Eight-year-old Milwaukee Shakespeare had a bad bit of news this month, with the loss of funding from the Argosy Foundation. It's certainly not the only arts organization seeing losses of foundation funding, as assets for most have taken double-digit percentage declines, and cash is getting tight. But Argosy was a particularly important foundation to the theater's bottom line, on deck to provide $925,000 of the organization's $1.3 million budget for 2008-09.

Says the article:

Milwaukee Shakespeare was uniquely vulnerable to Argosy's cash constraints because of its unusual relationship with the foundation. The company was founded in 2000 by Abele and actor-director John Maclay, two friends from their student days at Lawrence University. Maclay served as Milwaukee Shakespeare's first artistic director before leaving the troupe in 2003.

There are certainly benefits to significant and singular patronage. But the plight of Milwaukee Shakespeare underscores the value of diversifying your revenue portfolio.