By Karim Olaechea, Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

National surveys such as the National Endowment for the Arts’ Survey of Public Participation in the Arts and American for the Arts’ National Arts Index indicate attendance trending downward during the recession. This was not the case in the Philadelphia region according the 2011 Portfolio, a report just released by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

From FY 2007 to FY 2009, the Cultural Alliance documented a 5% increase in attendance, an 8% increase in memberships and subscriptions and a 20% increase in individual giving at area cultural nonprofits. Overall, individuals pumped $406 million into Philadelphia’s cultural nonprofit sector in FY 2009, an increase of $47 million over FY07. “Arts and culture is crucial to Philadelphia’s economy, unites our communities and educates our children, and, in return, the residents of the region have stepped up their support when we were most vulnerable,” said Tom Kaiden, Cultural Alliance President. “But while culture is highly valued, there are real challenges to non-profits.”

Individuals’ investments in Philadelphia’s cultural sector helped mitigate the damage done by the recession. Large drops in the values of investment portfolios, belt-tightening on the part of corporate and foundation donors and cuts to government funding, outweighed individuals’ efforts and helped push more of the area’s nonprofit arts organizations into the red.

The single largest drop in revenues was due to losses in investment portfolios. Excluding those investment losses, revenues fell 12% overall for arts and cultural organizations. When those realized and unrealized investment and interest losses are factored in, total revenues fell 43%, or $527 million. In an effort to adapt to leaner times, Philadelphia’s cultural organizations have cut administrative staff, increased productivity, deferred facility repairs and shifted more of their marketing costs online.

The 2011 Portfolio is an in-depth look at the Philadelphia’s non-profit arts and cultural institutions, documenting a sector that draws 17 million visits annually, and employs a workforce of more than 24,000 staff and 38,000 volunteers.

The report is based on detailed financial and organizational information reported by 405 cultural organizations to the Pennsylvania Cultural Data Project (CDP), a statewide data collection effort operated by The Pew Charitable Trusts. CDP was created to provide access to reliable data about the cultural sector in order to enhance both individual organizational capacity as well as the overall effectiveness of the nonprofit cultural community. Additional information on CDP is available at www.culturaldata.org.

The 2011 Portfolio was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, PNC, William Penn Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

The publication is available online at www.philaculture.org and printed copies are available upon request.