Please, Sir, May We Have Some More?
Right now, nearly every major arts organization in the Twin Cities has chosen to expand, build, or just raise money. So when they all ask at once, who's gonna get lucky?

By Meleah Maynard

In 1997, just two years into his tenure as artistic director of the Guthrie Theater, Joe Dowling went to his board of directors with an ambitious vision for the future. He called his plan, "Reaching for the Stars," in part because he felt like that was exactly what he was doing.

The Guthrie was a national leader when it came to presenting classical theater, Dowling told the board. But it had fallen behind the times in offering audiences works by 20^th century writers. Tyrone Guthrie's thrust stage, for which the theater was known, was perfect for an epic but it just wasn't intimate enough for the sparse human dramas of contemporary times. The theater needed to expand; perhaps on the current site – perhaps somewhere else. These changes needed to be made, Dowling reasoned, or the venerable Minneapolis theater that had made a name for itself all over the country was going to end up stuck in the past.

"I had no idea what they were going to think," Dowling recalls, shaking his head with a smile. To his pleasant surprise, the board agreed that it was time for the theater to grow. Talks on what to do next began almost immediately.

Dowling wasn't the only local arts leader setting his sights on the future in the late 90s. Several major Twin Cities arts institutions – those with annual budgets of $3 million or more -- had also outgrown their Veitnam-era facilities and were talking about massive renovations and expansions. It seemed like the perfect time. The economy was booming. The political climate for the arts, under then-Gov. Arne Carlson, was favorable. But the biggest reason for the confluence of fund-raising plans, those in the art world say, was the fact that it was simply the right time. Birds know when to migrate. Salmon known when to run. And successful organizations know when it's time to leap into the next stage of their lives. If they don't, they don't survive.

Now, five years later, seven of those nine arts organizations are either launching or are already in the midst of multi-million dollar capital campaigns to fund renovations and new buildings. Some are also seeking endowments to fund better programming and art acquisition.

What transformations are in store for the Minnesota arts world? The Children's Theatre Company is looking to raise $24 million for renovation and an expansion designed by architect Michael Graves. The adjacent Minneapolis Institute of Arts seeks $50 million for a three-story addition, also designed by Graves. The Guthrie Theater wants $125 million for a new three-theater complex on the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The Minnesota Orchestra is asking for $60 million for an endowment that would support bringing top musicians to the state. The Walker Art Center needs $90 million for remodeling and an expansion to be designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron. The Minnesota Opera wants $16 million, $10 million to increase its current endowment and for productions, staff and programming. Minnesota Pubic Radio is in the planning stages of a capital campaign to raise approximately $46 million for a five-year project to expand its headquarters in downtown St. Paul; public fund raising is not set to being until 2004. The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra have recently completed endowment campaigns for $20 and $23 million respectively.

The arts funding climate has changed considerably since these organizations planned their projects years ago. The economy is faltering. The state faces a budget deficit. Gov. Jesse Ventura is not the arts supporter his predecessor was. This year, for the first time, the Minnesota State Arts Board, which makes grants to arts organizations throughout the state, had it's $13 million 2003 budget cut by 4 percent. And future cuts could be on the horizon.

Add to this environment the fact that so many institutions are looking for money simultaneously, and it's hard not to wonder whether all can realistically expect to meet their goals. Would it be easier if some had put plans on hold for a year or two? Maybe. How much asking is too much for donors to handle at one time? That remains to be seen.

In talking with those at the helms of the arts organizations involved, it's clear these questions, any many more, are on their minds. But after months of feasibility studies and heart-to-heart discussions with longtime donors, most believe - despite the challenges – that the time to move forward is now.

The money is out there, they trust. It's just a matter of communicating their visions and missions and then raising the funds.

Minnesota State Arts Board Executive Director Robert Booker, considering the current fund-raising situation, recalls the words of a friend: "Philanthropy is a river filled with fish and you just need to know what bank to sit on."

In the dimly lit, cool auditorium of the Children's Theatre Company stage technicians are climbing around on the catwalks hanging lights while a handful of others stand on stage piecing together a dainty room of striped wallpaper knickknack-cluttered shelves. It's nearly rehearsal time for A Year with Frog and Toad, a musical based on Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books, and this is the room where the two amphibian friends will soon be baking cookies.

Upstairs, the theater's administrative staff is at work in a cramped warren of offices. Built in 1974, the theater lacks rehearsal halls, classrooms, and the additional seating needed to accommodate its expanding audience, says artistic director Peter Brosius. Last fall the theater asked the state for half of the $24 million needed for an expansion project. The legislature approved $5 million, but Gov. Ventura, citing the budget crisis, vetoed the appropriation along with $24 million that would have gone to the Guthrie.

The veto was discouraging, admits Brosius. Theater leaders have done enough prospecting to know they can't reach their goal by themselves. Without public money, the renovation, planned for completion by 2005 will be put on hold. Though bonding requests are generally funded only in even-numbered years, there's been talk that vetoed projects will be reconsidered next session. If so, the theater will go back to the state and try again.

In the meantime, CTC will do what it can to raise money on its own. "It's a complicated moment, says Brosius, shrugging his shoulders."We've had a very positive response to our expansion. But with so many people out there asking for money, we don't know what's going to happen. Funders mention that they do have to consider other requests. But I've also heard them say that if there's a real need for our project, the funding will come."

Guthrie board member Margaret Wurtele agrees that donors want to be that somehow strikes a chord with them."In all my years of fundraising I've seen it over and over," she says. "If a project is right people know it. It has energy and people believe in it and want to be part of it. If they don't, it will fail."

Wurtele, who is the Guthrie's capital campaign chair, firmly believes that the plan to build the "Guthrie on the River," is one of those projects destined to succeed.

Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the new Guthrie would offer, among other things, a 1,100 seat thrust stage modeled after the thrust stage at the current site, a 500-seat proscenium stage, a 150-seat theater for experimental works, classroom space, and a restaurant.

The most ambitious of the current arts development plans, the Guthrie's move to the riverfront also depends on public funding. There were hopes of breaking ground on the new space this fall. But last May's gubernatorial veto means it could be long while before anyone starts ordering steel. At the time, Dowling called the veto a "serious body blow" to the project and wondered out loud whether the theater's plans were dead in the water. But, after much consideration, board members unanimously decided to go ahead. Like the CTC, they will go back to the Legislature next year. For now, the Guthrie intends to raise $75 million as the theater's contribution to the complex's capital needs.

Organizations aren't supposed to go to the state for funding if they know they are able to raise the money themselves. That's why, with the exception of the Guthrie and the CTC, the rest of the arts organizations will be going to individual donors, corporations, and foundations for support.

Competition is stiffest for corporate and foundation dollars because, with few exceptions, individual donors (of both large and modest gifts) tend to regularly contribute to one or two institutions. They're a loyal bunch, these long-standing donors. But even their often deep pockets have been hit by the downturn in the economy. "People take longer now to make a decision when they give," says Christopher Stevens, development director for Walker Art Center. Still, he's confident the Walker will raise the $90 million it needs. "We're the wealthiest country in the world. This is a wealthy state. Anything short of the Great Depression won't stop people from giving to the arts. We just have to convince people to give."

Minnesota's abundance of generous art supporters came as a surprise to E.B. (Ward) Gill, vice president and chief operating officer of the Minnesota Orchestra. The former CFO of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Gill was used to dealing with municipal funding for the arts. When an individual did give, they wanted something in return."Here people give out of pure philanthropy and a real commitment to the arts," he says. "In New York people want to know they will be properly recognized. They want their names on things. People aren't concerned about that here. I can say that one of our biggest supporters refuses to have his name be known."

The orchestra is celebrating its centennial season. Unlike a lot of groups, it isn't looking to change its downtown Minneapolis location. Acoustically, says Gill, "Orchestra Hall is one of the great halls in America." The orchestra is in what's known as the "quiet phase" of a planned $60 million endowment campaign to pay for programming. That's the time when an organization's most generous donors are personally contacted to see whether they can be counted on for support. If all goes well - and the response has been positive so far - a more public push for funds will soon be underway.

MPR is also in the quiet phase of a $46 million capital campaign. Vice president and chief marketing officer Marcia Appel says the organization's initial planning for the campaign was being done when the economy was strong and it ended up taking longer than expected.

"We've moved our timeline out a bit because first we had to decide where we were going to expand and then do some heavy lifting about what we were going to raise funds for," Appel says.

"And in our case, perhaps that will turn out to be fortuitous because certainly the economy has been slower than anybody had anticipated."

Take a quick look at Minnesota's history of supporting the arts and it's easy to see where those in the art world acquire their optimistic outlook. Despite what some may perceive as a less than glamorous location in the Midwest, Minnesota's arts infrastructure is nationally recognized. In poll after poll, more than 90 percent of state residents say the arts play a huge role in their quality of life. Only New York has more audience seats for artistic productions, and Minnesota's cultural climate contributes to Fortune 500 companies looking for the best amenities for their employees.

Even the simple fact that all these organizations are campaigning for financial support simultaneously – and believing they can succeed – is a good sign that Minnesota's arts community is thriving, says Neal Cuthbert, arts program director for the Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation, which annually gives more than $10 million to the arts.

"It's testament to the fact that our arts organizations are extremely successful," he says. "The bar has always been set very high in this state and it takes money to maintain that. It's time for a major cultural reinvestment in this community."

That said, he admits it would be easier if all the big players weren't looking for money at the same time. With so many large campaigns going on, it can be more difficult to do the annual "ordinary" fund raising for general operating expenses – donations may go to the capital funds instead.

"These big campaigns hit corporations and organizations like McKnight like a tsunami," says Cuthbert. "You just have to figure out how to manage and get through it. It's definitely given smaller and even mid-size organizations pause. They want to make plans too, but they see these numbers and they know the most obvious sources are going to be quickly tapped out."

Large organizations, says Cuthbert, have created a cultural milieu that makes it possible for smaller groups to thrive. "Look at the whole picture like an ecosystem. You have these giant, glorious oak trees but if they're taking up all of the nutrition for everyone else in the forest, then that's not a good thing."

MPR's Appel says this causes arts organizations to refocus on what makes them unique. "The pressure is back on the organizations to explain their role in the community. Every organization has a differentiated position, and if you pulled one of them out, we'd have a less vibrant arts community."

It's tempting to think that groups could avoid funding crunches like this if they just did a better job of strategizing, says Bill King, president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations. But the world of fundraising doesn't work that way. Development directors from various organizations communicate as colleagues, but there is no formal process for agreeing to take turns in approaching the public for donations.

"I think everyone should prepare for a very tight fundraising climate in the future," says King. The total amount of money out there is going to drop because of the economy. It's going to get better but the hey day of the 90s is over and we all have to understand that."

At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, initial donor responses to the organization's plans to raise $50 million for renovation and expansion have been positive. However, competition from other groups and the economy are clearly having an impact this year. "People are saying, ‘we just had to make difficult choices this year so we don't have the money,' says director Evan Maurer. Still, he continues, "I do think the local commitment to the arts is as strong as it ever was. Will everybody get what the architects ideally envisioned? I don't know. But I do think we're all going to be all right. I think we're in good shape."

Sitting at the conference table in his Guthrie office, a windowless box crowded with a hodgepodge of mismatched furniture, Joe Dowling gestures with his hands in frustration as he talks about how people so often treat art like church. They embrace it when they need it and forget about it when they don't.

"It's fascinating to me that we live in a society where in times of trouble like September ll, we turn to the arts, music, poetry, whatever it may be. Yet we act as if the arts are peripheral to our society. Try living in a society like that. It would be pretty bleak. People have a real need to use art to explain the human condition. It's been proven over and over again."

So far the Guthrie has raised just under $62 million of its $75 million goal from private donors. Dowling feels comfortable that the remaining $13 million will eventually come in. But donors have made it clear that the $125 million needed to make Guthrie on the River a reality is just too much for them to manage.

Dowling will go back to the Legislature with the Guthrie's original $35 million request and hope for the best. If a good portion of that is approved, the theater will finance the gap and get building. If not, he says, "the project will collapse."

There is no plan B, he explains. He and the board have talked about scaling back on plans for the project and have determined that it's not an option. Those kinds of changes, they believe, wouldn't make the theater's move from its current location worthwhile.

Though the Walker Art Center plans to raze the current Guthrie building in order to complete its own expansions plans, the Guthrie's lease does not expire until 2038. Walker administrators have made it clear that the Guthrie is welcome to stay as long as need be. If it must stay, Dowling says, the theater will regroup and continue to offer what it can to theatergoers, in its current facilities.

Through the intercom hanging on Dowling's office wall comes sounds from the matinee onstage, Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues.

The audience laughs.

He smiles.

He often has the intercom on, the sound turned down low.

"I'm mainly listening for the flavor of the audience's reaction. Sometimes I'll go out and have a look at a particular scene. Then I'll come back here and work. It's easy to get caught up in all of the behind-the-scenes work that needs to get done. But it's so important to stay in touch with what's happening on the stage, in the audience. That's what this is all for."

© Meleah Maynard