My Dad, Art Axelrod, is a board member of the Mercury Opera Guild in Rochester, NY. They are a young opera organization that brought together groups that had brought opera into the city, and organized trips to regional opera houses. Now, they stage their own performances multiple times a year!
Another thing they do is community education. My Dad does opera talks at local libraries and other sites around town. They were written up in the paper - here is a link to the story.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801230308