Anne Kaehny

The drama continues…

Posted by Anne Kaehny on April 6, 2009 in Uncategorized

One of the largest arts organizations in Northeast Ohio has just declared a financial emergency.  The theater is saying that they will be closing by the end of this month if they cannot raise $150,000.  The Beck Center for the Arts is an interesting case because of its large annual budget of $2.3 million.  The […]

Why does art matter?

Posted by Anne Kaehny on March 23, 2009 in Uncategorized

This question was addressed in a Wall Street Journal article titled, “Arts Groups Lose Out in Fight for Funds.”  This article describes the current fight for funding that almost all art institutions are experiencing in today’s economy.  The article lists a number of art institutions that are struggling to stay afloat such as The Baltimore […]

Endowment: Helpful or Harmful?

Posted by Anne Kaehny on March 3, 2009 in Uncategorized

I found an interesting article this week in BusinessWeek about how Universities with large endowments can hurt universities rather than help.  While this isn’t directly linked to the arts world, I feel that the point that this article is making can be translated into the arts as well.
 
Overall, the article discusses how Ivy League universities […]

Public Radio Dials it Back

Posted by Anne Kaehny on February 17, 2009 in Uncategorized

Public Radio, is feeling the pressure in these tough economic times to earn money through fundraising.  Over the years public radio has become known for it’s various fundraising techniques, however, now it is feeling the pinch from its listeners.  Since this current decline in donations, which has fallen about 15% short from its normal fundraising […]

Kennedy Center offers therapy to Arts organizations across the country…

Posted by Anne Kaehny on February 4, 2009 in Uncategorized

Executives at the Kennedy Center have started a program focused around provided free confidential advice to struggling non-profit art organizations.  The “Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative” will provide any budgeting, marketing or fundraising information that they can to help other organizations during the current economic crisis. 
 
Michael Kaiser stated, “‘these are times of […]

The Magic Theatre

Posted by Anne Kaehny on January 21, 2009 in Uncategorized

The Magic Theatre in San Francisco perfectly exemplifies the zone of dysfunction between the business and art sectors of arts management. The Board of Trustees had set the budget too high for the 2008-09 seasons, and had accumulated $600,000 in debt over the past years.  The arts director said that she had incomplete knowledge of […]