The economic downturn is making it harder for Denver’s cultural institutions to raise money for planned expansions and scheduled events.
As a result, organizers delayed the groundbreaking of a new art museum that will display the works of Clyfford Still. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra is still judging just how ambitious a redo of Boettcher Concert Hall it should ask donors to help pay for. And the Denver Museum of Nature & Science has a multi-million-dollar hole to cover to pay for plans for a new education wing and collection storage facility.
In 2007, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science pledged to raise $23 million to build a place to store the collections and for a new education wing. Voters agreed to add to that pledge by passing a bond referendum that would raise $30 million for that portion of the project.
So far the museum has raised $5 million from private sources for that part of the expansion, said George Sparks, the museum’s director. “I’m hopeful we’re past the worst (of the economic downturn) and people will open up a little more on donations,” Sparks said. “It’s certainly not like it was two years ago, but it is better than it was six months ago.”
Foundations and wealthy individuals that in the past ponied up large contributions to such endeavors are dealing with their own woes. The economic downturn last year sent stock portfolios plunging. In addition, some of the private contributions are getting redirected to social service programs where needs are soaring.
“We normally try to give in the area of education and health care, but we gave a grant this year to help feed seniors because it’s hard to be healthy if you can’t eat,” said Roxane White, director of the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation.
Less money for requests
Similarly, the Helen K. & Arthur E. Johnson Foundation steered an extra $100,000 at the end of last year to food banks and meals-on-wheels programs, upping the total annual amount the foundation gives for such services to $300,000, said that foundation’s president, John Alexander Jr.
At the same time, the foundation still is recovering from a major blow to its assets, which declined last year from $176 million to $115 million. “We’re seeing much greater numbers in requests for dollars while we have fewer dollars to give away,” Alexander said.
Dwindling private contributions also are partly to blame for fewer after-school programs in Denver, resulting in only 50 schools offering such services this year, down from the 90 schools that offered them last year.
Dorothy Horrell, as chairwoman of the Colorado Association of Funders, has studied the effect the slumping economy has had on foundation investments and giving patterns. Overall, Colorado foundations saw their investments plunge between 20 percent and 30 percent in Colorado last year, said Horrell, also president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation.
Horrell said the dwindling resources means foundations throughout the state are giving 8 percent to 12 percent less this year than in the past.
The decline in donations has required some creative thinking.
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science earlier this year convinced the City Council to give it the $30 million in bond proceeds to start building the shell of the education and collection facility even though the museum hadn’t raised its share.
The museum will contribute $4 million of the money it has raised to help build the shell and finish the interior as more private money becomes available, Sparks said. He expects it will take the museum 18 months to two years to get all the money.
Fundraising delayed
Voters approved $60 million in bond proceeds to renovate Boettcher Concert Hall, with the understanding private sources would contribute another $30 million. But a fundraising plan has yet to surface as the Colorado Symphony Orchestra conducts extensive planning to determine whether to seek a more ambitious capital improvement campaign that would pay for more extensive renovations.
If the symphony can raise more money, it could also pay for a new lobby, education facility and rehearsal space.
“The symphony said it needed more time to determine whether it could raise substantially more than $30 million,” said Jack Finlaw, director of the city of Denver’s Division of Theatres & Arenas. “They are still taking time to make that assessment, and we are waiting for the answer.”
Scott Sobel, director of the planned Clyfford Still Museum, said he had hoped to hold a groundbreaking this past spring. It’s been pushed back to later this year, because of the need to raise more money, he said. “It’s definitely much more difficult to get commitments,” he said.
Sobel said he’s adjusted by taking his pitch for donations to those who see the museum as good for Denver as opposed to going after those who want the institution built because they are fans of Clyfford Still.
Brian Vogt, the chief executive officer of the Denver Botanic Gardens, said he avoided some of the problems other cultural institutions have faced by nailing down foundation commitments before the downturn hit. He said the gardens has raised $14 million, almost matching the $18.6 million it received in bond proceeds for improvements.
Paring down big plans
The Boettcher Foundation early in 2008 donated $2 million to start the Biennial of the Americas, which organizers predict will garner international recognition for Denver as it hosts the event next year.
The Biennial will focus on art being created in North and South America and include an “ideas pavilion,” exploring themes ranging from science to urban planning.
But since the donation by the Boettcher Foundation, organizers have only raised an additional $750,000 toward the event, which organizers originally estimated could cost as much as $5 million to $6 million.
Since no public money will go toward the project, there are few other options other than paring back on what is offered if there’s no uptick in contributions.
“We have very grand ambitions, but we have to be realistic,” said Erin Trapp, director of Denver’s office of cultural affairs. “This looks like it will be one of the worst economic dowturns ever.”
She said: “The venues might have to be smaller, and the event might have to be smaller if the money is not there.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
