Kennedy Center Update!

Kennedy Center Update! IN THE RED EDITION 
Check out original podcast for more info: https://youtu.be/R5Y6rvsoMWM?feature=shared

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We like I got called What it dude this your boy Sally Sell Philanthropy in the Black and this is an update on the Kennedy Center show the Backup right this is an update is an in the red update and in the red means you know the name of the show is in the black but when you go in the red you're broke but for us and our purposes this is just about when nonprofits do something that makes all of us look bad and what we can learn from it. So we're gonna start with this update on this Kennedy Center foolishness, right? So as of September 15th, the Kennedy Center board has voted to close the main Kennedy Center building for about two years, right? Two years only. Those performances are going dark. Pickle the distinction. But the entire Kennedy Center is not disappearing, people. Uh current plans calls for the reach uh part of the Kennedy Center, which is like a 60,000 square foot expansion, and artistic things happen on this particular grounds of the Kennedy Center all the time. That's still gonna be popping off. Also, pro other programming will continue there or possibly move off campus to other venues. So it's not all closing, despite what these people are saying, right? So there's they they're trying to get you, they're trying to clickbait you, right? The Kennedy Center, from what the board submitted uh in this report, is going through financial crises. Go watch the podcast about the funding. But they're saying basically they they have a $23 million deficit and they might not be able to make payroll and so on and so forth. Because they're saying earned revenue is falling. Now, the interesting part of that is that we don't have an updated 990, the form nonprofits uh file with the IRS, since showing how much money you made and how much money you spent. It's from 2024, and it was looking good. However, they're saying, you know, right now people aren't supporting. Could be true, could not be true, could be politics. But for us as uh donors and visitors, it's the idea of what does it mean for us? That's what this is about. This is Philanthropy and the Black. I'm not here to gossip a little bit, but not a lot. But what we want to know is if you have tickets, membership, uh reservations up to upcoming events, check with the Kennedy Center. Don't just assume it's all gone, right? Like, watch the headlines, watch the clickbait. They're trying to get you, right? If you're a donor, you want to know, hey man, where my where's my gift going? What's gonna happen in these next two years? You don't want to not support the Kennedy Center, right? That's still a line of funding through ticket sales and merch and so on and so forth. So for us in the nonprofit sector, it's important to just realize that buildings can close, right? Happens all the time. Names can change, whether or not this one does, we don't know. But um, leadership, that's another thing that can change. It changes a lot, and we got a few years to go through what we're going through, you know. But your relationship with your donors and your artists and your audiences, the community, you cannot slow that down or shut that down for two years. You have to have a whole machine behind making sure people get the right information, making sure people understand what's about to happen. Now is not the time to go quiet because again, the entire building is not closing down, people. I mean, the entire facility, it will in fact affect employees and things of that nature. It's very unfortunate. This is ridiculous, it could be politically motivated, or they could be broke, but you know, they get like 260 million dollars from the federal government, restricted for capital improvements, even though from what I read, a piece of the ceiling fell down in the main part of the the Kennedy Center, that main building is they say they gotta close it. But listen, nonprofits, this kind of shenanigans hurts all of us because it creates an atmosphere of mistrust or distrust among our donors and supporters. So we cannot have this, but listen, the entire facility is in closing. Um, the main building is it's going to hurt uh ticket sales, it's going to hurt fundraising, despite what the board is saying, which used to be a non-partisan board, go watch the previous podcast about the center. So that is your update. Don't get clickbait. This is a in the red wee wee wee wee wee like a cop call. Peace. Go check out the podcast, philanthropy in the black.com.