DAYTON — Dayton’s major arts organizations are considerably leaner than they were just two years ago, shortly before the bottom fell out of the stock market.

That plunge gouged the endowment funds that non-profit leaders labored to construct at mid-decade as a buffer against deficits during hard times.

With corporate gifts, government support and ticket sales plummeting in response to the same economic forces, a safety net is no longer enough to break the fall.

The annual $1 million in sales tax revenues that has helped support Montgomery County’s arts and cultural organizations since 1990 will be reduced to $500,000 in 2011 because of declining revenues.

“(Allocating reduced funds) is not an easy thing to do when you have such a diverse set of programs that in their own right have all been very successful,” said Judy Mott, Montgomery County’s Arts and Cultural District’s executive director.

Economic development

The county’s wealth of arts offerings gives it a competitive edge when talking to companies that are considering moving operations to the Dayton area.

Companies’ decisions about where to locate their businesses are often influenced by such factors as the ready availability of a creative workforce and the quality of life available to employees, according to a National Governors Association Center for Best Practices report, “Arts & the Economy: Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development.”

“When (businesses) are considering us, the fact that we have the diversity of arts and culture is something that is almost always discussed,” said county Administrator Deborah Feldman.

County Commission President Dan Foley cited Caterpillar Logistics Services, which last year agreed to construct a $68.6 million distribution center at Commerce Park in Clayton. County officials touted the area’s affordable housing, short work commutes, top universities, parks and rivers, and arts and culture when courting the company.

“The arts is at the top of that list, so we’ve got to keep investing in it,” Foley said.

Ohio economic impact

The arts and culture industries generate more than $25 billion in economic activity in Ohio per year, according to a 2009 economic impact study conducted by Bowling Green State University.

Annually in Ohio, arts and creative industries also help to produce $1.78 billion in federal tax revenue, $1.06 billion in state and local tax revenues, and support 231,200 jobs, according to the Bowling Green study.

“There is a growing body of research that shows a thriving arts community is crucial for the health and vitality of regions,” said Michael Carroll, director of the Bowling Green’s Center for Regional Development.

The Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation, which operates the Schuster Performing Arts Center, have a combined annual economic impact of nearly $28 million, Victoria president and chief executive Ken Neufeld said. That figure represents total spending by both arts venues, as well as event-related audience spending.

“We have 65 full-time staff members and about 75 part-time staff, not including stage hands, artists and other technicians,” Neufeld said. “Our economic impact further supports another 600 full-time jobs in our community based on related spending,” he said.

When the cast of “Wicked” was in Dayton for three weeks this year, there were 81 cast and crew members staying at hotels, eating meals and purchasing various goods and services. “This is 1,700 room nights in local hotels and, at three meals a day, 5,100 meals attributable to just one Broadway show at the Schuster Center,” Neufeld said.

Bucking the trend

The Ohio Arts Council reports that 30 of the state’s 42 major arts institutions (those with annual budgets of at least $1.5 million) expected to complete the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, with a surplus. The Dayton Art Institute, Victoria Theatre Association and Dayton Opera were among them.

The Victoria Theatre Association bucked the downward trend in a big way last season with revenues of $16 million, up from $11.4 million in 2008-9. That’s what happens when you have two blockbuster musicals in the same season. “Wicked” brought in $4.5 million in local ticket sales and “Phantom of the Opera” $2.3 million.

“It’s going to be tougher and closer,” for the 2010-11 season in part because there is just one blockbuster, the local premiere of “The Lion King,” Neufeld said.

The Victoria did its budget cutting and payroll slashing before the market tumble, helping pave the way for recent smooth sailing.

So did the arts education organization the Muse Machine and the folk arts presenter Cityfolk, which have both posted recent surpluses. The Muse Machine is even looking to expand this year and next, according to leader Luke Dennis.

Cityfolk, which is looking for a new executive director to replace the departed John Harris, is exploring programming options and perhaps some multi-city bookings to enhance cost effectiveness.

Arts support a priority

Montgomery County officials remain committed to funding the Dayton-area arts community, said Foley.

“We are going to continue to prioritize it,” Foley said. “We are taking our budget to year by year, but we’re going to do everything that we possibly can to keep funding the arts because it matters.”

The County Commission’s 2010-2014 general fund five-year financial plan calls for the county to identify revenue sources outside the general fund to provide funding support to local arts organizations, special projects and individual artists.

“It is our goal to continue this funding at $500,000,” said Feldman. Arts program funding for 2011 comes from state incentives the county received for meeting public assistance standards, she said.

Future arts support may involve freeing up and redirecting funds, such as with the county’s transfer earlier this year of Memorial Hall and the Old Courthouse to Dayton History. Feldman said the county will save $100,000 a year by eliminating staff positions at the two locations and paying Dayton History an annual consulting fee of $300,000.

The county also must reach out to a broader group of funders, including the growing number of area companies with a few hundred employees, rather than thousands, Feldman said. “It’s a different model but it’s one that I think is very important to our future,” she said.

Area arts groups are concerned about the looming funding cuts, but they also have a “clear understanding of what the overall economic condition is at the county and the very difficult decisions that the commissioners are making,” Mott said.

The groups that receive funding “do not consider this an entitlement,” Mott said.

Contact this reporter at

(937) 225-2377 or

tmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.