Giving to an arts organization is giving back to the community.
The arts may be back after two years of COVID-related limitations, but they’re definitely not back to normal.
“I don’t even remember what normal was. Really and truly,” says Shadowbox Live CEO Stacie Boord. “In a way, it’s kind of a blessing. We certainly took the opportunity of the pandemic to wipe the slate clean and reimagine ourselves: the type of organization we wanted to be and the types of partners and supporters that we were hoping to join us.”
Philanthropic support is vital to the many arts organizations around the city. Organizations such as Shadowbox, BalletMet, Opera Columbus and ProMusica give back to the community as much as they get from arts patrons. Each has slightly different needs and situations, but all of them rely on donors to survive.
Most organizations are operating at 50-70 percent of their ticket sales, which affects the bottom line. Consumers have also changed their habits when it comes to enjoying live performances.
“They either wait last minute to buy tickets, which really impacts … all the arts organizations in town,” says Julia Noulin-Mérat, general director and CEO of Opera Columbus. “It used to be people would buy season tickets or they would buy their show tickets two to three months in advance, and now, it’s the week of.”
Still, arts organizations continue on and are more enthusiastic than ever about the work they are producing and offering to the community.
“The thing that I think we all realized is that (the arts) are such an important part of our lives,” says BalletMet Executive Director Sue Porter. “It’s part of what makes us human and can really help through difficult times.”
During the season of giving, consider supporting a local arts organization.
BalletMet
The Nutcracker is the signature performance of each BalletMet season, and the experience is combined with the Nutcracker Ball, the company’s annual fundraising event.
“For so many years, that was been just a wonderful celebration both of The Nutcracker and of the holiday season,” Porter says. “We’re so excited that, this year, we’re partnering with the Lower.com Field and we’re going to have our ball there this year.”
The Nutcracker runs from Dec. 8-24 at the Ohio Theatre. This year, BalletMet also offer a sensory-friendly performance, My First Nutcracker, on Dec. 22.
In addition, this season, BalletMet is celebrating 45 years in existence, and Artistic Director Edwaard Liang is celebrating 10 years with the company.
How they give: BalletMet offers education programs, which travel into schools to either teach classes or put on performances. The Discover Dance program, which holds auditions all over the city for a chance to earn a full scholarship to the BalletMet Academy, is growing. It also collaborates with King Arts Complex to hold free introductory dance lessons, called Sarong Saturdays. Each year, the troupe puts on a free performance in Bicentennial Park with its professional dancers and academy students.
How to support: Buy a performance ticket or visit the donate page on www.balletmet.org.
After Nutcracker: Dorothy and the Prince of Oz, Feb. 10-12 at the Ohio Theatre.
Opera Columbus
Noulin-Mérat has been with the Opera Columbus for two years. She wanted to move to Columbus because of its unique creative energy and collaborations and co-productions that make the arts scene thrive.
“Philanthropy has a huge impact on who we are, for the heart of our community,” Noulin-Mérat says. “We are in service to our community organization; we are not for profit. When you look at the spreadsheet side of things, it makes up almost 80 percent of our operating budget.”
How they give: Last year, Opera Columbus launched a directing fellowship specially for BIPOC stage directors called the Crane Directing Fellowship.
“We spoke with the Cranes and we’re like, ‘This is something very important, which is the reason why we don’t have that much diversity in our opera landscape,’” says Noulin-Mérat. “They were like, ‘Let’s do it, let’s change the world.’”
How to support: Opera Columbus has a “Year End Appeal,” which asks people to remember them as they’re making their gifts and donations at the end of the season. The organization also has a huge appeal on its birthday, Nov. 17.
There’s a donation button on the website, www.operacolumbus.org, but donating isn’t just about
money, says Noulin-Mérat.
“You have your time, you have your talent, and so we also really love our volunteers,” she says. “That’s also a really great way to help support us.”
Up next: Maria de Buenos Aries, Feb. 24 and 26 at the Southern Theatre. It’s slated to be the first opera to be performed in Spanish in Columbus.
Shadowbox Live
Boord has an interesting perspective on philanthropy because, for most of the organization’s existence, Shadowbox didn’t apply for grants. It was also “late to the game” with a donor program, she says, which is now robust.
“The support allows us to compensate our performers better,” she says. “It also allows us to buy the equipment and things that are really going to actualize our artistic endeavors the way we see them in our imagination. We’ve really pivoted on that issue, and I’m so incredibly grateful for the support that we’ve received.”
Shadowbox used the pandemic down time to work on projects that couldn’t easily be done during any other time, Boord says, such as building a new stage.
How they give: A significant portion of Shadowbox’s SBX Gives Back platform goes toward community efforts.
“We try to use our moral imagination to see, when we’re creating the show, how we can deepen the impact with that performance,” Boord says. “So it’s not just the staging of it, but is there a way we can serve maybe an underserved community with that particular show?”
Hosting the Holidays is a program whereby Shadowbox gives to families selected by different social service organizations, offering a four-top table of tickets and free food and drink so they can enjoy a family-friendly musical and a unique holiday experience.
The company also opens its doors to Goodwill Columbus and ARC Industries during dress rehearsals, allowing them to be the first to see the show before it’s open to the public.
“We also just reinstated our local gifting program, where we give probably over $250,000 a year in the past for other 501(c)3 organizations for them to either use the table that we donate for a raffle or silent auction so they can raise funds to help support their cause,” Boord says.
How to support: Buy a ticket or visit www.shadowboxlive.org to donate.
Up next: Holiday Hoopla opens Nov. 17 at Shadowbox Live. Not So Silent Night opens Nov. 27 at Shadowbox Live.
ProMusica
CEO Janet Chen says ProMusica was very active during COVID, and supporters responded in kind.
“Even when things were really pretty shut down, we were finding creative ways to stay relevant, and I think that helps ensure to supporters we’re doing all we can,” she says.
Audiences are not back to 100 percent, and Chen predicts they won’t be for a while, making contributions and support even more important than even during the height of COVID.
“I think it’s going to take a while for all of us to get back into some routine and rhythm,” Chen says. “With live events having been gone so long, it’s also interesting how we reincorporate that into people’s lives.”
The organization’s annual Soirée Benefit & Concert takes place in January.
“We want people to feel inspired to give,” Chen says.
How they give: “Our way of being philanthropic, not necessarily with dollars but by way of services, is really almost mission-driven for us,” Chen says.
The organization supports charter schools with its Play It Forward instrument program. It also offers free education and outreach programs throughout the year. It brings music to infants and toddlers through Sprout5, an early childhood development nonprofit organization.
How to support: Donations can be made for general support, but they also can be made specifically to support musicians, buy new instruments or to give to a specific education program. Volunteers are welcome, too.
Up next: Handel’s Messiah, Nov. 12 at the Southern Theatre; Vadim Plays Brahms, Dec. 10 at the Southern Theatre.
