St. Louis Symphony receives $40 million gift

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The family who founded Enterprise Rent-A-Car is offering up to $40 million to the St. Louis Symphony in what is believed to be the biggest personal gift ever made to an American orchestra.

The Jack Taylor family made a challenge grant, under which it will match contributions from other donors up to $40 million.

Taylor is chairman of St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Started in 1957, it is North America's largest car rental company.

The gift is the largest in the 120-year history of the nation's second-oldest symphony orchestra.

"Our orchestra is widely acknowledged as one of the world's best," Taylor's son, Andrew C. Taylor, president and chief executive of Enterprise, said Wednesday.

"My family, which has called St. Louis home since the 1800s, firmly believes we should do what we can to preserve and enhance a civic jewel that does so much to define St. Louis as a wonderful city in which to live and work."

Andrew Taylor said the family believes the grant will prompt other St. Louis residents to contribute to the symphony, which consistently ranks among the top five in the nation despite two decades of financial hardship.

The grant is structured with $5 million allocated to operating expenses and $35 million to be used to increase the symphony's $22 million endowment, which is low by the standards of many major orchestras.

Orchestras in cities such as Minneapolis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh have endowments of more than $100 million.

"This extraordinary gift from Jack Taylor and his family will help launch a new era for the symphony and provide a major impetus to get the organization back on solid financial footing," said Virginia Weldon, chairwoman of the symphony board.

Copyright 2000   The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

St. Louis Symphony

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