Laura Aden Packer, Program Director, Arts
It’s not easy being a nonprofit arts organization in New Jersey according to the latest results of a survey done by ArtPride/New Jersey, our state’s arts advocacy organization. And it’s really tough being an employee of a nonprofit arts company. Ann Marie Miller, ArtPride’s Executive Director, surveyed the arts field back in February, at the height of the economic downturn. She re-surveyed the field in early September and the results were quite interesting, although not surprising.
An excellent cross-section of organizations responded, 139 in all. This cohort:
- Had budgets ranging from under $100,000 to over $10 million.
- Had great geographic distribution: 28% of the respondents were organizations based in south Jersey; 33% central Jersey; and 39% north Jersey.
- Was diverse: one-third focused on performing arts, one-third on community/arts education; 19% were visual arts oriented; and 13% were service organizations and/or local arts councils.
Here are some of the key findings from the survey:
Income:
Earned income (such as ticket sales) has stayed relatively flat – that’s the good news. 56% reported a decrease in foundation support; 63% received decreased support from corporations (32% of which were down by 25% or more); 77% saw less government dollars (not surprising, considering the New Jersey State Council on the Arts suffered a 25% cut this year); and 46% reported that support from individuals had declined.
Programming:
- 27% had eliminated some programs; 28% had decreased programming
- 92 programs, 20 exhibitions, 18 productions and 127 performances had been cancelled. And what was most frequently cited as eliminated? Free programs in the schools.
Staffing:
- 39% of organizations had reduced their staff in the prior six months; 17% more expected to within the next six months.
- 132 positions had been eliminated, running the gamut from receptionist to executive director.
- 29% had reduced administrative hours and/or hours open to the public. An additional 17% expected to do so in the next six months.
- Many organizations reported using salary decreases, furloughs, reduced hours and moving from 5-day to 4-day work weeks (with 20% cuts in pay) as strategies for survival.
Finances:
- 40% predicted that they would not have a deficit in FY ’09. 25% weren’t sure yet. 35% thought they would have an ’09 deficit.
- Organizations were predicting anywhere from a 10% to a 50% cut in their operating budgets for 2010.
But arts organizations are beginning to feel a bit more optimistic. When asked back in February what they thought the future would hold, 63% thought things would get worse in the next six months. By September, only 26% were thinking things were going to get worse; a healthy group of glass half-fullers – 28% – thought the economic climate would get better.
What kinds of measures did your organization take during the height of the economic crisis to contain costs and secure future financial stability? Which strategies worked and why? Which ones didn’t? Are you more optimistic now about the future of your organization than you were six months ago? What do you think the future holds for public funding of the arts in the next year? Leave your comments for us below – they could be extremely helpful to your fellow nonprofit organizations.
To find out more about our state’s arts community, visit ArtPride’s website. There you will find all kinds of up-to-date information, including the answers to questions regarding the arts that ArtPride posed to the three major candidates for governor. There is also a link to the gubernatorial debate which took place on Thursday, October 22 and was aired on WBGO and other public television stations. A question about arts funding was featured prominently, and the responses from the candidates are quite informative about their perspective on the importance of the arts and state arts funding.
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