Rome Area Council for the Arts headquarters at 248 Broad Street in Rome. (Lindy D. Cordell, RN-T.com)
RACA president Sherry Childs said Monday that despite fundraising efforts, declining contributions from community members prompted the difficult decision.
“We are not unlike many other nonprofit organizations,” she said. “We depend largely on the generosity of our members and contributors, just like many other art organizations. Donations have been down and even though we’ve had successful fundraisers, it was not enough to sustain our operations at the present location.
“Having faced the worst financial crisis in our organization’s history, we had to look at reality and make decisions based on where we were,” she said.
Those decisions include moving out of a highly visible downtown location at 248 Broad St. and releasing recently appointed executive director Rebecca Koontz.
“Releasing Rebecca was absolutely a financial decision and a very tough one,” Childs said. “We want to thank Rebecca for her service. She has done some wonderful things for our organizations.”
Despite the organization’s financial troubles, however, Childs said she wants to make it clear that the work RACA has always done will continue — albeit under different circumstances — until it regains its financial footing.
“RACA is not going away,” she said. “We have some very dedicated board members and organization members who are committed to continuing the mission that was started over 34 years ago. That mission to promote and support the arts is as important today as it was when RACA was founded.”
The organization is currently operating on a volunteer basis and Childs said she and other board members are finalizing details with another location.
The current officers of RACA are Childs, president; Scott Moody, immediate past president, David Dohrmann, vice president, Sharon Foxworthy, secretary and Cathy Aldredge, treasurer.
“We’ll operate for a period of time on a volunteer basis and look at reorganization,” she said. “We’ll look at the things we need to put into place to carry out our mission. We’ll look at what it is we do well and how we can best provide the most services to the most number of people in our community.”
Childs said she hopes to have more information on a new RACA location within a month, but emphasized that the board welcomes community members to contact them with suggestions and contributions. She said the board is open to ideas as it restructures the organization.
“The arts are an extremely important part of our community,” she said. “Give us your ideas on restructuring and on contributing. We can’t do this alone."
The arts must learn to use all resources. Too many people who have been very outspoken supporters of the arts would be appalled by the idea of getting advertisement money from companies unless they gave it up with no win for them. Many folks especially here in the south love the arts more than some may think especially theater music and history. Investments in advertisements of diverse arts programs is a must. You gotta get the word out. You will have to even have some programs you may not like personnaly but attract many others. It must be a win for all parties and it must be funded. All the passion in the world dies quickly with out it. No matter how insensitive that sounds it is the truth.
Where are the voices of the current arts leaders in Rome on this thread?
The topic was the arts in Rome and Floyd County, if anyone recalls or cares.
I think it is interesting that Floyd County taxpayers are willing to contribute $4 million a year for parks and recreation, but only $7,500 a year for the arts. Does anyone else see that as a lack of balance between funding for parks and recreation and funding for arts and culture?
In addition, when was the last time the City of Rome spent money to build an arts facility? No guesses? The answer is 1916 when they built the Rome City Auditorium. That means it has been 94 years since the City invested in arts infrastructure.
Would you like to know how much the City and County have spent on parks and recreation infrastructure since 1916? No guesses, again? More than $100 million.
So, is it any wonder that the arts and culture organizations in Rome and Floyd County find it difficult to survive? And is it any wonder that Rome and Floyd County have facilities and attractions that draw tourists to parks and recreation facilities? I think the answer is obvious.
So, what's the next question? How about this: what opportunities are Rome and Floyd County missing out on in terms of providing educational and cultural experiences for their children, providing a well-rounded quality of life for their citizens, and generating economic impact from cultural tourism through their significant neglect of arts funding and arts infrastructure?
Numerous studies have demonstrated that arts experiences improve learning capacity for children. Studies have also shown that the arts improve longevity and mental clarity for seniors. The arts also improve civic participation in communities. The also generate significant economic impact. In fact, recent studies have shown that baby boomer retirees much prefer hiking and arts & culture, over organized recreation like tennis and golf.
Wake up Rome, you're missing the boat.
And of course, you take the stand that all these WONDERFUL progressives in Rome are SOOOOOOOO much smarter than the everyday, common, blue-collar, traditional Southern conservatives who grew up in this area.
And tell me again why we should open our minds to your ideals and philosophies, when you treat people like this?
You're not progressive at all... you are close minded, pretentious, condescending and mean, and that's why people don't care if you and your progressives jump in a river, and we CERTAINLY don't care if you lose your precious, silly little RACA.
By the way, I am a supporter of the arts... but not Floyd County arts. There is not any quality art around here that intrigues me. I much prefer to go to Atlanta to find some fascinating galleries, concerts and exhibits. Why don't all you whiny progressives do the same and not hold Rome and Floyd County accountable to have things to suit YOUR taste?
One last point: If you think Rome is such a "river of muck", why the crap don't you leave?
And for what it's worth, to the first posters below: RACA's Broad Street location brought VERY LITTLE traffic to downtown. Events like cook-offs, July 4 fireworks, Ridge Ferry Park concerts, and athletic events draw the crowds to this area. And a new tennis center would be a financial gain for this city... why don't you progressives support such an initiative?
Everyone have a wonderful day.