It’s a rare cultural institution — maybe even a unique one — that hasn’t had to cut its budget in these turbulent times. And everyone’s still worried about further declines and even closures. For some perspective, I decided to call someone who’s been both an advice-giver and an arts manager — Adrian Ellis, once a fulltime consultant in the arts and, since 2007, the Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Like me, Ellis thinks there’ll be more casualities, because single-digit budget trimming isn’t enough. Museums, he believes, will have to close galleries to lower their fixed costs, and performing arts groups, for example, may have to band together to share resources. Ellis also says that the old “pyramid” model for fundraising — where 10% of the donors give 90% of the money — is “too steep.” Smart institutions will seek more money from smaller donors to broaden their base. They will also sharply focus their programs, because those that survive will be the institutions with clear, well-defined missions that have rabid fans — and the big ones integral to a community’s identity.
But is Ellis practicing, at Jazz, what he preaches?
So far, Ellis concedes, he’s cut his budget by just 5% to 7% and frozen recruiting. Should things get worse, he’ll postpone initiatives (education?) that lose money and stress those, like touring, that increase revenues. A balanced budget — and a debt-free balance sheet — give him confidence, along with a band of staunch supporters he thinks will remain loyal. And Jazz does have its niche.
On the other hand, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s endowment is only $9 million; the traditional rule-of-thumb suggests it should be at least two, and preferably three, times its operating budget, which is $38 million. So I have to wonder whether Ellis will be forced to take more drastic measures in the months ahead.
I also asked him what he’d learned at Jazz that affects his management views. “Nothing that affects my past advice,” he replies. “But I’d be more sympathetic to the way people take advice. Consultants don’t have to pay attention to daily life. The reality is, the three big things you have to do compete with 1,000 little things. So I may have been more patient in the proffering of advice.”
Of course, that reality doesn’t let anyone off the hook. Survival may be at stake.
Photo Credit: Clay Patrick McBride