Moving from the Scientific & Cultural Affairs District’s Tier III funding category to Tier II might sound like bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, but the change can mean tens of thousands of dollars and a new level of prestige for the area cultural organizations affected.
That is certainly the case for the 9- year-old Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, which has seen its SCFD funding jump from $58,000 last year to $78,000 this year. It expects more increases as its budget and attendance grow.
“For us, it’s a benchmark of an institutional arrival in the community and in a family of institutions that we think are very similar to ours,” said director-curator Cydney Payton. “So we’re very pleased with that.”
The museum is one of three former Tier III recipients, along with the Colorado Children’s Chorale and Colorado Music Festival, moving into Tier II with the 3-year-old Wildlife Experience in Parker, which is new to SCFD.
The four additions bring the total Tier II groups to 25 – more than three times the number at that funding level when SCFD made its first allocations in 1989.
“Considering we just finished a recession, I was amazed. It just speaks to the resilience of these organizations and how some of them have incredible drive,” said Mary Ellen Williams, SCFD administrator.
Obtaining Tier II funding was essential, Payton said, as the contemporary art museum prepares to build and operate its first permanent home – a $12 million to $15 million building planned for the northwest corner of 15th and Delgany streets.
“Financially, we’re a very prudent institution, and we see being in Tier II as being very necessary as part of our future. So part of our master plan for these three years – of which we’re in the second year – was to push our budget to get us into Tier II,” she said.
SCFD covers a seven-county metropolitan area, allocating the revenues of a 1/10th-of-1-percent sales tax (a penny for each $10 transaction). In 2004, it distributed more than $36 million to nearly 300 cultural and scientific organizations.
The bulk of its funds go to Tier 1 recipients, a group that will grow to five in 2006, receiving 65.5 percent of the total funds. They will include the four longtime recipients – the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Denver Zoo – plus the Denver Center for Performing Arts, currently in Tier II.
In 2005, 28 percent of total SCFD funding – $9.87 million – is going to 25 Tier II organizations, which range from the Butterfly Pavilion to the Colorado Symphony to the Central City Opera.
These groups must meet a minimum level of annual qualifying income – $924,435 this year. Certain income is exempted, such as foundation support, endowment proceeds and unrelated business income.
Boulder-based etown, a group that syndicates broadcasts of live concerts to more than 200 stations nationwide, dropped out of Tier II in part because it ran afoul of these income requirements, which are set to change in the 2007 application year.
Nick Forster, etown’s founder and president, said some of its chief contributors have begun to donate to the organization via foundations, thus rendering their contributions inapplicable under SCFD guidelines.
The group, which has a 2005 annual budget of about $1 million, moves to Tier III, with its SCFD funding plummeting from $118,000 last year to $10,000 this year.
“Obviously, we would clearly love to be part of Tier II,” Forster said. “It made an enormous difference for us. It doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to make Tier II for 2005 revenue either. My guess is, after 2006, we’ll be back in.”
Also dropping to Tier III funding is the Boulder Philharmonic. Its SCFD funding has decreased from $115,000 in 2004 to $23,500 this year.
The amount of money that each Tier II organization receives is calculated on a formula based on each organization’s qualifying operating income and paid attendance.
Thus, the Denver Center for Performing Arts is receiving $3 million in Tier II funds this year, compared with $756,000 for the Colorado Symphony or $73,000 for the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
SCFD Tier II funding
Total recipients: 25 Total 2005 allocations: $9.87 million
NEW RECIPIENTS
COLORADO CHILDREN’S
CHORALE, Denver
Description: Oversees five choirs bringing together 400 children from 180 schools across the Front Range.
Founded: 1974
2005 budget: $1.4 million
SCFD allocations: $75,000, 2004; $151,000, 2005
COLORADO MUSIC FESTIVAL, Boulder
Description: Presents a summer schedule of symphonic, classical and world music in the historic Chautauqua Auditorium.
Founded: 1976
2005 budget: $1 million
SCFD allocations: $20,000, 2004; $79,000, 2005.
Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver
Description: Presents year-round exhibitions showcasing regional, national and international contemporary artists.
Founded: 1996
2005 budget: $1.1 million
SCFD allocations: $58,000, 2004; $78,000, 2005
WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE, Parker
Description: Explores wildlife and habitat using video games, natural-history exhibits, art exhibitions and large-format movies.
Founded: 2002
2005 budget: $5.7 million
SCFD allocations: None, 2004; $522,000, 2005
DEPARTING RECIPIENTS
BOULDER PHILHARMONIC
Description: Serves as the chief provider of professional symphonic music in the Boulder area.
Founded: 1958
2005 budget: $1.15 million
SCFD allocations: $115,000 2004; $23,500, 2005
etown, Boulder
Description: Produces a syndicated weekly radio program featuring live concerts broadcast on 210 stations nationwide.
Founded: 1991
2005 budget: $1 million
SCFD allocations: $118,000, 2004; $10,000, 2005
