In my last post I took a look at a proposal for a fundraising plan. But renovating the building is only one component of the future financial needs of the Waco Performing Arts Company and the new coalition that is being built. So I wanted to take a look at other revenue streams and needed changes. And you thought we were done talking about money, didn't you? Step Six is planning for ongoing income needs.
The fundraising plan laid out in the last post is a good foundation on which to begin to look to other sources of funding. The TIF might not be the first organization that pops into your head when you think of financial support for the WPAC, but every dollar that doesn't need to be raised through programming, fundraising events, or donations is a dollar in the right direction. So the TIF can be a very helpful tool in the big picture of the WPAC's finances. It's limitation, of course, is that since its focus is on physical improvements, it cannot be depended upon for long-term support.
As many of you know, the WPAC is one of four groups that receives Hotel/Motel tax revenue from the City. That money technically goes through the Greater Waco Arts Council, which is responsible for recommendations about its distribution. A longstanding agreement has it so that the Hotel/Motel tax revenue is equally distributed among the WPAC, the Waco Symphony, the Waco Arts Center, and the Waco Civic Theatre. Criteria was established to determine who would receive the funding a number of years ago, and it has been renewed since. The grand total of money distributed from the tax revenue is roughly $120,000 per year. That's nearly $30,000 per organization. My first recommendation for additional financial support is that the Greater Waco Arts Council re-examine its criteria for funding and reconsider equal distribution. The budgets of the four organizations are vastly different as are the scope of the audiences impacted. Of course, I would argue that the WPAC reaches the largest audiences and employs the most local resources and is therefore most deserving of an increase, but that decision will lie with the GWAC. Perhaps an annual review that funded in response to the scope of activities and budgets proposed would be in order. They could establish a system that gave unequal portions in proportion to the different organizations' levels of activity. I would consider that especially vital under the new circumstance by which the WPAC is playing host and co-producer to all of Waco's various Arts organizations.
But examining the distribution is not enough. The City must be lobbied to increase its support for the Arts. A total annual contribution of $120,000 is just not sufficient to ensure that the Arts are an area of growth in Waco. Now I know that the City has offered support in other ways in the form of public maintenance and assistance in land purchase, but an ongoing increased financial support is needed. And there should be no problem with receiving organizations being held to even higher standards of accounting, financial planning, and education in exchange for increased support. But larger cities known for their Arts work for that reputation in the form of local government assistance. Considering the service the WPAC will be offering the City under the plan that I am proposing, an increase should be well in line.
I would expect the funding to continue to be funneled through the GWAC, which is why I mentioned it first. Such a regulatory and oversight body is needed to hold the various groups accountable for wise governance and expenditures, not just to forward along checks. I would hope that this idea would excite people and encourage them to participate in building a stronger GWAC that exercises greater influence in supporting local Arts.
Another body that could offer support is Public Improvement District #1. I sat on the Board of this organization while I was in Waco and chaired the Merchant Support and Economic Development committee. Their bylaws prohibit them from spending money that benefits one member of the PID, so what I would propose instead is that the entire PID adopt and embrace the full calendar of events that would be occurring at the Hippodrome and help to fund publicity for them in such a way as to benefit all of the members of the PID. After all, when a successful WPAC is promoting events that bring hundreds of people downtown every week, all merchants and businesses will benefit from the increased traffic.
Finally, I believe that it is necessary to negotiate greater support directly from the City of Waco. As I've mentioned earlier, the City is heavily involved in financially supporting recreational entities that draw traffic and tourism to the city such as Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, the municipal softball fields, the water park, and the Cameron Park Zoo. That last one is of particular importance to me because I see a rejuvenated WPAC that hosts all of Waco's various Arts organizations as having a similar impact in the city as the zoo. I don't know the exact figure of support that is given to the zoo, but I have been made aware that it is significantly greater than the $120,000 currently given to the Arts. I think the City needs to be directly engaged to increase its support for the WPAC more along the lines of their support for the zoo. With a renovated building, a coalition of all the various performing groups, the plan that I am proposing here in place, and increased financial support from the City, there is no reason that the WPAC couldn't have a similar impact as the zoo on the cultural life of Waco.
Ongoing financial support is a significant challenge, and one that must be addressed before a shovel hits the ground. This post only represents the beginning of the issue. The private foundations still need to be consulted about ongoing support. That is one area in which Waco is certainly behind other cities. Most Arts organizations in America have a handful of foundations that provide ongoing support on an annual basis. So far the attitude from foundations in Waco is that the Arts groups should be able to survive without such support if they are to be considered successful. That always struck me as a bit odd considering that by definition, a non-profit Arts organization is making something available at below market-value because it makes the community a better place in which to live. By that definition, it is going to require many sources of outside funding. And foundations who have as a part of their mission the goal of supporting non-profit Arts organizations should be open, in my opinion, to committing to ongoing annual financial support.
In addition to increased revenue, there are ways to decrease expenditures, which amounts to the same thing. Waco's various businesses have generally been pretty good about supporting the Arts in terms of in-kind service donations, but more is needed. Everything from accounting to marketing to building maintenance can be donated by a local business in exchange for promotional consideration, tax write-offs, or both. Some of those services are currently donated, but more can be done and the business community needs to be proactive in offering themselves. (I would love to take this opportunity to single out the Waco businesses who already do a stellar job of supporting the Arts, but I would invariably omit someone. Just ask a non-profit who their supporters are; they're only too happy to crow about them.) There is an inherent inequality of power between a professional service provider and a non-profit organization that must seek donated services. For the most part, everyone agrees to play the game together where the non-profits go all over town seeking what they need in an endless chase to get their needs met. But really, there's no need for it. Especially not in a city the size of Waco. The business community must be willing to step forward and relieve that tension. It's time for everyone to get involved.
So that is Step Six. Obviously, there are many more ways that financial support can and must be raised than I have examined here. But these are the big obstacles, and the ones that need to be worked out ahead of time. I am aware that I have piled yet another herculean task on to the current load. But this is what it will take to secure a future for the Arts in Waco. I hope that it is becoming apparent that no matter who you are in Waco, there is a role for you to play in supporting the Arts. Please let me know if you think I'm off base here, or if you think I've overlooked anything. As I frequently say, feedback and criticism are the only way to improve plans such as the one I'm laying out here. Let's work on solutions together.
