When I commented on a story in The New York Times about foundations possibly picking winners and losers among non-profits during these less-than-flush times (here), I quoted the president of the Hudson-Webber Foundation, David Egner, who mused about whether Detroit needed separate orchestras at the Detroit Symphony and the Michigan Opera Theatre. The remark elicited a big flurry and strong negative reaction in Detroit.
Additional reporting on what Hudson-Webber — and presumably other foundations — may do turned out to be not-that-threatening.
Yes, there could well be mergers among arts organizations, and there probably should be.
But that’s not what Hudson-Webber is attempting at DSO. Rather, it has started a “transformative initiative” at the DSO and the Detroit Institute of Arts (an eye-candy detail from DIA’s “Detroit Industry” fresco, by Rivera, below) that could be good for them.
“They are our biggest recipients of arts grants, and they have been for decades,” said Katy Locker, program director at the foundation. “We wanted to make sure they were receiving the funding they needed, and meeting their own targets, not targets we set.”
In the past, H-W funded projects — marketing, capital projects, etc. Now it wants to give operational support, but at the same time make sure the DSO and the DIA are meeting specific, important benchmarks — yet to be determined. “Counting ticket sales and number of visitors does not reflect the value of these institutions,” Lockner said in a phone interview.
AnnMarie Erickson, executive vice-president of the DIA, told me “For DIA, it would be fabulous. If foundations fund operations, they fund projects that are part of the fabric of the museum.” She couldn’t offer an example of a strategic benchmark, because DIA has just started working with the consultant Hudson-Webber hired to help develop them. What they are, of course, will be key; it’s a good sign that Locker is not focused solely on attendance.
DSO is further along, but emails to the press office were not answered.
Locker said she hopes H-W board will commit to multi-year funding based on this new model at its meeting in August. It would presumably be at a high level, though she declined to suggest what that might be.
Hudson-Webber would like to influence other foundations to follow its lead — and if the benchmarks are right, that would be a good idea for these financially troubled times.