Much of what we read in the financial press these past few weeks and months speaks of increasing economic volatility and political and market uncertainty. Talk is less about will there be an economic recession, but when will we see the next downturn.
Long-term Perspective
At the Ontario Arts Foundation, we continue to hold a long-term perspective and our choice of investment managers and strategies is focused on a portfolio of assets well positioned to grow their businesses over time, are financially strong and able to weather the vagaries of the economy and political climate. That doesn’t mean, we won’t be subject to short term ‘swings’ in value, but a focus on capital preservation and growing it responsibly can mitigate the day to day and month to month market volatility. Most importantly, for our donors and arts organizations, our investment strategy is structured to continue to deliver a stable source of annual income, revenue arts organizations can count on for the long term.
But what should you do as an arts organization in this environment?
This recent blog post Barry’s blog – “What Do You Do if the Economy Goes South” offers suggestions, that make good sense for positioning themselves for financial stability. Arts and culture organizations are often under-capitalized and may not have deep operating reserves, and earned income is often not sufficient to offset changes in other revenue sources such as government grants, performance/exhibition revenue or donor gifts. The suggestions the article offers are simple and this is a good time for arts managers and their Boards to review their financial strategies.