Spending cut back, fundraising ramped up

By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news

After years of not developing a “solid” financial plan, leaders of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival are focusing on how to become financially secure.

“We’ve rolled along for years without addressing our financial concerns,” Anyania Muse, OSF’s interim chief operating officer who is also Managing Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) & Operations, said in an interview with Ashland.news. “We have not had a real financial plan beyond ticket sales and donors. There are so many interesting ways on how we can do better.”

Earlier this year it was announced the festival is facing a financial crisis that threatens its future. Declining attendance, partly blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic and series of fires that devastated neighboring communities and created polluted skies, resulted in the cancellation of some productions and laying off 400 staff early in the pandemic, about 89 percent of its employees. Another 19 employees were laid off and hiring for 20 open positions was canceled earlier this year.

“As shared with the national audience, OSF has a $16 million deficit,” Muse said. This means even with the fund-raisers and incoming funding support we will likely have a deficit at the end of the season as well.”

A fundraising campaign, “The Show Must Go On: Save our Season, Save OSF,” was launched April 11 with a goal of $2.5 million “to help complete the 2023 Season successfully.” As of Friday, Muse said a million dollars has been raised. Because of the financial uncertainty, planning for the 2024 season is on hold pending results of the fundraising efforts.

OSF is also launching “a transformational gift campaign,” according to a news release it issued April 11. That announcement didn’t include a target amount for the campaign, but a Jan. 11 announcement said that, as part of a “shift in its operations to be in fiscal alignment,” the company would launch “an $80 million campaign during the first quarter of 2023 to build capacity and help fund operations.”

“There’s been a drag on finances for some time,” Muse said, noting the problems had not been addressed over a multi-year period. “There were mistakes that were made … It (the festival) was run as a mom-and-pop operation, and there’s nothing wrong with that when it works.”

Along with the fundraising campaigns, festival leaders are working to clarify financial matters, such as accounting and day-to-day operations. OSF is requesting more than $5 million in grants through the Oregon legislature and received that amount in grants through the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID pandemic. In late 2022, OSF received a $10 million grant over several years from The Hitz Foundation and the OSF board released $4.5 million from its endowment to help with operating expenses. Other donations include $2 million from the Mellon Foundation, more than $5 million from individual pledges, and $170,000 pledged from the OSF board of directors, including a $50,000 gift from the board chair.

Muse noted this year’s budget is $37 million, a decline from a projected budget of $48 million last year. It was later reduced to $43 million and more recently reduced to the current $37 million figure. She said budget cuts include the reduction in jobs, contractors and what she terms as “un-useful systems.” In addition, the number of plays has been reduced. In years past the Festival offered up to 11 plays over an eight-month season but has trimmed the number of plays to five over a shortened season. She said that along with actors, each play includes off-stage personnel involved in creating the set, making costumes and wigs and other production jobs often overlooked by playgoers. “It’s really painful,” Muse said of impacts to Ashland and the larger Rogue Valley.

She said immediate support began almost immediately after the Save Our Season campaign was announced, with some donors making pledges within 20 or 30 minutes. “There are ways this town and people who love OSF are stepping up and that’s phenomenal,” Muse said. “I believe in this town and their love and support.” She also noted the financial importance of OSF to the region, especially Ashland, because the majority of people attending plays are from outside the region, meaning they generate revenue for restaurants, hotels and motels, stores and other businesses.

Efforts to obtain state grants, she emphasized, are ongoing — “We’re trying to figure out how that can happen.”

Muse said that among the festival’s goals are to “bridge generations” of playgoers by attracting new, often younger people, while maintaining “traditional,” often older, audiences.

While the future remains uncertain for this season and future seasons, Muse believes the combination of efforts — such as reducing production costs, successfully obtaining grants, better financial management and having the short-term fundraising campaign succeed — will ensure OSF’s future.

“It’s critical work to ensure we keep going,” Muse said of efforts to create short- and long-term financial stability. “You’ve got people dedicated to seeing the organization can thrive and succeed.”

Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected].