2004-01-29

Performing arts organizations are increasingly looking to build endowments as a means of stabilizing revenue flows. The authors report on a study of 272 arts-presenting organizations, some of which have built a substantial reserve while others have no savings at all. They hypothesize that the haves differ from the have-nots on seven factors: whether the organization is free-standing or part of a larger entity; the organizations age; budget size; whether the organization owns or rents its primary venue; the size of the board of directors; number of institutional donors; and proportion of revenues derived from donations. They conclude that the haves are larger organizations with large boards and a substantial number of institutional donors, factors that point to the value of budget size, network contacts and institutional legitimacy in the accumulation of investment capital.