Harlem Boys Choir in Need of Donations

The Boys Choir of Harlem has never had an easy time raising the money to run the 35-year-old world-renowned group and its school. But lately, it’s been even harder.

Donations are down at least 40% from three years ago, and the choir-sponsored school is desperate for donors to help it climb out of a $2.2-million debt.

Horace Turnbull, the choir’s executive vice president and brother of its founder, said the decline in giving has come from all sectors after the Sept. 11 attacks and the economic downturn.

“Many have made choices, and some of those choices don’t include the Boys Choir of Harlem,” Turnbull said recently. The city pays for teachers, equipment and the standard academic curriculum, but the choir organization funds counselors, tutors, musical training and a mandatory summer institute. Students must audition to be admitted.

This isn’t the first financial crunch for the organization, whose school enrolls 580 boys and girls and has a $2.6-million annual budget.

Facing a budget gap in 1996, the choir was able to draw $800,000 from donors.

Part of the problem is the perception that the entire organization is financially sound because of the celebrity and success of the touring choir, Turnbull said. The choir has toured the world and performed at the White House and United Nations. Receipts from concerts and album sales cover almost half of the budget, but the financial stress puts burdens there as well, Turnbull said.

The boys’ choir played more than 135 concerts last year.