A few weeks ago, we sent out a message regarding a State funding freeze, the substance of which was that the State was freezing payment on municipal and nonprofit grants it had committed to for the fiscal 2010 year.
The good news is that last Saturday the Star Ledger reported that the freeze was lifted for arts funding. You can read that short article by clicking here.
We thank you for responding to our call to action, and for letting your legislators know your opinion. Some of the responses we received here at the theatre were also really interesting, and worth sharing almost in their entirety, because they reveal some interesting things about how many of us think and feel about the arts.
Many people simply answered the call to action and let us know that they contacted their legislators. Marilyn M. said, “I think this freeze is awful and I have sent email to the Governor and called all our elected officials.” Nancy wrote, “I forwarded this message to almost everyone in my address book. Good Luck to you and all of us.” May L. wrote, “How could they think of budget cutting the arts! Thanks for forwarding this. I'll certainly get my name on the email list to oppose this.”
Some people wrote very personally about the impact the arts have had on their own lives. Barbara W. wrote: “Done - and I added my own personal message about the impact the arts had on my childhood growing up poor in a Federal Housing project.”
Some people took things a step further, and wrote with fundraising ideas for us to consider that might help make up for the lost income if the payment freeze turned into a funding cancellation. Glen and Judy T. wrote: “We have been members of the Count Basie Theatre for years now and love coming to and supporting the theatre. We hope you might consider lowering the third tier of donating from $500 to $250. We currently donate $100 a year but even in these tight economic times would consider $250 to get the next benefit. Either way we will be renewing our donation and continue to support the theatre.” Lisa and Edward from Morganville wrote: “My husband and I, both born here in Freehold, are very sad to hear this. I will definitely sign up for the legislation, but have you though of a benefit concert?” Glen and Judy, we have passed your thoughts on membership levels to our counterparts at the Count Basie Theatre Foundation, the fundraising arm of the theatre. Lisa and Edward, the short answer to your question is yes, we think about benefit concerts all the time! At any given moment, we’re actually working on one or more, but putting all the pieces in place takes longer than you would think. Stay tuned however.
A few people saw an opportunity to pitch their own businesses to us. Chet offered the services of his marketing company, and Bob B. offered to, “…work with you on ‘co-branding’ perhaps we can put some ‘items’ together to sell, make money and you can keep all the profits.” Here at the Count Basie Theatre we like to say that, “Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business plan,” and the appropriate staff members will be reaching out to each of these gentlemen to explore any possibilities that make financial sense.
Wendy C. and Leigh Anne H. saw an opportunity to pitch their own fundraiser back at us! They wrote, “We believe that the cultural arts are extremely important to our community. We will contact our legislators and ask others to do the same,” and then asked for our support of their school’s fundraiser. Heidi Leigh, our Group Sales Manager, is providing them with tickets for their auction and raffle. We do this a few hundred times a year for local charities and nonprofits. You can set something up for your own charity event or school fundraiser by contacting Heidi at hleigh@countbasietheatre.org.
A few people used this as an opportunity to settle perceived scores. Paul L. wrote, “Sorry, you didn't help me when I asked for help with tickets I purchased that my parents couldn't use. What goes around...,” and Bill N. wrote, “I have been trying to contact the theater for 2 years. I have made numerous phone calls and sent various emails to your theater seeking employment. I have NEVER received any kind of response - much less an interview! I've been desperately trying to make ends meet and nobody in your organization has ever bothered to reach out to me. And now, you expect me to help you out with your financial situation? I don't think so! Bite the bullet my friend - things are tough all over - join the club!” Bill, all I can say is that we have a policy of responding to every job applicant, and we have no record of your ever contacting us. We’re not hiring right now, but if you want, you can send a resume directly to me. My contact info is on our web site. Also, you might want to consider using an email address that sends a more positive message about your qualifications than one incorporating the words “future has been.”
Then there were people who had pertinent things to say about the politics of the situation, and not necessarily in favor of arts funding, either! Surprisingly, only one such response was too snarky and outright political to address here. This forum is, after all, about the arts, culture and entertainment, and there’s no shortage of other places to turn for political news these days.
Deirdre G. asked, “If the funding is not given to you, where will the money go?” A good question, but not one I am necessarily qualified to address, other than to speculate that it would have been used to pay the day to day bills of the State.
J. Ken wrote, in part, “It's a shame that we have gotten to this point, but I take offense to the tone of your email. This state is in bad shape. That means that we must cut back in every area including the arts. It’s time for sacrifices to be made by everyone.”
Marc M. wrote, in part, “I have happily supported the arts over the years, but don't you dare try to politicize your request by pointing blame at the incoming administration.”
Kevin G. wrote, “These are difficult times, and all organizations dependent on government grants should reduce expectations of government. I am not in favor of reducing aid to the Arts, but if government can't do even that, where does government begin reducing discretionary spending?”
In response to these three gentlemen, I would say the following:
First: we never meant to offend anyone, nor place blame. If you read again our initial message, you will see that we stated facts, without editorializing. Namely, that the incoming administration asked the outgoing administration to freeze funding in place for the moment.
Second: As a nonprofit organization, we’re here to work with whoever our duly elected officials are for the betterment of our community and the State, without regard to political affiliation.
Three: The salient point in this case was that we were not talking about a funding cancellation, or denial of an application for future funding. It was payment of funds already committed that was being stopped in place. The State had issued contracts that we signed and returned, and in reliance on these facts, we reasonably expected the State to follow through.
Those facts aside however, these gentlemen raise interesting (and potentially frightening) questions. I think most people would agree that our State’s finances are not healthy, haven’t been for some time, and won’t be for the foreseeable future. If that’s a given, how many sacrifices will have to be made, and who will make them?
Out of 15 folks who wrote in, 9 were supportive, 3 were against and 3 were not unsupportive, but more interested in their own services. Not a bad tally, but one thing is for certain: every budget cycle, arts funding, like state funding for many other municipal and nonprofit services, has gotten lower and lower, and every reduction has an impact.
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