At museum, they want to avoid seeing red

An addition, with a cafe and gift shop, should open within a month.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As an uncooperative stock market is forcing museums across the nation to lay off employees and cut programs, the Butler Institute of American Art has tightened its belt but, so far, remains mostly unscathed.
"We're playing it close," said Dr. Louis Zona, the museum's executive director. "We're not spending what we don't have."
Some programs and exhibitions have been postponed -- so have raises, but no one has lost a job.
"I don't want to lay anyone off," the director said. "We have really dedicated people here. It's a first-class staff."
Museum hours remain unchanged.
Funding
Half of the museum's operating budget of just more than $2 million comes from funds generated by an endowment. The rest comes from contributions, gift shop revenues, fund-raisers and membership fees.
With the slumping economy, endowment funds are not performing as well as may have been hoped. As a result, museums and other nonprofit groups have suffered.
"It's something that every nonprofit institution is facing right now. There's no question about it. We're all affected by it, churches, universities, museums," Zona said.
In a "2003 Museum Financial Information" survey by the American Association of Museums, 62 percent of museums responding -- nearly 500 -- have endowments. Surveys were sent in September 2000 and asked respondents to consider their most recent completed fiscal year.
Among 347 museums with endowments, 80 percent reported a decrease in endowment value caused by fluctuations in market value. The median amount of decrease was $250,000.
But Zona said the Butler has operated in the black over the years and will not slip into the red now.
"We've hit no panic buttons here," he said.
Addition
Instead, Butler staff and friends are looking toward the completion of a new $1 million addition on the museum's west side. The partially glass-enclosed area will include a cafe and a new gift shop -- triple the size of the current shop. Zona said the area should be up and operating within a month.
"The cafe will be a very good addition, not only as a good source of revenue, but also as a place where people can come and enjoy a cup of coffee and enjoy the arts."
The cafe will be operated by Thymely Events Inc., the same group that runs cafes in the Poland and Austintown libraries. The gift shop is run entirely by volunteers.
The addition was funded with $1 million from the Doris and Jack Andrews Foundation.
"We've put it to good use with the idea that this addition will assist the museum for years to come," Zona said.
viviano@vindy.com