“I absolutely adore the community. We all are here for the purpose of singing. We all are here for the purpose of raising our voices. We’re here to love each other and show that we stand together. I think that’s so beautiful about Cantare, because we always support each other. We’re here as a community and when something goes wrong, we pick each other up and face it together.”

– Prathana Pandey, Sophomore, Nova Singer

As we enter our spring fundraising drive, we need the support of the Cantare community more than ever. This is a challenging time in the nonprofit arts world. About 10% of our funding comes from government sources. That funding is gone or at risk due to budget and policy changes at the local, state, and national levels. Despite strong individual support and some new institutional donors, we are facing a $50,000 deficit for our fiscal year ending June 30. We need to raise a total of $95,000 through our spring drive to eliminate that deficit and start the new year on steady footing, so we can continue to change lives through the power of music. You are a vital part of this organization. Any gift you are able to give, will help us erase the deficit and start our new fiscal year on a strong note.

We have so much to celebrate and so much to look forward to. Our children’s programs in the Oakland Unified Schools have shared the magic of music with 2,650 students this year, over 70% of them from under-resourced households. Our free summer camp has record pre-registration. Our Nova youth choir is set to expand next year to separate middle and high school groups. Our adult Chorale just had a highly successful performance of two challenging, complex works to an enthusiastic audience, and we have exciting repertoire planned for next year.

Cantare is a vibrant community forged by the love of music and the belief in the power of song to change lives. As Prathana says, support is the heart of the Cantare community. Any support you are able to give at this critical time will help us start the next year stronger than ever.

Thank you for being part of Cantare!

Warmly,

Tracy Grant

Executive Director