The Met Chorus Artists, Inc. Face The Music Fundraising Campaign
Note: This campaign has ended, and thanks to your generous donations, we were able to disburse another round of grants to needy Met AGMA artists who were suffering financially due to the pandemic. Thank you so much to all who supported us during the closure!
Before the pandemic, Met Chorus Artists, Inc. was primarily a way for the Metropolitan Opera Chorus to bring opera into the community, and partner with other philanthropic organizations.
Then COVID-19 hit, ravaging the performing arts industry. In response to the artistic and financial upheaval that our friends and fellow Met colleagues were experiencing, we were compelled to launch our first-ever fundraising campaign. With the help of our incredibly generous fans, we successfully raised over $500,000 for hundreds of out-of-work Met AGMA artists. These donations made a huge impact, assisting artists with rent, utilities, bills, and food for their families.
Since then, a lot has happened.
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments, which added an extra $600 a week to Unemployment Insurance payments, expired.
The Met announced the cancellation of the entirety of the 2020-2021 season, ensuring that Met artists would continue to be out of work and without pay until August of 2021. This will leave us unemployed for sixteen months since the initial closure in March.
COVID cases continue to rise, affecting the ability to find temporary employment until we are safely able to return to work. People are suffering and wondering how they are going to pay for their basic necessities.
Met Chorus Artists, Inc. knew that the only choice was to launch our Face The Music Fundraising Campaign.
We were shocked by these statistics:
Over 30% of Met Choristers have been forced to give up their apartments or sell their homes and leave the city, because they are no longer able to afford to live there. Many have moved in with family members.
The New York State maximum weekly Unemployment Insurance benefit is $504 (minus taxes).
The New York State average weekly living wage is $1,841.
According to StreetEasy.com, the median monthly rent for an 1-bedroom apartment in NYC is $2,990.
As of September 2020, the unemployment rate for New York City was around 14%.
Most Met Artists will run out of Unemployment Insurance benefits by April of 2021.
It has been a catastrophic year for so many of us, and we realize that you will be pulled in many directions by worthy causes that need your help. We hope you know how much your generosity will directly help struggling Met AGMA artists. In the coming weeks and months, we'll introduce some of these artists to you, and we hope you’ll remember them in your end-of-the-year charitable giving.
We adore our Met audience and all the people who gave so generously to our last fundraising campaign.
We hope you’ll be willing to help us again.
Any amount, no matter the size, will help individual Met AGMA artists weather the storm of pandemic unemployment.
All donations are 100% tax-deductible.