ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (OPO) is among various nonprofits of Central Florida’s arts and culture scene that is still trying to navigate funding cuts from the state budget.

Earlier this summer, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts and culture funding from the $116 billion budget.

The executive director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Bharne, said it’s going to be tough as they seek solutions to overcome this lack of funding.

Before the cuts, the state had originally planned to provide the orchestra with $150,000 in funding. But now it is looking elsewhere as it continues to prepare for a busy concert season.

Bharne is confident next February’s Jurassic Park themed performance will be a hit.

“We’re actually really excited. We’re doing Jurassic Park in concert. So, the movie will be playing and the orchestra will be performing the score from the movie,” Bharne said.

But after the state’s recent budget cuts led to a lack of funding for the arts, the group is now fully relying on the community for financial support.

“I think we’ve done a good job of making sure that people are aware of the cuts, so we hope that people are generous and that they show up,” she said.

Now that the orchestra will not be receiving the $150,000 in state funding it applied for, it will need to find the money elsewhere to even out the budget for the end of the year.

Bharne said whether it is through state funding, donor contributions or ticket sales that Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra primarily relies on for earned and contributed revenue.

“We’re taking a look at all our expenses to see if we can shave off here and there. And then we’re basically just looking to fundraise and sell as many tickets as we can in order to bridge that gap,” Bharne explained.

For the executive director, bridging that gap means using grassroot efforts from within the community to raise money.

So far, Bharne said she has not been disappointed.

“We have one wonderful donor who made a challenge gift of $36,000, so that means if were able to raise 36,000 additional dollars, he will unlock that so we will raise about $72,000. That’s about half of what we lost,” she said.

Even though they won’t be cutting any of the orchestra’s programming this season, Bharne said there could be a domino effect if these cuts to funding continue in the future.

“Not only does it have an impact on the arts organizations, it also has an impact on a lot of the downtown organizations. When you go to a concert, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll also go and eat out. You’ll pay for parking, you’ll do other things. You’re putting money back into the community,” she said.

As the orchestra turns to the community, it is seeking donations online from its website.

Bharne also encourages people to be vocal about these funding cuts to the arts by contacting their local legislators and posting to social media platforms.