Report Compares Boston Arts Organizations With Nine Other Metropolitan Areas; Foundation Announces New Task Force & Senior Fellow Appointment

The Boston Foundation released its final report, Funding for Cultural Organizations in Boston and Nine Other Metropolitan Areas" and announced the formation of a blue ribbon Cultural Task Force to examine the reports findings and develop a series of recommendations to strengthen Bostons arts and cultural organizations.

Boston -- February 20, 2003 - As the Boston Foundation released its final report, Funding for Cultural Organizations in Boston and Nine Other Metropolitan Areas" today, it announced the formation of a blue ribbon Cultural Task Force to examine the reports findings and develop a series of recommendations to strengthen Bostons arts and cultural organizations. The task force will be led by David Ellis, President Emeritus and director of the Museum of Science for the past 12 years, and the first person to hold the Boston Foundations newly created Senior Fellow position.

The report was released at an event at the Foundation. In addition to remarks by Paul Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, and Ann McQueen, Program Officer of the Boston Foundation Arts Fund, there was a panel discussion with David Ellis, President Emeritus of the Museum of Science; Susan Hartnett, Director of Economic Development of the Boston Redevelopment Authority; Dan Hunter, Executive Director of Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities; Janice Mancini Del Sesto, General Director of Boston Lyric Opera; Beverly Morgan-Welch, Executive Director of the Museum of Afro-American History; and Josiah A. Spaulding Jr., President and CEO of The Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

There is no denying the crucial role that arts and culture have played in making Boston a truly eminent city. From our world-renown institutions such as the Boston Symphony and the New England Aquarium, to the smallest community programs, these organizations enrich us in innumerable ways," said Paul Grogan, President of the Boston Foundation. But at the same time, this wonderful asset -- one that provides not only great art and cultural opportunities for all residents, but also makes significant economic contributions to the city as a whole -- is very fragile. Its leadership struggles every year to raise the funds necessary to sustain their operations. We need to develop the funding mechanisms that will support the long term planning and growth of this valuable sector."

At todays event, David Ellis was named to the position of Senior Fellow at the Foundation, a newly created position. In this capacity, Ellis will co-chair a Cultural Task Force of about 40 corporate, civic, philanthropic and cultural leaders that will be convened as a follow up to the Foundations report on financial resources for cultural organizations.

Describing the active role envisioned for the task force, David Ellis said, The Boston Foundation is to be commended for commissioning this study. The report provides a snapshot of funding sources for cultural institutions in Boston and nine other metropolitan areas. Building on this data and lessons learned from other regions, the task force of important Greater Boston community leaders will guide the development of an appropriate vision and next steps, providing leadership in this effort so important to the whole community."

The task force, which will be co-chaired by Ann McQueen, is expected to divide into subcommittees that will focus on five topics: individual and corporate giving; dedicated funding streams; resource sharing and collaboration; cultural facilities and artist studio space; and cultural heritage and tourism. With an overall goal of identifying the various mechanisms and strategies with the potential to support and enhance the stability of the cultural sector, the task force will publish a white paper of its findings and set priorities for future advocacy activities.

More than a year in the making, the report was designed to answer two fundamental questions: How does the financial support available for metro Bostons arts and cultural sector compare to that of other regions across the country? And how does that support affect the sector? It is the first Boston study to examine the fundraising mechanisms available to local arts and cultural organizations compared to other parts of the country, and to establish a baseline understanding of this sectors financial strengths and vulnerabilities.

The research for this study was done by TDC, a nonprofit provider of technical assistance and management consulting services. In addition to collecting information about metro Boston, TDC studied nine other metropolitan areas with similar populations, thriving arts communities, and some of the highest art revenues per capita nationally, including Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Seattle.

While the report confirms some widely acknowledged strengths of Bostons arts and cultural organizations, it also points out the significant weaknesses in Bostons current funding structure. Further, it highlights the urgent need for visible leadership to develop a consensus about necessary strategies -- strategies that may include advocating for a dedicated revenue stream or tax, encouraging new foundations to support the cultural sector, promoting increased corporate philanthropy, developing additional mechanisms to build and renovate cultural facilities, assisting smaller groups to access individual giving through united fundraising and consolidate certain functions, and helping all agencies optimize their earned income potential.

On the positive side of the ledger, the report documents Bostons unusually broad and deep arts and cultural community for a region of its size. In fact, on a per capita basis, Boston has the highest number of arts and cultural nonprofit organizations in the study group, outpacing even New York. Although Bostons total population is closer to the smaller regions in this study, its total number of cultural organizations clusters most closely with Chicago, New York and San Francisco. This is likely due to the attributes of its population -- a highly educated and relatively wealthy population -- and to the maturity of its market. With the highest percentage of residents with graduate degrees of all the cities in the study, and a high median income, Boston also has a high rate of participation in the arts. These factors have led to a particularly vibrant cultural scene.

Over the course of the 1990s, Bostons cultural community grew at the fastest rate of all the cities studied. Not surprisingly, the growth in the number of arts organizations in metro Boston has largely been driven by increased numbers of groups with annual operating budgets of less than $500,000. In fact, like most other regions, more than 80% of Bostons nonprofit arts and cultural agencies are in this smallest budget category. This finding suggests both a very entrepreneurial sector and modest barriers to entry into the cultural arts marketplace in Boston.

While metro Bostons 640 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations represent a significant regional economic engine, directly contributing more than $800 million to the local economy in 1999, the ability of these organizations to support their work through earned income -- ticket sales, program fees, investment income -- was not as strong as at peer agencies in other cities. So, in spite of the comparative strengths of its cultural sector by other measures, Boston ranked fourth of the ten metro areas in terms of overall income per cultural organization.

More ominously, the report also shows that all segments of metro Bostons large and growing arts community lack the depth and breadth of fund raising mechanisms available in other regions. The sectors rapid growth here in the 1990s was funded largely by the increased generosity of individuals. In 1999, the Boston metro region was second only to New York in terms of per capita contributed income for the arts, and the majority of Bostons contributed income -- over $475 million -- came from individual donors, and most of it went to larger organizations with budgets greater than $5 million. The national reputation of these organizations, the sophistication of their fundraising efforts, and the visibility of their offerings, combined to attract a large and generous donor base. The picture for midsize and smaller institutions was more limited, with Bostons smallest arts groups receiving the lowest level of individual contributed income.

While individual giving and earned income provided varying sources of support for Bostons arts and cultural organizations, the study shows that the sectors Achilles heel is the regions lack of a wide range of foundation and government resources found in many of its peer cities. Cities that do have access to a number of foundations, government agencies, and active corporate supporters are demonstrably better positioned to develop joint strategies that target funding in ways that will enrich the cultural life of their cities and regions as a whole. Boston, by contrast, ranks at the low end for support from Massachusetts-based foundations and local government agencies.

The lack of a dedicated income stream is of even greater concern today than it was when these numbers were gathered," noted the Boston Foundations Ann McQueen. In light of the recent drastic cuts to the Massachusetts Cultural Council budget and in the absence of local revenue sources, Bostons cultural institutions -- particularly the smaller and mid-size groups -- are not getting the support they need to grow or, for some, to even survive."

The report concluded that strengthening metro Bostons arts market will require a complex, multi-layered approach based on a clearly articulated vision of a vibrant cultural community, supported by broadly representative leadership. And, while many strategies could be employed to address the weaknesses in the Boston cultural market, these strategies do not arise in the absence of coordinated leadership.

What this accumulating research has surfaced is the fact that the economic, social, educational and intrinsic benefits of our rich, productive cultural environment are not widely understood and embraced," noted Paul Grogan. The Boston Foundation is dedicated to understanding this community, and investing in our assets to improve our quality of life. In the coming months, we will bring people together to discuss these common concerns, develop a common understanding of how to address these issues, and work together to improve the operating conditions for the cultural institutions that create so much economic, social and educational value for our communities."

For a copy of the report, please call Hamilton Paul at 617/ 338-4450. The report is also available on the Boston Foundations web site, www.tbf.org.