DAYTON — Four years in the making, the release of the first National Arts Index last week reinforced the challenges Dayton’s arts leaders have been facing.

Compiled by Americans for the Arts, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., and New York City, the index found that while the number of cultural organizations across the country continues to multiply, overall ticket sales and financial support are declining.

Several Dayton organizations have made radical adjustments in the past six months.

To save more than $200,000, the Dayton Art Institute announced in October 2009 it was reducing staff and canceling an exhibition of works by Georgia O’Keefe and other artists. The Dayton Ballet slashed its performance season in half. The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company vacated downtown studios and moved performances to a suburban high school. The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Opera and Muse Machine have all made significant cuts to annual expenses.

Even if the economy rebounds, public support for many nonprofits may not return to previous levels.

Randy Cohen, an American for the Arts vice president and co-author of the study that developed the index, said the results demonstrate that the arts “need to focus on new business models.”

Cutbacks no longer seen as enough

Local arts executives and board officers have been meeting since early 2009 to explore ways to combine functions, yet retain artistic independence.

The impetus was the Non-Profit Alliance Support Program (NASP), launched with funds provided by the Dayton Foundation, the Dayton Power & Light Foundation and Montgomery County, to encourage the Miami Valley’s multiplying social service, charitable, arts and educational organizations to consider joining forces.

Four arts groups — Culture Works, the Victoria Theatre Association/Arts Center Foundation, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Dayton Ballet — were among two dozen nonprofits to submit plans.

The Dayton Foundation asked those four to submit a unified plan for the entire arts sector. Previous Dayton-area consolidations presented as successful models included the YMCA of Greater Dayton, Dayton History and Goodwill Industries.

Last month, the arts plan was one of six rejected in a competitive evaluation. Four were accepted. “In the interest of their privacy,” Dayton Foundation president Mike Parks declined to name them.

Rather than submit a further-reaching proposal, the 13 arts groups are hiring their own consultant to craft their own blueprint.

Denise Rehg, president and CEO of Culture Works, which began its 35th annual united arts campaign Jan. 28, didn’t fault the Dayton Foundation plan. “The real cause for concern is that some in the local business community take our ranking as the country’s number one mid-sized city in arts and culture as evidence that we have too many arts groups,” she said.

Pressing several or all of them to merge “is like saying football, basketball and baseball should be combined into one sport,” said Human Race Theatre Executive Director Kevin Moore, who has been chosen for a 2010 Governor’s Award for arts administration.

Moving forward

Dayton Ballet Director Dermot Burke said while the foundation’s rejection “was a disappointment, it has proven to be an inspiration for us to move forward on our own. The need to solve the problem is there.”

The next step, according to Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation president/CEO Ken Neufeld, is to move toward a communitywide cultural plan. The Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Schuster Performing Arts Center grew out of the last one in 1990.

Parks said that while “virtually every nonprofit is involved with some form of partnership, systemic change requires much more. The goal is to find a more efficient way to carry out your mission. The arts leaders’ decision to go ahead with their study is good news. We are very supportive of that.”