The Bottom Line Report

The report examines organizational bottom lines using data collected from over 2,500 different cultural organizations between 2016 and 2019, broken down by sector, size, and location. Overall, findings reveal that bottom lines were higher in 2019 than in 2016 despite the annual diminishing of surpluses since their 2017 peak, all during a period of economic growth in the U.S.

Released during a tumultuous climate at the beginning of 2021 - we can use these findings to answer key questions about how prepared organizations were to weather the downturn brought about by the pandemic, and how pre-pandemic can data help organizations and funders benchmark and rebuild for the future.

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How To Use This Report

• Compare these findings against your organization's scores. Log into the KIPI Dashboard.

• Get a better sense of pre-pandemic averages and trends to deepen our understanding of where organizations were as they headed into the crisis

• Contextualize the effects of the pandemic and tell your organization's story using a data-driven approach

• Debunk preconceived notions on how financially healthy certain cultural sectors were prior to the pandemic to inform funders and board members about where support may be needed now

• Refer to these findings to build a preparedness strategy for a post-pandemic era

 See Our Research Methodology