It is most interesting to hear about the differing ways that things are funded on either side--

Classical music forms(and the arts in general) don't receive the sort of state sponsorship here in the US that it seems to receive in the UK--here, orchestras. opera companies, and the like merely receive tax exempt status as a not-for-profit organization, and they are left to their own devices as to how to collect the funds that they require to operate--for that matter, there are quite a number of folk music related non-profit organizations, some of which generate huge amounts of money that they use to underwrite a variety of music and educational events--

I know a lot about the funding and underwriting for non-profits, both art/music related and other(out of necessity)--they draw money from a variety of sources, but the key to success, in all instances, is a strong relationship between the programs, the audiences, and the underwriters--

The system, as it has evolved, is even more bottom-line oriented than the for-profit world(though the bottom line is to use money to create art, rather than to use art to create money), more competitive, and, some people feel, more exploitive--There aren't a lot of musicians expecting that the world owes them a living, but there are a number of people who, by combining performing, some teaching, bits of unrelated part time, and a frugal life style, can make a career of performing--