“Opera is Dead! Symphonies are Dead!” Doomsaying in the Arts No Good for Business | Nonprofit Quarterly

“Opera is Dead! Symphonies are Dead!” Doomsaying in the Arts No Good for Business | Nonprofit Quarterly: "During and immediately after the recession, the newswires were abuzz with conflicts between classical music organizations and the unions that represented their musicians and other workers. Some of those conflicts played out in public, complete with standoffs, walk-outs, lockouts, and the organizing of stakeholders to support one side or another. In the midst of all of that, doomsayers were intoning the deaths of opera, of large symphonies, etc., but now such stories are fewer and further between."



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Seeking Billions, N.Y. Arts Groups Rev Fundraising Engines - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Seeking Billions, N.Y. Arts Groups Rev Fundraising Engines - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "With 16 New York City cultural institutions engaged in campaigns to collect $3.47 billion for expansions and renovations, The New York Times looks at the art and practice of big-league fundraising, and whether the donor pool is deep enough to support so many big-dollar drives."



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Young art enthusiasts are in for a mysterious treat at future DMA fête - CultureMap Dallas

Young art enthusiasts are in for a mysterious treat at future DMA fête - CultureMap Dallas: "Junior Associates of the Dallas Museum of Art recently gathered more than 100 members of their loyal crew for a save-the-date party of sorts to announce a one-time only event they are calling Director's Cut.

Happening in lieu of the beloved annual fundraiser, An Affair of the Art, Director's Cut is still mostly shrouded in mystery."



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N.Y. City Opera Drops Plan to Sell Name and Assets - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

N.Y. City Opera Drops Plan to Sell Name and Assets - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "he New York City Opera has abandoned plans to sell its name and other assets after months of legal squabbling between rival bidders seeking to revive the moribund company, writes The Wall Street Journal. The opera's board is instead weighing whether to restructure through the bankruptcy process begun when the organization filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2013."



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Celebrated Joffrey Ballet Gets its First Endowment | Nonprofit Quarterly

Celebrated Joffrey Ballet Gets its First Endowment | Nonprofit Quarterly:



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$52 Million Push to Help Arts Institutions Find New Audiences - NYTimes.com

$52 Million Push to Help Arts Institutions Find New Audiences - NYTimes.com: "Opera Theater of Saint Louis will experiment with reaching younger and more diverse audiences with a variety of programs, including one that will send singers into houses of worship to perform, to work with choirs and to connect with people who do not normally go to the opera."



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Solid payoff from arts funding - Winnipeg Free Press

Solid payoff from arts funding - Winnipeg Free Press: "Investing in arts and culture is good for business, the results of a new national survey say.

The survey of Canadians and Canadian businesses, which was conducted on behalf of Toronto-based Business for the Arts (BftA), found more than half (52 per cent) of Canadians said they favour businesses that invest in arts and culture."



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Influential Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Eyes Strategic Shift – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Influential Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Eyes Strategic Shift – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Influential Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Eyes Strategic Shift

The Chronicle of Higher Education takes an in-depth look the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s grant-making and operations as the fund—which has been praised for steadfastly supporting the arts and humanities but criticized for its opacity and focus on elite academic institutions—prepares to release a new strategic plan.

Offbeat Productions Bring New Patrons to Denver Theater - Face of Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Offbeat Productions Bring New Patrons to Denver Theater - Face of Philanthropy - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: When hundreds of Denver residents went to see “Wheel of Misfortune” at a local nonprofit theater, they were ready to play, not just sit in the audience.

Volunteers from the crowd competed in the event, which was a cross between a “Saturday Night Live” game-show sketch and a reality show.

Donors are Giving, but Box Office Is Down at the Met - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Donors are Giving, but Box Office Is Down at the Met - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: These are such “interesting times” for large arts organizations because the formulas are all in flux. For instance, the New York Times reports that for the past five seasons, net donations to the Metropolitan Opera have increased from $111 million to $142.5 million and revenues from its HD presentations of operas in movie theaters increased from $22 million to $32.5 million. And that is all good—except that actual opera attendance is falling.

L.A. Contemporary-Art Museum Hits $100-Million Endowment Goal – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

L.A. Contemporary-Art Museum Hits $100-Million Endowment Goal – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: L.A. Contemporary-Art Museum Hits $100-Million Endowment Goal

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles said it has reached a $100-million fundraising target to quadruple its endowment and secure its long-term survival as an independent institution, the Associated Press and The New York Times report.

Many Large Arts Organizations Still in Recession - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Many Large Arts Organizations Still in Recession - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: NPQ has been noting what appears to be ongoing financial strife at a significant number of large arts organizations across the country—performing arts institutions and museums, primarily—and this report would tend to back up that impression.

Americans for the Arts’ 2013 Arts Index shows that the recovery has not brought much for the better to those organizations. In 2013, 44.2% of arts organizations had operating deficits, as compared to 36% in 2007 before the recession—an 8.2% difference. At the height of the recession in 2009, the number of groups with operating deficits was 45%, which makes the recovery, as measured here by deficits, only 0.8%. The Index reports that organizations with larger budgets were more likely to run a deficit than those with smaller budgets, and that there was no predictable pattern based on any specific arts discipline.

Arts and culture was fastest-growing philanthropic cause in 2012 - latimes.com

Arts and culture was fastest-growing philanthropic cause in 2012 - latimes.com: In terms of donations, arts and culture was Americans’ fastest-growing charitable cause in 2012, rising an estimated 7.8% to $14.44 billion, according to a leading annual research report on charitable giving.

Why Give to the Arts When People Are Starving and Homeless? | Fundraising for Nonprofits

Why Give to the Arts When People Are Starving and Homeless? | Fundraising for Nonprofits

Victory Gardens Theater to Shrink Its 2013-14 Season - NYTimes.com

Victory Gardens Theater to Shrink Its 2013-14 Season - NYTimes.com: Facing years of budget deficits, uneven ticket sales and other financial challenges, the leaders of Victory Gardens Theater of Chicago announced on Monday that they will produce only three shows during the 2013-14 season – instead of the usual five – while trying to generate more revenue by renting out the space to several of the city’s renowned storefront theaters.

Palm Beach Opera streamlines, reinvents itself to stay viable - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Palm Beach Opera streamlines, reinvents itself to stay viable - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: The nonprofit took out a long-term lease on 6,000-square-feet to save money on renting out rehearsal spaces daily around town. Instead of buying, it invested $75,000 to upgrade the leased space — aiming to save about that much yearly on rentals. It may save even more, by renting its own space to others.

The investment is part of a larger restructuring by the group that has also meant trimming the number of full-scale operas yearly and attracting younger audiences and multi-year donors to improve finances.

Arts Branding Sucks. Here Are 4 Ways To Fix It | Co.Design: business innovation design

Arts Branding Sucks. Here Are 4 Ways To Fix It | Co.Design: business innovation design: Hollywood movies were as bland and formulaic as their posters, there’d be no point in going to see them. If the writers, directors, and performers on Broadway were as memorable as their publicity materials, their shows would be unwatchable.

Giving to Arts and Culture Rose to $13 Billion in 2011 - Businessweek

Giving to Arts and Culture Rose to $13 Billion in 2011 - Businessweek: Donations to the arts in the U.S. rose about 4.1 percent in 2011, to $13.1 billion, according to a report released today by the Giving USA Foundation.

Such gifts fell 2.9 percent in 2009, the year following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and then rose about 5.7 percent in 2010. Arts and culture organizations received 4 percent of U.S. charitable donations last year.

In the Arts: $18-Million Gift to Support Drama at Yale - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

In the Arts: $18-Million Gift to Support Drama at Yale - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: In the Arts: $18-Million Gift to Support Drama at Yale

April 26, 2012, 10:33 am

Yale University’s theater school has received an $18-million donation to support the development and production of new stage works, writes The Hartford Courant.

Nonprofit Theater Companies Enjoying, Well, Profits - NYTimes.com

Nonprofit Theater Companies Enjoying, Well, Profits - NYTimes.com: While money is tight these days for nonprofit theaters nationwide — with Intiman Theater in Seattle becoming the latest to face closing, amid heavy debts — New York’s major nonprofits are financially stable by comparison, their leaders say. But they are becoming more aggressive about producing work that can sell tickets, as a hedge against the unpredictability of private donations and subscription renewals.