Back from the Brink

How One Chorus Grappled with the Perfect Storm of Bad Economic Circumstances

All of us in the arts feel the pinch in a recession. Here is the story of how the Tucson Chamber Artists weathered the storm of economic bad news during one year, employing adaptive strategies throughout the season to overcome them.

All of us in the arts feel the pinch in times of economic recession. Even when the economy shows the beginning signs of a recovery, for arts organizations it often gets worse before it gets better. Lawmakers make further cuts in arts budgets, even zeroing them out completely; corporate and foundation giving focuses on basic survival needs of the hardest hit; private donors reduce giving and the number of organizations they support.

Adding to the difficulty of recession, the arts industry is in the midst of at least a decade-long decline in ticket subscriptions and shift away from live performances toward other media, according to a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. Much more discussion is needed about strategies for responding to changing trends in how Americans experience the arts in an era in which both our leisure time and financial resources are becoming more precious. Unfortunately, more symphony orchestras, opera and theater companies, and even some choruses will close their doors before we succeed in adapting our 20th-century business models to 21st-century patrons.

The good news for choruses, according to Chorus America, is that extraordinary numbers of people participate in choral singing—43 million Americans sing in a chorus, according to the 2009 Chorus Impact Study, more than any other performing art. As chorus leaders, we need to harness the passion and influence of these choral enthusiasts to preserve our cultural traditions and adapt new means of delivery to meet the changing demands of arts consumers.

There is much work to be done in sustaining and growing the arts in North America over the long term, yet many organizations, including Chorus America member choruses, are facing immediate threats. In addition to unpredictable legislation, unforeseen and sudden deficits from flagging ticket sales and contributed income could have devastating results for organizations, and ultimately the communities in which they perform.

Tucson Chamber Artists, a professional choir and orchestra in southern Arizona has grappled and continues to grapple with these uncertainties. This article details specific issues that TCA encountered in 2008-09 and the adaptive strategies we employed to overcome them, with the hope that it will provide insight for other choruses addressing similar challenges.

The Road from Deficit to Surplus

After four years of explosive growth from its inception in 2004 to a budget of more than $160,000, TCA made big plans for its fifth anniversary season in 2008-09. Highlights included a large-scale performance of Haydn's Creation, a commission from Stephen Paulus, and a special concert cycle of Hispanic music.

Beginning that season, TCA also planned to implement a keystone of its long-range strategic plan for artistic growth: hiring outstanding choral artists from outside the area to complement the pool of qualified professional singers in Tucson. Additionally, organizational growth encouraged the board to consider moving forward with plans to rent office space and hire a part-time operations manager in January 2009, as its first paid administrative staff member. (An exceptional board member and I had been managing TCA's operations out of our homes.)

An additional twist to the story involves a mid-year board decision to change accounting methods from cash to accrual. Despite $15,000 in the bank at the end of fiscal 2008, the change required reporting a $13,000 deficit. While the money was projected and received through regular annual fundraising prior to the change, it had to be accrued after the change since it was earmarked for concert sponsorships in fiscal 2009. TCA's leaders were undeterred, however, in moving ahead with the exciting plans for its anniversary season.

TCA was confidently poised to open its season, when unexpectedly and shockingly, Lehman Brothers Investment Bank filed for bankruptcy the week of the first concert—the beginning of a domino effect that TCA felt immediately. Both of TCA's autumn concert cycles missed ticket sales goals by significant margins, even with a deep discount offer for the second concert. Moreover, subscription goals were also hampered by what felt like a paralysis that had suddenly set in with Tucson arts patrons, who didn't know what was going to happen next with the economy. (Tucson's symphony orchestra and opera company also experienced losses at the box office.)

With TCA's biggest concerts yet to come that winter, the board was suddenly concerned about whether there would be enough patrons and money to pay for them. Much of the money in the bank from the end of the previous fiscal year had been used to make up for lost ticket revenue from the first two concerts. Furthermore, because of such a short history with its bank, TCA had not yet been able to qualify for a line of credit.

The board met after the second concert cycle to discuss options, including moving ahead as planned, and also, suspending operations for the rest of season. They decided to delay making any decisions until after the year-end financial appeal, the usually very popular Christmas concerts, and the outcome of a pending grant proposal with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Not surprisingly, TCA's annual year-end appeal for gifts came in below giving from the previous year. There was some good news however: TCA's Christmas concerts, while slightly missing the ticket revenue target, were well attended, and the NEA grant proposal was funded at $10,000.

With many lingering uncertainties, the board agreed to move forward with the rest of the season, cut some expendable costs, and explore strategies for raising additional revenue. Cuts included postponement of the special non-subscription Hispanic music concert, new office space, and the hiring of a part-time operations manager. Other smaller cuts involved delaying purchase of a donor database and eliminating professional development funds and public radio advertisements. Nearly $20,000 was trimmed from the $160,000 budget—nearly 13 percent with half the season remaining.

Knowing that effective promotion of TCA's remaining concerts was critical, cuts to the marketing budget were minimal. Free and inexpensive promotion tools were used more, including email, Facebook, and human interest stories about the concerts for the leading local newspaper.

One strategy to raise revenue involved a program in which current patrons were asked to provide names and contact information of five friends and family members who were potential concertgoers. The Five for Five" campaign—in recognition of TCA's fifth anniversary—awarded five prizes to five persons drawn from among everyone who submitted names. As a result, TCA's patrons became more involved in audience development, more tickets were sold, and TCA's database was expanded.

The other strategy was to increase applications for corporate and foundation support. TCA's success rate mirrored the national average: two of 20 proposals were funded. One of the funders, a leading local foundation, was also experiencing economic woes. In lieu of an outright grant of $10,000, it awarded a matching challenge grant of $5,000—the first time it had offered such an award. A compelling letter to TCA's patrons requesting matching gifts yielded an amazing $12,000. Thus, the original request of $10,000 actually brought in $17,000!

The best decision, however, was to stay the course with our two biggest and most expensive concerts of the season: Haydn's Creation and an NEA American Masterpieces program, featuring significant works of Ives, Barber, Bernstein, Argento, Copland, and a new work by Stephen Paulus, who gave pre-concert talks. By then, unease about the recession had waned somewhat, and these concerts turned into highlights of the larger local cultural scene, garnering major attention by Tucson's sole print news music critic. We met original ticketing goals, and more gifts came in from patrons who had a great experience with one or both of these events.

While ticket sales for the season were down five percent from the previous year, foundation grants increased by 400 percent and individual giving increased more than 50 percent. The season opened with a $13,000 deficit and closed with more than $15,000 in surplus, engendering deeper confidence about facing the lingering and unknown financial challenges that lay ahead.


This article is adapted from The Voice, Spring 2010.