Posted November 2, 2007

ECONOMIC REALITIES
Emergency Funds Needed

A Word from Executive Director Peggy Templer

Please help us ride out these trying times. The economy is not healthy, and the Mendocino Art Center has certainly felt the fallout from the fact that we live in financially discouraging times. WE NEED YOU, MORE THAN EVER.

People are not traveling as much, not spending as much money on recreational and luxury items. They don’t have the same amounts of discretionary time and money that they have had in years past. The result, for the Mendocino Art Center and many comparable organizations, is less revenue from tuition, from art sales, and from lodging. People are also behaving differently: not making long range plans, deciding things on the spur of the moment, signing up and then dropping out in record numbers. All of this makes life very challenging for us. 

There are other challenges as well. There has been a real proliferation of non-profit organizations on the Mendocino Coast, all competing for the same donor dollars. Grants have become very difficult to get; we are “outside the geographical funding area” for many grantors, and foundations that formerly gave grants to small organizations are now opting to grant to larger umbrella organizations instead, such as the Community Foundation. Finally, as an arts organization we have an especially difficult task. 

There is a very high “feel good quotient” when giving to organizations that help the needy (Habitat for Humanity), help the sick (Hospital Foundation), help animals (the Humane Society), help the environment (Mendocino Land Trust), help children (Mendocino Children’s Fund); there seems to be less of that feel good sensation when donating to arts organizations. If any of you are feeling that way, I suggest you come by and watch any of the 1,000+ schoolchildren who come here for free art instruction, or watch what goes on in our workshops for adults, as students experience inspiration and find their creative passions. It quickly becomes obvious how important “art” is to the overall well being of young, old, and everyone in between.

A rule of thumb for non-profits is that 50% of budgeted revenue should come from donations. As of the end of August, donations and memberships accounted for just 5% of our revenue (straight donations were only 1.9%).

The Art Center cannot sustain itself with those types of figures. WE NEED YOU, MORE THAN EVER. Please consider a donation or a membership. If you have donated before, or are a current member, please consider giving at a higher level. Please help us ride out these trying times. We appreciate in advance your recognition of the importance of the arts to our children, and to our society, culture, and community.