The art of surviving a recession

YAKIMA, Wash. — The good news: The heads of Yakima's major arts organizations aren't waking up at 2 a.m. in a cold sweat.

The bad news: All are feeling the effects of the recession -- from direct hits to their institutions' portfolio investments, to lower ticket sales and downsized charitable giving as folks stay home and businesses scale back donations.

"Corporate giving is way down," emphasizes Noël Moxley, executive director of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, which recently lost one of its major sponsors.

For the Yakima Valley Museum, the actual number of donations hasn't dropped, notes executive director John Baule. In fact, he says, donations of less than $1,000 are stable and have even gone up a bit.

"But the number of large donors is definitely not as large as it used to be," says Baule.

Unlike major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles or even Seattle, however, the economic downturn hasn't forced any of Yakima's cultural institutions into crisis mode.

It has, however, meant an even greater need to find new audiences, think up some funky fundraising ideas, institute plain old-fashioned frugality and, yes, even sign up for Facebook.

"We knew this (the recession) was coming and were working on preparing for it," says Steve Caffery, president and chief executive officer of the Capitol Theatre.

But, "We didn't see a 30 percent drop in (Best of Broadway) series tickets. Nobody did," adds Caffery.

By September of last year, the Capitol already knew its economic outlook nine months down the road -- and it wasn't good. For the 2008-09 season, overall ticket sales and fundraising are down 20 percent. The theater laid off two people and has an operating loss in the six figures, says the no-nonsense Caffery.

Still, the Capitol is going forward with a tremendous expansion plan. With the financing in place, groundbreaking on a $7.5 million production facility and 500-seat black box theater should begin the end of July.

Once the black box theater is complete, the Capitol will be able to present smaller cabaret shows such as the upcoming "Dixie's Tupperware Party." (However, the black box won't be done in time for "Dixie," which comes to town in March 2010, so it's been moved to The Seasons.)

What that means is the opportunity to cater to different audiences at a lower cost -- both to the Capitol and to ticket buyers. The price tag for a Best of Broadway show averages $100,000, while something like "Dixie" is around $44,000.

"This is a tough time for us. But we as an organization cannot think of anything else better to do than what we're doing," says Caffery. "We feel pretty optimistic."

So does the Yakima Valley Museum.

While it's taken a hit to its portfolio investments, it has no plans to cut hours, raise the price of admission or trim staff. However, health care coverage for the small staff was reduced -- and still went up 5 percent.

But overall, this caretaker of Yakima Valley history isn't panicking.

"We're here to stay," says Baule. "We're struggling, but we're always struggling."

That's true for a lot of arts organizations, which for the most part are already streamlined operations with small staffs and limited benefits. It leaves little to be cut in times of economic crisis. (Baule jokes that the only fat around the museum is the plump white cat lounging in his office.)

The killer for many organizations is really their day-to-day operating expenses. While grants such as those from the Washington State Arts Commission cover specific programs, they don't go toward operating expenses.

"Grant money is not for turning the lights on or paying salaries," says Cheryl H. Hahn, director of the Larson Gallery, which lost its funding from Yakima Valley Community College and had to stop paying a Saturday staffer and replace her with volunteers.

And grant money is going to be even harder to come by. The Washington State Arts Commission -- which was established in 1961 to collaborate with artists and arts organizations to conserve and develop critical artistic resources -- saw a 26 percent cut to its funding in the last legislative session.

"Which is significant," says Mark Gerth, communications manager for the commission. "So we're still working out how to position ourselves in the next biennium."

He also notes that some grants already awarded are for more than one year, so it may not be until a year or two down the road that an organization starts to feel additional financial burdens.

"Things are starting to feel tighter and tighter," he says, but adds that arts organizations have always been adept at doing more with less.

While times are tough, folks turning out for the Allied Arts of Yakima Valley's ArtsVan or a Yakima Symphony concert or an art show at the Larson Gallery will probably not notice a big difference. The last thing arts organizations want to compromise in order to save money is programing.

"We exist to fulfill the mission and serve the community," says Jessica Moskwa, executive director of the Allied Arts of Yakima Valley.

That's important, because the arts -- in all their varied forms -- articulate the health and well-being of a community, says 49-year-old Laurie Kanyer, a local arts patron and artist herself.

"We have a strong arts community and I have a lot of faith people will survive this thing and continue to do great things," says Kanyer.

Yakima's arts organizations are following right along with a recent study commissioned by four west side funders, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, 4Culture, the Seattle Foundation and the Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

No surprise to anyone, the study, which interviewed representatives of 28 cultural organizations in the Puget Sound area in January, found that the economic downturn is having significant impacts on cultural organizations as well as other nonprofit organizations.

Highlights of the study also found that while feeling the pinch, arts organizations are staying true to their missions; and that organizations actively confronting the economic situation, or even energized by it, are handling it better than those with a wait-and-see attitude.

One of the most radical proactive undertakings by an arts organization is happening down in the scrub brush of gusty Goldendale.

The Maryhill Museum of Art is partnering with Windy Point Partners to build 15 wind turbines on the eastern end of the museum's 5,300 acres. Expected to begin producing energy later this year, the joint effort is anticipated to generate more than $100,000 in revenue for the museum each year, according to a news release. That's a big chunk of change for the museum, which has an operating budget of about $1.14 million for 2009.

"We're lucky. Not all arts organization have 5,300 acres of ranch land ... in one of the windiest spots in the world," says Colleen Schafroth, executive director of Maryhill.

"The key to this is keeping an open mind to things that come along," adds Schafroth. "This wasn't lightly done by the board. It wasn't an easy decision and it certainly wasn't a snap decision."

That kind of green thinking -- although in this case green is more about cash money than saving the planet -- isn't lost here in Yakima.

"We've been talking since last fall that we should have a self-sustaining Neon Garden," says Andy Granitto, curator of exhibits for the Yakima Valley Museum, referring to installing solar panels on the roof to power the museum's collection of vintage neon signs.

Of course, a major project such as that, like all costly ventures, is on hold right now.

"In the old days we were a lot more confident that we could put the word out that we need 'X' amount of dollars," says Baule. "Now we won't do anything without money in hand."

What isn't a costly venture is trying to build new and younger audiences through the Internet. The Puget Sound arts survey found that many organizations are actually increasing their investments in technology, moving print publications online and boosting social networking and online marketing.

Once it was just enough to have a Web site with your events calendar and phone number on it.

But that's so 20th century.

Now you can register for Allied Arts classes online, listen to podcasts about the symphony's upcoming concert and take a virtual tour of the museum.

Also, you can be their fan on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, free sites that build energetic online communities and encourage interaction between the organization and its patrons.

These methods also mean less paper, less postage for mailings and a greater connection with supporters and, perhaps more importantly, potential supporters. Everyone from the museum to the Yakima Valley Trolleys is tweeting on Twitter.

And one more commonality among Yakima's arts organizations: the unwavering belief that in moments of real crisis, the community will step up. It happened when the Capitol Theatre burned down in 1975. It most recently happened when it became known The Seasons was struggling to stay open.

"We're part of the fabric of the community and people aren't willing to give it up," says Allied Arts' Moskwa.

"Which says a lot about this community."

* Kim Nowacki can be reached at 509-577-7680 or knowacki@yakimaherald.com.

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