‘Scraping by’

Organizers of free downtown events look for additional support

by

[This is the second story in a two-part cover story. The first piece on the state of downtown Madison is here.]

People who plan ahead can put their blankets down on the Capitol lawn at 3 p.m. for Concerts on the Square. By that time, eight hired stagehands are setting up the stage, and 40 people — a mixture of volunteers, staff and union employees — are preparing tables available for reservation. Musicians arrive by 5 p.m.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the nonprofit group that puts on Concerts on the Square, spends about $1.1 million to host the six-performance series — that covers musician wages, city and state permits, purchasing concessions, 20 seasonal workers, and four production partners. Seventy-five volunteers also help out with set-up and running the event. The concerts, in turn, bring in about $800,000 in revenue, the largest share coming from corporate sponsorships, at about $450,000. Tables available for purchase bring in another $300,000 and concessions and merchandise $50,000. The organization does collect contributions from attendees digitally and with donation buckets.

Downtown events like Concerts on the Square, Jazz at Five and Mad Lit are held on public property and bring in millions of dollars for area businesses, but little direct public money goes to support the events.

“We’ve done this for 41 years, and we see it always as being part of our future,” says Joe Loehnis, CEO of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; Pleasant Rowland, creator of the American Girl doll, founded the series as a free event in 1983. “But when we lose $300,000 doing it, we have to figure out other ways to support it.”

Loehnis is looking to meet with local officials to collaboratively find solutions to help sustain the concerts, which in 2024 drew up to 50,000 people to the steps of the Capitol every Wednesday for six weeks to enjoy live orchestral music. He’s not yet sure what those solutions will look like; earmarking a percent of parking fees to arts organizations might be one option. But, he adds, “We don’t want to come with answers.”

He is not alone in hoping for some financial support.

“We scrape every year just to pull this off,” says Rob Dz, founder of Mad Lit, a Friday night concert series on State Street that highlights artists and businesses of color. “I’m not saying that we should have eons and eons of money. But at least just make it a little bit easier for us to be able to do right by the town, because that’s all we’re trying to do.”

How are these events funded?

Public funding for the arts in Wisconsin is scarce — the state is 49th in the nation for state-level arts funding, at 18 cents per capita, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Neighboring Illinois and Minnesota spend $2.71 and $10.05 respectively.

The city’s arts commission is slated to distribute about $106,000 in grants through next year, though artists and nonprofit arts groups had requested $227,432. Dane Arts, the county’s arts funding commission, will distribute about $219,000 in grants in 2025.

Downtown events planners Isthmus spoke with say they largely rely on private philanthropy, not public funding. Concerts on the Square received a $1,500 grant from the Madison Arts Commission in 2024, another $1,500 grant from the Dane County Arts Commission, and about $8,000 in general support from the Wisconsin Arts Board. That’s 0.01% of the series’ operating budget.

Jazz at Five, a five-concert jazz series that’s been running from August to September since 1994, has operated at a loss every year since the pandemic, says Spencer Stanbery, event director for the organization. Organizational costs in 2024 were $65,000, while revenue was $54,000.

Stanbery says the nonprofit has thus far been able to absorb the deficit, though “it would be a concern” if it were to persist long term. He’s hoping 2025 will be the first year since the pandemic that the organization breaks even. To bring in more funding, the organization has partnered with the AC Hotel Madison to do “fundraising performances” and will be working with another sponsor, the Badger Fund of Funds, to put on an “entrepreneur happy hour event with a jazz band” in Milwaukee.

“I think through these additional events and a little more help from the community, I’m not too worried about [the deficit],” says Stanbery.

Stanbery says it’s hard to rely on public funding to alleviate budget concerns. The dollar amounts distributed are often significantly less than what’s asked for, and grant application processes are time-consuming and come with strict criteria.

“It’s safer for us to rely more on sponsors and donors and that event cash that we get,” says Stanbery — the organization collects most of its donations as cash on-site or digitally the day of the performance.

Dz says that Mad Lit, too, largely relies on private philanthropy, but has turned a profit each year since starting in 2021. Its greatest public financial contributor is the city’s Economic Development Division — the city council in May approved a $30,000 grant for the series. He says he’s “thrilled” for the financial support, saying that it allows the organization to recruit vendors and more easily set up. 

He’d like to see even more public support and help from downtown organizations too.

“I mean, when you have organizations like [Downtown Madison Inc.] and the [Business Improvement District] who are concerned with the wellbeing of downtown and want the work of having everyone included, you know, it’s hard for us to get any support from them,” says Dz. “I know they’re not a single-source funding operation, but if we’re doing this work at least be able to point us to organizations downtown that might be able to contribute to the cause.”

Jason Ilstrup, president of Downtown Madison Inc., says Mad Lit is a “fantastic festival series” which his organization is “willing to further support” in any way it can. The Business Improvement District is also supportive, says executive director Matt Tramel, “which is why we’ll continue to provide logistical and marketing support whenever possible.” That said, he adds, “We’re also a nonprofit organization and face the same funding constraints that can limit our programming resources.”

Why fund these events?

Free concerts and festivals are a staple of Madison summers. And they’re not just for the locals. They boost tourism and local commerce and are used as recruiting tools by large employers.

“A visible arts and culture community is important to any economy,” says Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. “Anybody who tells you that it’s not doesn’t understand how economies work, particularly when it comes to talent and workforce.”

Arts and culture events serve as a valuable retention and recruitment tool for local businesses, says Brandon, and the direct financial benefits are also substantial: A 2023 study by UW-Whitewater researchers found visitor spending at Concerts on the Square has a nearly $16 million annual impact on the local economy.

Beyond finances, the events, organizers say, also allow community members a chance to engage with each other in new ways. Dz came up with the idea for Mad Lit after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and subsequent protests in Madison: “I got a chance to see people talking that I never really saw talk to each other before.”

“Pre-COVID, the likelihood of a white person just interacting with a Black person was far and few in between, if you want me to be honest,” says Dz.

He wondered how he could keep the momentum going. Music was going to be a part of it. But after living on State Street for eight years, he had also seen that “a lot of businesses had left the downtown area.” That’s where the idea to add businesses and visual artists to the event came from. “The whole premise was like, how do we have folks of color be involved in this process of downtown, because we have something to offer,” notes Dz.

Five years later, the event is a summer staple. But, like other downtown arts festivals, it could always use some more support.

Loehnis says that going to free arts festivals in Madison makes him realize that “this is why I want to choose to live in Madison.” He asks others to reflect on their own relationship to these communal, cultural events.

“How do you feel right now? Do you feel good? Do you feel connected to the community?” says Loehnis. “What is it worth to you to keep this thing in our community?”Â