Oct 31, 2018, 12:24 PM
(from Nonprofit Quarterly) A long-established Chicago nonprofit, the Old Town School of Folk Music, recently decided to sell a landmark building in the tony Lincoln Park neighborhood to fund a $10 million endowment that will help sustain the school in perpetuity. Though the move makes financial sense to many, the school's board decided not to engage any other stakeholders in the decision, resulting in significant backlash. A student posted an online petition challenging the decision, which now has 3,000 signatures, and teachers too have voiced concerns. "Provide more transparency about the decision to sell the building — give us evidence that the sale is part of a coherent plan to restore the School’s financial health, not just a desperate short-term fix,” states the petition.
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