Arts Center Names Fund-Raising Director

Garry Neiger has been named director of development at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, following the departure in August of Mary Alice “Melly” Sutherland.

Neiger, 44, came to the center in July from the Escondido Center for the Performing Arts, where he was vice president for development. He assumes the Performing Arts Center’s top fund-raising post immediately.

The promotion comes as the result of a departmental reorganization recommended by an outside consulting firm, center spokesman Greg Patterson said. Sutherland, who held the title of vice president for development, “is not being replaced,” he noted. “Her position no longer exists.”

A Performing Arts Center source, who asked not to be named, said the change is expected to save from $60,000 to $80,000.

The 10-year-old center, a not-for-profit corporation, is the largest arts institution in the county and operates on a budget of roughly $20 million annually. To meet expenses, it must raise between $4 million and $5 million from private and corporate donors each year, above income from ticket sales.

Neiger, a resident of San Diego, previously was the center’s director of development for individual giving and has held posts at UC San Diego, Loyola Marymount and the University of Washington.