\n<\/p>\n
In just one week, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has been completely transformed.<\/p>\n
President Trump purged the center\u2019s board<\/a> of all Biden appointees and installed himself as chairman<\/a>, ousting the financier David M. Rubenstein, the center\u2019s largest donor. The new board fired Deborah F. Rutter<\/a>, the center\u2019s president for more than a decade. At least three other top staff members were dismissed.<\/p>\n Performers have dropped out<\/a> in protest amid fears that Mr. Trump\u2019s call to rid the center of \u201cwoke\u201d influences, drag shows and \u201canti-American propaganda\u201d will result in a reshaping of programming too narrowly aligned with the president\u2019s own tastes.<\/p>\n This concern \u2014 that the center\u2019s tradition of pluralism, free expression and classical art forms is in jeopardy \u2014 has dominated conversation<\/a> about its future. But just as relevant, experts say, are questions about its financial stability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Though the abrupt takeover by the new administration might suggest the center is an arts adjunct of the federal government, it is actually a semi-independent nonprofit.<\/p>\n It operates under the Smithsonian Institution as a public-private partnership, and only a small portion of its $268 million budget \u2014 about $43 million, or 16 percent \u2014 comes from the federal government. That subsidy is not spent on programming but is earmarked for operations, maintenance and repairs of the property, which is federally owned.<\/p>\n All the rest of the income either has to be earned \u2014 through ticket sales, space rentals, parking fees, food vendors and licensing fees \u2014 or donated by individuals, corporations or foundations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very hefty fund-raising challenge,\u201d said Michael M. Kaiser, chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland, who served for 13 years as president of the Kennedy Center. \u201cHow many of the donors and ticket buyers are not going to renew their giving or their purchase of seats in the new environment?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ms. Rutter said in an interview that managing the organization was \u201cmuch more complex than anyone really understands,\u201d noting the need to cultivate relationships with artists; oversee staff, fund-raise and arrange programming; and work with Congress and the White House.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to really deeply care and nurture every aspect of it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is not a casual thing.\u201d<\/p>\n She noted that the center, like many arts organizations, faces serious financial pressures. Its endowment, at $163 million, is relatively small for an institution of its size. Carnegie Hall, for example, has an operating budget that is less than half that of the Kennedy Center but its endowment is roughly twice as large.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kennedy Center is meant to be a beacon for the arts across the country,\u201d Ms. Rutter said. \u201cI just hope that it can be sustained.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Fund-raising had been robust under Ms. Rutter and Mr. Rubenstein, the ousted chairman. The center took in nearly $141 million in contributions and grants in the fiscal year ending in September 2023, the most recent year for which the institution\u2019s tax records are available. That year, the center began a fund-raising effort to bolster its endowment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Rubenstein<\/a>, a founder and chairman of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group, is expected to honor his gifts to date. He has given the center well over $100 million over the years and helped raise considerably more, making his largess potentially difficult to replace.<\/p>\n It is unclear whether Mr. Trump would assume any part of the fund-raising role typically embraced by chairmen, and it\u2019s hard to see how he would have the time, given his day job. Mr. Trump is more likely to delegate that task to other board members, who may find that the president\u2019s policies have alienated some of the center\u2019s longtime supporters but potentially attracted others who had regarded the center as an elitist institution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe center is now a division of the White House,\u201d said E. Andrew Taylor, an associate professor and director of the arts management program at American University in Washington. \u201cThis might make donors think twice about contributing to the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But Karen Brooks Hopkins, who long served the Brooklyn Academy of Music as its president, said she didn\u2019t think it would be difficult for Mr. Trump as chairman to find donors, despite the overhaul.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are not going to have a problem fund-raising, because people will give money based on the fact that he may be asking them for it,\u201d she said. \u201cAs we\u2019ve seen, he is a very successful fund-raiser.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Over its 54-year history, the Kennedy Center\u2019s biggest donors have been both Republicans and Democrats. The billionaire investor Stephen A. Schwarzman, a supporter of Mr. Trump, gives at least $1 million annually. So does the energy magnate Roger Sant, who is married to Representative Doris Matsui of California, a Democrat.<\/p>\n The Mellon Foundation has long supported the center. Large corporate donors include Boeing and Booz Allen Hamilton.<\/p>\n Major donors were reluctant to discuss their sponsorship plans going forward.<\/p>\n The development department at the Kennedy Center has a staff of roughly 70, a number that reflects the scope and significance of the fund-raising effort but also one that is likely to draw some scrutiny from a White House whose willingness to cull staff has been more than aggressive.<\/p>\n A White House spokesman declined to discuss specifics of whether the Kennedy Center\u2019s spending was a matter for review. But Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement on Tuesday that \u201cthe Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke,\u201d an apparent reference to the fact that the center ran a $1 million deficit last year.<\/p>\n Later on Tuesday, a White House official released a statement that said: \u201cOverall the mission at the Kennedy Center will be consistent throughout the administration, making sure it\u2019s serving the American taxpayer correctly, making sure we\u2019re uprooting any D.E.I. or woke ideology, and making sure we clean up waste, fraud and abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n The bulk of the Kennedy Center\u2019s revenues \u2014 $121 million \u2014 are derived from ticket sales and other forms of earned income, such as space rentals and the fees paid for broadcast rights to performances and other events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The center hosts more than 2,000 engagements each year and runs a variety of education programs, which also generate income. The center has expanded its offerings in recent years in an effort to reach new audiences, with genres like comedy and hip-hop now side by side with classical music, ballet and theater. The campus includes three large performance halls and two midsize theaters.<\/p>\n Also income-producing are two major broadcast events: the presentation of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the Kennedy Center Honors program, which celebrates prominent people in the arts with a black-tie telecast.<\/p>\n A CBS spokesperson said that it would broadcast the next honors program as planned in December. The broadcaster\u2019s 10-year agreement with the Kennedy Center expires after this year.<\/p>\n Netflix, which streams the Twain prize ceremony held in March, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Two financial bulwarks for the center have been their flagship companies, the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra. Even with the new leadership, the opera and the symphony are expected to maintain a regular performance schedule at the center. The symphony will lead a long-planned tour next month in Florida, including a stop in West Palm Beach, not far from Mar-a-Lago. The musicians issued a statement last week saying they were \u201cproud to perform for our patrons, our community in our nation\u2019s capital, and the country at large.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n There have also been protest cancellations by performers, though not yet on a scale that would suggest a significant financial impact. The actress Issa Rae, who was set to appear next month at the Kennedy Center for \u201cAn Evening With Issa Rae,\u201d canceled the engagement<\/a> because of what she described as \u201can infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n