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Q&A
Impact of COVID-19 on cultural institutions and funding needs
3:04:20
·
169 sec
Council Member Rivera discusses the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural institutions, including reduced attendance and fundraising challenges. Commissioner Cumbo and Lance Polivy address the funding needs and efforts to support the sector.
- Cultural institutions still face reduced attendance and slowing fundraising efforts post-pandemic
- Some organizations are laying off staff and cutting programming or operating hours
- DCLA emphasizes the need for partnership with the City Council to provide adequate support
- DCLA is convening leaders and speaking with foundation leaders to understand and address funding challenges
Carlina Rivera
3:04:20
Despite the end of COVID, the city's cultural institutions are still feeling the impacts of of the pandemic, you know, with attendance.
3:04:26
It just hasn't rebounded to the pre pandemic levels.
3:04:29
That's right.
3:04:30
And many organizations are seeing a slowing in their fundraising efforts, you know, being phrases that are being used as philanthropic retreat.
3:04:41
It's quite scary.
3:04:41
Even some larger cultural organizations are feeling this pressure.
3:04:46
Many cultural institutions are facing a dire financial situation with some organizations being forced to lay off staff and cut down on programming or operating hours.
3:04:57
Will with the council's expected assistance as you laid out, will an additional $45,000,000 be enough to sustain the cultural community and to help them recover from the impacts of COVID or is more needed?
Lauri Cumbo
3:05:13
$45,000,000 is only enough with the support and partnership of the city council.
3:05:22
So if we have the level of support that the council has previously provided and then some, then we can work collaboratively and collectively to make sure that we provide the level of support to sustain our organizations during this really challenging time.
3:05:41
So your partnership, again, is going to be critical to making sure that we're able to provide the cultural and financial health for our sector.
Lance Polivy
3:05:50
And that partnership goes beyond just funding.
3:05:54
We spoke about this topic at one of our prior hearings.
3:05:59
And I think that the hearing really brought out just how dire this financial time is for organizations in arts and culture.
3:06:06
So since that hearing, what the commissioner has done is you participated in a convening that the commissioner put together of all of the leaders in government arts and culture across the state and the city to make sure that everyone is on the same page, knows just how difficult this time is, and is trying to start rowing in the same direction to work collaboratively to help solve this problem.
3:06:31
Another thing that the commissioner has done that we promised at that hearing is that she has started speaking to foundation leaders to try and better understand what is going on with funders and what is this, as you called it, the philanthropic retreat from arts and culture.
3:06:47
And we're starting to get some answers about why that might be happening and where those dollars may be going instead.
3:06:53
But we are committed to helping the arts and culture sector to understand this problem, to get our arms around it, to get that information out to the groups, and to be working as closely as possible with all of our government partners because only working together as a team can we solve this problem.