"Fixing" the Cultural Sector

I'm a millennial.

I'm one of those mysterious, fickle, and elusive creatures that the nonprofit world spends hours bemoaning, pandering to, and unsuccessfully wooing with direct mailers of personalized address labels that I will never put to use because I rarely use the USPS. I don't buy seasonal passes to the orchestra or box seats at the theatre, nor do I endow arts organizations with vast sums to incubate new talent. I don't think I've ever donated over $100 at a time to any one institution, including my alma mater. As far as the cultural sector is concerned, I'm a part of the problem. And I'd bet a good percentage of the audience that this article will reach fit into a similar category.

Millenials: How do they work? Source: US Navy

It's not that I don't care.

Or that I don't think the arts are worth supporting. On the contrary- I think that cultural experiences are vital and should be enjoyed by all. The thesis that I spend most of my time working on centers on the issue of nonprofit sustainability. I give as much money as I can when I can, and I quite often give of my time in the form of volunteer work. If I had more of either resource, I'd give it gladly.

It's not that my generation is all that different from any other.

It's the world that has changed and made old models of nonprofit funding untenable. To be dependent upon large donations or corporate endowments or sustained, consistent attendance is to depend upon the privileges and habits of a shrinking portion of the population. It is to ignore the hand-to-mouth, overscheduled, and overwhelmed reality that exists among the underpaid and debt-plagued masses, young and old. It's not personal. We're not buying paper napkins or diamonds or houses, either.

What's the solution?

Besides actively fighting extreme commodification of labor, devaluation of education, and the structural and social inequalities that keep many people marginalized and powerless? Just kidding-- there is no solution to the problem of nonprofit funding (whether in the cultural sector or any other) that does not acknowledge and thoughtfully engage with these issues. In fact, struggling organizations might take a lesson in survival strategies from the most economically disenfranchised among us: Engage in more Bartering, Sharing resources, and Economizing.

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