2009 Rurals Survey
Narrative Summary
The Rurals Survey was posted in early February of 2009, and solicited information to determine how rural organizations are dealing with depressed income resources and budget cuts, and how NYS ARTS Rurals Program can assist these organizations in this climate. The survey was completed by 27 members of the Rural Partnership and interested rural organizations: 20 local arts councils, 4 art centers and 3 rural presenting organizations.
This summary report focuses on the data gathered from four areas of inquiry: a) actual or projected loss of revenue from funding resources; b) how they are responding to decreased revenue; c) services received from NYS ARTS Rurals Program and priorities for those services by respondents; d) existing or additional services that will assist rural organizations move forward in this stressed economy.
A. Actual or projected loss of revenue from funding resources . The majority reported declining income from all resources listed - membership, individual donations, foundations and corporations, county municipal support, fundraising events, event attendence and retail sales. However, 7 indicated county/municipal funding and 6 indicated attendence at events had increased.
50% of respondents were affected by the 2008/09 NYSCA cuts. 5 lost general operating support and 9 lost program support. Most reported the budget cuts will mean a loss of 1-24% of their budgets, but one reported a loss of 25 - 49%.
The survey asked for total revenue loss projections from all funding resources. 62% project losses from $2,000 to $100,000; of these, the average loss is $28,000. 3 stated their budgets are on target and holding, and 4 stated it was too early in their fiscal years for accurate projections, but of these, 3 are anticipating losses.
B. Responding to decreased revenue: All were addressing the reality of decreased revenue; of the choices listed, the actions most frequently taken are:
• increase volunteer hours (63%)
• collaborate or partner with another organization to share resources (56%)
• cut programs or services (52%)
• reduce use of outside professional services (48%)
• reduce staff (41%); reduce work hours (30%); reduce salaries (26%)
C. Value and priority of NYS ARTS Rural Program Services: Responses indicated that all of the services provided have value. Services that rated VERY IMPORTANT to the majority of respondents include:
• Rurals Gathering (59%)
• Rural Workshops (56%)
• Response to phone/email questions (48%)
• Research and writing on topical issues (44%)
And those that received highest support under services of MODERATE IMPORTANCE include:
• Rurals blog (67%)
• Consultant Directory (63%)
• Courtesy visits, webinars, list serv, Rurals column, Rurals Conversations (59% each)
D. Existing or additional services that will help rural organizations move forward. Respondents were asked to list their choice of topics for webinars and rural workshops. 74% of responses indicate they want webinars that address all issues of fundraising/income generation for rural areas. Within this webinar focus, 25% want help with new technology for effective websites, online fundraising and marketing, and data management. Responses for Rural workshops topics also centered on survival and growth during hard economic times but these were divided evenly between two approaches, both with a regional and collaborative focus: 1) bring together area arts groups and existing and potential funding resources to explore supporting area cultural resources and 2) bring together arts organizations to explore resource sharing collaborations. These preferences are driving the planning for our 2009 and 2010 workshops and webinars.
Additional services requested: Certain regions have a number of new directors and staff, and others want help to collaborate with their peers on sharing resources. There is a clear and stated preference to assist Rural Partners with regional meetings to explore and share ideas and best practices. A number want more hands-on training to address learning curves with new/upgraded computer programs and developing technology; we are already addressing this through Arts Summit 2009 planning. Other suggestions include: collaborations with NYMACC; opening up the Rural Partnership through self-selection, and a Directory of all NYS rural organizations.
