Most NYC Arts Orgs are Cutting Budgets

No huge surprise that arts orgs are cutting budgets, but it's worth reporting...From Crain's New Your Business.

The majority of New York City’s cultural institutions are slashing their budgets in the face of a weak economy and government funding cuts, a new survey finds.

Nearly 80% of the nonprofit groups, which range from big name museums to small dance troupes, report they already have or are planning to make cuts, according to the survey by Alliance for the Arts provided exclusively to Crain’s.

Almost half are canceling or postponing programs, 42% are planning to lay off employees and 68% have a hiring freeze in place.

“Clearly, nobody is exempt from what’s going on economically and the arts are no exception,” said Randall Bourscheidt, president of Alliance for the Arts.

A total of 96 groups were surveyed. Thirty-three respondents have budgets in the $1 million to $10 million range; 32 are in the range from $100,000 to $1 million; 11 groups are in the $10 million to $50 million range; 18 groups have budgets less than $100,000; and two groups have budgets greater than $50 million.

More than half the groups surveyed are in the performing arts, a quarter in the visual arts and the rest include botanical gardens, science museums and service organizations.

The survey was anonymous, but major institutions like the Brooklyn Museum and the New York Botanical Garden, have said publicly that the economy has forced them to cut their budgets and reduce programming.