County arts groups rely on sweat equity to sustain their existence

The dozens of small arts groups throughout Boulder County reach hundreds of people in the community with opportunities to participate in creating music, visual arts, dance, theater and other art forms.

But historically these groups operate on a shoestring budget, as many local non-profits do. Attracting participants usually is no problem, but paying for materials, instructors and space is. The bottom line is they all must operate as businesses, with budgets, salaries, costs and products despite their missions to provide a service rather than a sale.

The Helander Dance Theater of Boulder, directed by Danelle Helander, received $2,000 from the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District, which is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties. The SCFD funds groups in three tiers of groups, Tier III being the smallest cultural groups. And each county funds its own arts groups within Tier III. Helander Dance Theater is a Tier III group, along with 57 others, which received a combined total of $476,946 as Boulder County’s allocation.

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“It’s wonderful to see the creative efforts grow in Boulder County with SCFD funding support,´ said Pasco Scarpella, chair of SCFD’s Boulder County Citizens Cultural Advisory Committee in a prepared statement. “In 2000, the cultural and scientific organizations here will be able to provide wonderfully diverse offerings for our communities.”

But a few thousand dollars is not always enough to cover rent, phone lines, printing and postage, Web pages and events.

“We have to pay $200 a month in rent plus utilities on the pottery studio. The pottery studio is self-supporting, with the help of the town of Nederland,´ said Janette Taylor, coordinator and founder of the Nederland Arts Co-op, which offers painting, drawing, pottery and sculpture classes. “Through the pottery courses, it pays its rent, pays its teachers, pays its materials.”

But the other space occupied by the arts co-op, 1,200 square feet, is not self-supporting. “We have decided instead to turn it into a gallery, since there is no place to show art in Nederland,” Taylor said. “The only way that gallery is going to survive is through additional grant money or if the artists pay the rent themselves. The group has existed for two and a half years on the backs of the artists.”

Other fund raising is necessary. Often groups will have an annual gala where a chunk of the money is raised for operating expenses. Ticket sales to events is another way money flows in.

“We made $2,400 at our fund-raiser. It was an hors d’oeuvres-wine tasting-dancing sort of thing. It was called an Evening in Provence.”

The event was more than six months ago, and already the co-op has spent the money on materials for the pottery studio, lighting and maintenance equipment. With an annual budget of about $4,000, one fund-raiser and income from the cost of pottery classes just about covers the costs for the co-op. But if the organization were to try to move to another location, it would most likely go under. Nederland started a community center, and the co-op rents a room there for its studio at a reduced rate.

“I know that it couldn’t exist without the town starting the community center. I think the unique aspect here is the community center,” Taylor said.

For the Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival, rent isn’t an issue. The group’s board communicates through e-mails and phone calls, so a phone bill is one expense. And with only a volunteer board of five people, there is no staff to pay.

“The problem is getting people motivated to volunteer,” says Frank French, festival founder and director of the Ragtime Institute, held during the festival. “They have to recognize it’s their responsibility if they want to see the festival.”

French said the board will retire from their positions after this year’s festival. Many have been volunteering for years, and as President Jack Rummel says, “We’re suffering from burnout.”

The institute, where classes art taught to young musicians interested in learning ragtime, runs from July 10-12, and the festival, which puts on three major concerts and many smaller performances, runs July 13-17. The cost to put on the event is projected to be $37,000. According to French, the SCFD contributes $2,500 in grants – less than 10 percent of the total cost.

“I think this year’s festival is going to do fine,´ said Rummel, a dentist in Boulder. I think we’ve gotten in place what we need to have in place. We always get quite a number of volunteers who step forward to work during the time of the festival itself. What we need is a core of long-term volunteers to do this. I don’t think there’s going to be a Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival in 2001.

“But we may find at this year’s festival a number of people who want to volunteer.”