An arts organization and theater in Plattsburgh says it may have to shut down this month if it can’t raise enough money to sustain itself amid a financial crisis.
The Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh is an epicenter of the arts scene in the area. It hosts classes, youth camps, private music lessons, and gallery exhibitions. It’s home to art studios and maker spaces. Plus, it fills a grand, 900-seat 1920s-style theater with performing arts shows and concerts.
The nonprofit has historically relied on that theater income to fund its operations, accounting for around 65% of its budget.
That really worked out last year, when ticket sales broke records and brought in over $800,000, Executive Director Megan Charland said.
But this year is a different story.
"It was around March, like the end of the first quarter, that trends were going down at an alarming rate, and donations are also down. Business sponsors were giving less," she said.
So far this year, theater ticket sales have gone down 27%, leading to a $140,000 drop in revenue. Charland attributes that to a nationwide trend of declining ticket sales and the overall cost-of-living struggles in the past year. Fundraising is also down 30%.
"We've exhausted a lot of other options to this point, and we're running out of time," she said. "There's a very good chance that we don't exist in two weeks."
The Strand is trying to raise $50,000 to keep the organization afloat. Since putting out the public call last week, it’s raised nearly half that amount.
Over the past few months, Charland said the nonprofit has cut expenses and is trying to find new ways to save money.
"We do not want to have to decrease the programming we're offering our community because we've grown it so much, and that growth only further proves how much the community wants this programming from us," she said. "So to kind of balance that out, we're looking at different models, just operating hours, if it's seasons that we're open and there's periods when we're closed."
Charland said The Strand also needs to change how they fund its operations. She said for the future, they want to rely more on fundraising and less on fluctuating theater revenue.
While they’re raising this emergency fund, Charland said people continuing to come to the Strand helps.
"We still want people to sign up for our classes. The classes are still running. We still want people to buy theater tickets. The theater shows are still running. We don't want anyone to be scared about tickets because they think our doors are going to close," she said.
The Strand is an important piece of the Plattsburgh community, Charland said. Not only does it have an economic impact for the city’s downtown, but it also brings people together.
"Where else around here are you going to be able to go in and dance and laugh and sing with 900 community members?" Charland said. "Our organization, we employ teaching artists. We have folks that are professional artists in the community that are exhibiting and publishing, and they get to share those skills with the community. You don't get to do that very often, and that's something we're incredibly proud to be able to provide," she said.
Charland said they’re pushing to get at least $25,000 more as soon as possible. She’s hopeful people can remember the good moments they’ve shared at the Strand and see it’s worth saving.