www.backstage.com: Difficult economic conditions and budget cuts are a constant reality in nonprofit theaters across the country, with the past several years seeing a concentration of theaters closing doors, laying off staff, or reorganizing due to grant funds drying up, smaller donor circles, and fewer patrons. As those regional theaters whittle down their programming to include fewer shows with smaller casts, or close up shop entirely, jobs for stage actors become harder to come by.
3 comments:
I'm sure I gathered the groundbreaking new fundraising methods being implemented by regional theaters. The efforts and changes that theaters are taking to their approaches to fundraising are no where near as drastic as they need to be in order to theater to survive in the changing climate. The donors that companies have relied on for so many years are drying up. The committed donor no longer exists.
I was discussing arts funding with a friend of mine, and she disclosed that the internet fundraiser Kickstarter contributes twice the amount of funding to the arts than the NEA. People are looking for one-time donations. No one wants to be committed to anything anymore. Kickstarter monopolizes on the ability of the donor to pick, choose and evaluate direct projects. It's not just someone donating money to an organization. Those who receive funding must clearly layout the process and the product they will create. Also, the donor gets more than the satisfaction, they receive gifts based on the level of donation - not just their name on a plaque.
Large organizational donations are still crucial for non-profits, but if they want to change their tactics with individuals, then take a look at some new guerrilla fundraising techniques. Consumers aren't interested in being a life-time donor. They want to shop around and participate a little in a lot of projects.
I have always found the idea of donors and fundraising has always been a confusing subject. I understand that Non-profit theaters need donors to remain in business, but now days, it just doesn't seem like people are willing to donate. Even if you have enough money to donate, it is often given to more global issues (WWF, Red cross, etc.). Also if a theater is nonprofit, what do they do with box office revenue? (every show can't just be free can it). I wish this article had put in a little about how the nonprofit theater industry actually works.
I do agree with Ariels point though, the "life-time donor" really doesn't exist. and not just in theater, in other nonprofit organizations. There are so many groups and people that need money out there, it is hard for a person to just pick one.
I think that Ariel raises a incredibly relevant point: in our generation, the lifetime donor doesn't exist. There are statistics that say people in their 20s have changed jobs and careers 4 or 5 times, and will change a couple more times before they "settle down" for a little while. Similarly, many people are interested in multiple projects and multiple industries, and so getting someone to promise a certain amount per year or expecting that someone will give again after giving once aren't great fundraising ideas. Rather, organizations need to come up with new and innovative ideas for how to reach new demographics and increase audiences. Like anything else, fundraising efforts need to change and adjust to the current economy and the current changes in culture and the theatre world as a whole.
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