Cultural groups looking up

The impact of severe recession on the region's cultural organizations appears to be moderating, according to a survey released Friday by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Single-ticket sales are growing for 37 percent of the surveyed organizations, and 75 percent reported stable or increased individual giving.

But nearly half (49 percent) of those surveyed reported reduced government support, and more than a third said they had seen a decline in corporate support. Foundation support declined at 30 percent of the organizations and increased at 19 percent.

The alliance characterized the results as "initial signs of optimism following the most severe recession since the 1930s."

Tom Kaiden, the alliance's acting executive director, said the results are indicative of "an incredible will to make and enjoy art in this region." Cultural activity, he said, is "central to how we grow our economy, our communities, and ourselves."

The survey, which the alliance is conducting every six months to provide a snapshot of economic activity in the region's cultural sector, consisted of responses from more than 120 organizations of varying sizes and disciplines, an alliance spokesman said.

Other findings include:

43 percent of the organizations have already increased programming - or expect to increase it soon - to meet public demand;

Thirty-two percent of cultural leaders said they expect conditions to improve (up from 27 percent in October);

Twenty-five percent of the groups reported investment losses (compared to 34 percent in October);

Eight percent of the organizations expected staffing reductions in the next six months. (In October, 40 percent of the reporting organizations said they had reduced staff or programming, or expected to do so.)