MONDAY INDEPTH: Following the funds
Funding is always a difficult item, but for the arts in Cache Valley and at Utah State University, it is a somewhat different story.
Though funding for programs including theater, music and the visual arts can be hard to find, local organization leaders say they are doing well.
Lisette Miles, executive director of the Capitol Arts Alliance, said the balance of funding differs based on the type of organization. She spoke of two types of organizations – presenting organizations and those who take a work from conception to final production.
The Capitol Arts Alliance – housed in the Ellen Eccles Theatre and the Bullen Center, both at 43 S. Main St. – is a presenting organization. This means more of their funds can be spent on bringing shows in, and less on actual production costs.
“We have a much higher percentage of earned income even though our ticket prices are low and affordable,” Miles said.
An organization like the Utah Symphony or other theater groups which produce their own shows find the returns in ticket sales much lower.
So with low ticket returns, how do arts organizations find the funds needed to keep the doors open and shows on the stage?
Miles said groups like Ballet West, The Utah Opera Company and the Utah Festival Opera Company bring in about 40 percent in ticket sales and the rest comes from grants and donations.
But with an ever-increasing number of organizations needing funds, foundations like the National Endowment for the Arts and the Utah Arts Council are not always able to fund programs and productions. Local groups are turning to private foundations in order to make up the difference in their funding needs.
“People fund quality programs,” Miles said.
For the Ellen Eccles Theatre, there is a long history of private and cooperate funding. The theater, which was reopened in 1993 after an extensive renovation project, has benefited from private sources, city government and foundation help. The actual renovation was aided by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles foundation. Due to this donation and the history of the Eccles family in Logan, the theater was named after Ellen Eccles.
But having the facility is only part of what the organization requires.
“Having a building is one thing, but you need to continue to get funds to operate and maintain a program,” Miles said.
Unlike some organizations, the Ellen Eccles Theatre is part of Logan’s structure and gets funding from the city, though Miles said their budget has been cut in the coming year. This will require more funds to come from other sources.
“You have to be creative in finding funds,” Miles said.
USU’s arts also rely on funding from outside foundations.
The theatre department recently renovated the Lyric Theatre and renamed it the Caine Lyric Theatre after Marie Eccles Caine. The Caine foundation was the major contributor to the project, though Colin B. Johnson, department head of the theatre arts department said funds come from many other sources as well.
His department runs without major funding support from the university toward the productions themselves. Johnson said the university does not act as a safety net for his department. If the program loses money one year, Johnson said it must cut back and make it up the next year.
Utah State Theatre (UST) and the Caine Lyric Theatre are run on separate budgets and get funding from different places.
The Lyric program is supported by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences as well as the Caine Foundation and the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
“I think the organizations are stepping up and seeing the significance they are having on the state,” Johnson said.
For UST, the funding comes largely from student fees. Johnson said UST gets $1.75 of the fee each student pays. This supplies about two-thirds of the operating costs for the program.
But even with the funding, Johnson said it is still hard to find the money to compensate for all the costs of the program. The rising costs of materials have hit the department. Advertising also requires a great deal of money for support. Despite the rising costs, Johnson said funding is there.
“We are very grateful for the funding we receive. Our message is that many of these foundations hope their work will be supported by the institution,” Johnson said.
No organization can operate on the funding from foundations only, and must have the support of the institutions which it serves he said.
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art also relies on foundations like the Caine Foundation.
Jim Edwards, director for the museum, said their funding comes from private sources like patrons and foundations. The museum is independent from the university unlike others in the nation which are tied to the art departments at the schools.
The museum, which was opened in 1982, has more than 4,500 works and now houses a nationally recognized ceramics collection.
“We have a national profile,” Edwards said. “That is a direct result of the foresight and good planning in the past.”
Because the museum has such an extensive collection, Edwards said economic hard times would not require the doors to be closed. If funding was to dry up, the museum could survive because of the works it owns. These works are often used in other shows around the nation.
In order for the museum to bring in temporary shows, Edwards said additional funding is necessary. These funds come from foundations.
“For the size of our community, we have remarkable backing for the arts,” Edwards said. “For the size of our community, we are really blessed. It is going down much harder in other communities.”
On the flip side of the funding puzzle are the foundations which provide for the growth of arts programs. The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles foundation based in Salt Lake City is one of the groups which has helped build the arts in Logan.
“We grant to Utah organizations so that the money stays in Utah,” said Rita Bodily, secretary for the foundation.
The Eccles fountain gives to the arts, community, medical and education. All applicants must be a non-profit organization and provide an application. These applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Board of Directors and a decision is made as to who will receive the funds and how much will be awarded.
Bodily said the foundation has a large core of funds which generates interest – it is this interest used for grants.
“Last year we had around 302 grants that were awarded,” Bodily said. “The organization has to be a stable, established organization that is doing good for the community.”