenue Canada. This suggestion has been made in the past from time to time. However, the experiences of the Oakville Guild, which had charitable status, are a strong warning against pursuing this course of action.

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* 6. Please add any comments regarding the statements in Question #5. You may also suggest other courses of action for the Guild.

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* 7. Historically, our Guild has made money through the margins on the sale of opera tickets and the sale of seats on the opera bus. These sources of income have made it possible for us to contribute about $7,000 each year to the COC and the scholarship winners in the Faculty of Music at UWO. However, these sources of income are drying up rather precipitously. Can you suggest other methods of raising money for our Guild?