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Although donations are up more than 60 percent so far this year, the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton might be forced to close its doors by the end of the summer, because the museum’s operating costs are too high.
Signs that the museum is facing serious financial trouble surfaced when museum officials recently decided to scale down the ninth annual benefit, CMEE Under the Stars, because of slow ticket sales. The event, which was scheduled to include dinner and dancing under a tent on the Ludlow farm overlooking Mecox Bay this Friday, July 11, will instead be a cocktail party on the grounds of the museum on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.
“Given the financial difficulties CMEE is facing right now, we thought it would be fiscally prudent to downsize the benefit,” said museum board member Jackie Lowey. She added that the last time she’d looked at the figures, about 170 people had bought tickets to the event—down from 300 reservations at the same time last year.
The event raised in excess of $300,000 in 2006, the most recent year for which the museum’s tax return is available. Revenue from that event accounted for more than one-sixth of the museum’s $1.8 million operating budget that year.
Ms. Lowey said that the museum is currently functioning “hand-to-mouth” and needed to increase fund-raising this year in order to pay the mortgage, expenses and staff. The museum is paying off a $4 million, 25-year construction loan at a cost of $20,000 a month.
Though the museum has already raised $872,000 so far this year, compared with $545,000 at the same point last year, the museum’s treasurer, Adeline Neubert, said that many regular donors who gave late in 2007 made contributions early this year, giving the museum cause to worry that its “small inner circle” of donors has been effectively tapped for the year. Slumping ticket sales for the summer benefit were a sign that a downturn in funding might be on its way.
“CMEE was hit hard in this economy,” Ms. Lowey said. “Fuel costs are through the roof. Insurance is expensive. All the costs are going up. We need to bring in more money to sustain the operation.”
The museum will need to raise at least half a million dollars this summer in order to stay open, according to Ms. Neubert, In a normal year, she said, the museum would easily take in that much over the summer. This year, she’s not so sure.
Ms. Lowey said that all of the museum’s summer programs will continue this year, regardless of how much the museum manages to raise this summer. But if fund-raising goals are not met by the end of the summer, she said the museum will suspend programming, close its doors, and “basically move to a skeletal staff and work to raise the money to re-open.”
“Now more than ever, we need the community to come together to support CMEE,” said Ms. Lowey. “We don’t want to keep raising our rates to cover our costs. Then we don’t cover the population we serve.”
“We’re cutting back on things, without affecting operations: stationery, any fluff that you can possibly imagine. We’re repairing our exhibits in-house,” said Ms. Neubert.
She added that the museum has laid off three employees and is currently operating with a staff of eight. The gift shop has also been closed.
Ms. Lowey said that the museum, which just began its third season, is suffering because it is a relatively new non-profit in a crowded field of worthy causes on the East End. She hopes that, through aggressive fund-raising, the museum will be able to create an endowment to sustain it for the long term.
That’s not a priority for now, Ms. Neubert said. “I would love to have an endowment, but when you don’t have enough to have your operating budget covered, that’s something you have to put on the secondary plate. It’s something that I would like to see us wrap into the next phase of the capital campaign.”
Though Ms. Lowey described the museum’s board as a “committed, active” one, the leadership at the helm of the organization has changed dramatically in the past year.
Adrienne Kitaeff left her post as executive director at the end of May 2007. The post was just recently filled by Steve Long, a former vice president of collections and education at the Tenement Museum on New York’s Lower East Side.
At the time she left, Ms. Kitaeff and members of the board declined to comment on the reason for her departure, other than to say that it was a mutual decision.
This week, Ms. Kitaeff said, “It’s really difficult to comment. I haven’t been there for so long.” She added that she was shocked to hear the news that the museum might shut down. “One can always be critical, but that probably wouldn’t be the best thing,” she said.
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(Abe, the Hampton Classic Horse Show provides major funding to the Southampton Hospital, so it can't be said that it is not giving back to the communtiy.)
As an observer over the years, I believe these were some of the problems that led to this situation;
The museum design does not allow for the mobility of exhibit changes easily. The age group is too limited.
Children must be stimulated with constant change, to encourage them to want to revisit again and again.
Their were too many chiefs interfering, ... more not permitting the Director to fulfill her full potential.
The gift shop, an asset to any museum, was not given the opportunity to perform to it's full potential, due to poor financial advise.
Much effort and love was put into this museum. We hope it was not in vain. With proper direction we feel it still can be successful.
"According to a document filed with the Internal Revenue Service in 1996, Mr. Hitchcock and his wife were paid a base salary of $70,000 each, and the event listed gross revenues of $1.4 million. Its expenses were more than $1.3 million. The total amount given to charity was $54,100, of which $50,000 went to Southampton Hospital. "
I retract my comment "dont give anything back to the community" but would ... more like to revise it to "give back very little given how much they raise."
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