The Kennedy Center Under Donald Trump

Before I finish up my week blogging, I need to mention last Sunday’s news: Donald Trump announced that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will shut down on July 4 for at least a couple years, while some kind of renovation happens.

The Kennedy Center has faced rough times under Trump. Shortly after his inauguration, he purged the board, appointed loyalists, and the new board voted for Trump as chair. Then, a few months later, the board voted (in derogation of the relevant federal statute) to add Trump’s name to the institution.

That, plus policy changes implemented by the new board, has led to a raft of artists cancelling their appearances there. On top of that, ticket sales have fallen precipitously.

The Kennedy Center is a weird hybrid entity. It was created by statute, and the statute provided the president with authority to select the board. Its website describes it as a “unique public/private partnership.” The federal government pays for upkeep to the physical building and grounds, but donations and ticket sales fund its operations.

In fact, program services revenue represents 35% or more of the Kennedy Center’s annual revenue; if its policies and politics cause performers to stop performing and audiences to stop coming, that will significantly hurt the Center’s operations.

Is this an indictment of the public/private model? It worked for 60 years. But it turns out that nonprofits are ill-equipped to deal with bad actors–they largely depend on board members acting voluntarily in the institution’s best interests. Where that breaks down (here, but also in the case of Queens Defenders), that can do real and lasting harm to the nonprofit institution.

Photo by Vincent Yuan @USA on Unsplash