Life as a Modern Dancer

Becoming an Arts Administrator: Understanding Budgets, Organization Size, Income, and Expenses

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From Blog Director Jill Randall:

I am pleased to add another component to the blog. Once a month, a post will share ideas and details for dancers interested in arts administration. Dancers interested in working for a dance company, nonprofit arts organization, community center, studio, or arts council will find practical and important details as you explore this career option.

Many dancers, including myself, frequently find themselves in arts administration roles with no formal training in finance, management, public relations, and marketing. Whether you opt for a career in arts administration or not, understanding the work and its role in supporting the arts is of value.

The goal of these posts is to help you on your way, inspire you, and offer you resources.

I have two wonderful advisors for this blog feature. Rebecca Johnson is a long-time arts administrator residing in the San Francisco Bay Area with experience with grantwriting, public relations, and fundraising for nonprofits, dance companies, and dance centers. Marlena Oden has worked in both the San Francisco Bay Area as well as New York City, working on programming, marketing, and management with dance centers, artists, nonprofits, and arts education organizations.

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BECOMING AN ARTS ADMINISTRATOR: UNDERSTANDING BUDGETS, ORGANIZATION SIZE, INCOME, AND EXPENSES

Okay, you have landed a job as an arts administrator. One of the most important details to understand early on is related to money. 

ORGANIZATION SIZE

Arts organizations can so greatly vary in terms of budget size. Are you working a few hours a week for a dance festival, with an annual budget of $20,000? Are you working for a ballet company with an operating budget of over $5 million? Or, are you at an arts education organization with a budget around $1 million?

BUDGET AND ANNUAL REPORTS
 
To gain context for your work, ask to see the current budget, and possibly the budgets from the last 2 years as well. Larger organizations might also have Annual Reports available.  A careful read of a budget will give you a clear sense of the income and expenses. Non-profits vary in goals each year — to make money, break even, or even lose money some years. Looking at the budget from this year and a few years past will provide a larger picture. If an organization is losing money, it might not be a "bad thing." If the organization just did major improvements to its building, they might be working at a loss for a few years until they recover the costs. Some organizations might need to lose money in order to grow longer term.

INCOME

 
Arts organizations vary in programming, and thus income. Income can come from class tuition, ticket sales, grants, and donations. Looking over the budgets of your organization, what are the various income sources? For example, your arts organization might receive 90% of its income from grants and donations; only 10% of the income comes from schools paying for classes and workshops.

EXPENSES

 
When you first begin in arts administration, some of the expenses might be completely unfamiliar to you – liability insurance, mortgages, workers comp, and more. If possible, sit down with your employer and find out what these expenses are. Most likely, your employer will appreciate your effort to learn, ask questions, and gather context.

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Gaining a sense of the budget, and the scale of your organization, will provide a solid foundation as you begin your job. Whether with a very modest budget or a budget of millions, lots of wonderful and meaningful work is happening in arts organizations throughout the United States. On a personal level, understanding budgets can give you perspective on pay scales and how you can grow within an organization.

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I’m Jill, the creator and editor for this site. I am passionate about sharing artists’ journeys and offerings resources and inspiration for the field.

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