from Molly Hansen, Director of Development
Important food for thought from Time Magazine (courtesy of “You’ve Cott Mail”). I truly believe that our passion for feeding the human spirit through theatre is essential to our well-being. We are deeply grateful to those who share our passion through their financial support.
From Time Magazine, 4/30/09
At the “confluence of passion and pragmatism,” as one executive puts it, a handful of companies across the U.S. continue to support arts organizations in an economy not given to song and dance. The fine arts have been roughed up by this recession, some fatally. But enterprises such as Omaha Steaks, Target, AutoZone and Olive Garden — despite struggling themselves — are standing by commitments to keep dance troupes, museums, orchestras and theater groups alive one burger, towel set, windshield wiper and pizza at a time. “When the economy is struggling, the arts help people move forward,” says Todd Simon, senior vice president of Omaha Steaks. The company donates “seven figures a year,” according to Simon, to the Omaha Symphony, the Omaha Performing Arts Society and Opera Omaha, among others. Simon cites a local 2007 study showing that every $1 million added to the budgets of Omaha’s nonprofit arts organizations generates three times that amount in economic activity, plus $1 million in wages and salaries and almost $1 million in annual state and local taxes. Simon’s executive summary: “You can’t argue with those kinds of numbers … especially when you consider the power of the arts to educate, energize and bring people together.”
