If ever there was a time for foundations to loosen their purse strings…

For the long 4th of July weekend, I traveled to the Berkshires and was reminded of the rich cultural heritage in the region when I attended a reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Led by local leaders and Berkshire County residents, the reading moved me as much by the parallels between 1776 and today as by the audience's gasps, cheers and applause. 

This reminded me of the many cultural outings I’ve had in the region. James Taylor and Carole King at Tanglewood (2010 Troubadour tour), “West Side Story” at Barrington Stage Company (2018), many performances at Jacob’s Pillow (both inside and outside), and countless other experiences. 

But what audiences are not seeing - what is behind the scenes – is the dire situation facing cultural institutions in every community across the country. 

In recent work with a client, I heard a repeated refrain from at least four different theatre companies about the financial challenges far more dire than I’ve ever heard in my 35+ years in this sector. Attendance is down, competition with in-home entertainment is unmatched, individual and institutional giving has dropped, and government support is being cut. 

And it isn’t just theatre. Federal funding cuts are hitting the entire arts ecosystem. NEA grant terminations in 2025 hit a Harlem classical theatre, a Minnesota/rural arts nonprofit, and a San Francisco environmental-art nonprofit — different missions, same mechanism. The cuts have created a domino effect across the nonprofit ecosystem: even organizations that didn't lose an NEA grant directly are finding their funders pulling back to plug holes elsewhere in the social safety net. 

The most recent full audited-year figures (FY2024) show nonprofit arts and culture revenue down 36% since 2019 after inflation, with 44% of organizations running deficits — the highest rate in six years — and working capital down to 4.2 months of coverage, leaving 42% of organizations with three months or less on hand. Performing arts organizations specifically saw steeper revenue and staffing declines than the sector average, a sharper hit than museums took.

And the trend didn't stabilize in 2026. CEPs State of Nonprofits 2026 survey found nonprofit CEOs reporting it's been harder to secure foundation grants since January 2025. AAM's survey of 511 museum directors, published this January, found over half report attendance still below 2019 levels, nearly a third pointing to economic uncertainty as the cause. The Chronicle of Philanthropy's 2026 outlook describes nonprofits entering this year with government dollars still shrinking, not recovering.

Meanwhile, cuts to health insurance access – the Congressional Budget Office estimates 1.3 million people will lose coverage this year and rising to 5.2 million by 2027 – push more demand onto nonprofits while pulling resources from others. 

Each unique in their own way, these experiences are essential to a civilized society: they strengthen community as a destination for residents and businesses alike, critical to the economy and vital to our collective sense of identity and belonging. Now, imagine a town or region without access to culture? Would you want to live in a town that had no access to music, outdoor trails, public parks, theatre, etc.? One that was only roads and cinderblock buildings? WHAT THEN? 

The data makes the stakes clear. The choices ahead are not. Government support is retreating. Earned revenue alone will not close the gap — loyal audiences can’t out-give a structural shortfall. That leaves philanthropy holding a disproportionate share of the answer, just as funders are tightening their own belts, too. But foundations are not bound by the constraints that bind government and earned revenue: they can move quickly, take risks public dollars can't, and choose, deliberately, to counter a cycle rather than follow it. If ever there was a time for foundations to loosen their purse strings, it is now — not as emergency triage, but as a recognition that the cultural infrastructure of a community, once lost, is exceptionally hard to rebuild. The theatre companies, museums, and cultural institutions holding our communities together are asking for partners willing to bet on them now, before the choice is no longer available. Sources: PBS NewsHour, 2025; Inside Philanthropy, 2025 & 2026; Culture for Hire, citing SMU DataArts, 2025; SMU DataArts, National Trends 2025 (FY2024 data); Center for Effective Philanthropy, State of Nonprofits 2026; The Art Newspaper, citing American Alliance of Museums, 2026; The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2026; Social Current, citing Congressional Budget Office estimates, 2026.