Forward or quote from Chorus America

“Choruses showed amazing adaptability and creativity in the face of COVID’s economic pressures. They grew their savings, and, in many cases, were actually able to improve their overall financial position. With the end of government relief funding and continued financial pressure from inflation, they are continuing to draw on that creativity and their community connections to stay strong for the future.”

Liza W. Beth, Vice President of Communication and Membership, Chorus America

SMU DataArts has partnered with Chorus America to examine data from 170 choruses across the country who completed a Cultural Data Profile from 2019 to 2023.

Inflation is an important backdrop to organizational operations in this period. Even as inflation rates have slowed over the last year, higher prices persist, with associated increases in costs, as well as fluctuations in participant and donor activity. Organizations across disciplines have experienced these effects, as detailed in our series of articles released last year. Our findings show that even as revenue sources have failed to keep pace with rising costs, choruses have kept an eye on bottom lines and showed resilience.

Choruses grew their savings during the pandemic, though that trend is reversing as high prices persist.

Key Findings

• The average working capital for choruses increased from 7.6 months of expenses in 2019 to 18.6 months in 2021, driven by reduced expenses and pandemic-related aid, before declining to 9.2 months in 2023.
• Although the average chorus reported a surplus in 2023, the proportion of organizations with surpluses is shrinking, with only 54% operating in surplus that year.

As revenue fell during pandemic closures, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations of all types were able to manage finances by drastically cutting expenses then slowly reintroducing expenses during re-opening. This combined with pandemic relief funding led to the average organization experiencing operating surpluses in FY 2021 and 2022, resulting in an increase of working capital over the five-year period. These trends held true for choruses as well.

Organizations across disciplines operated at a small deficit for the first time in five years in 2023, due to re-opening, rising prices, and revenue sources that had not caught up to inflation. Choruses, by contrast, were still operating at a surplus on average, though there are signs of a return to pre-pandemic conditions where expenses regularly exceed revenue for many organizations. In 2019, about two thirds of the choruses reported surpluses, while in 2023 roughly half still reported surpluses.

Many choruses that entered the pandemic in deficit were able to reverse their financial positions thanks to exceptional government support.

Key Findings

• Choruses reporting a deficit in 2019 ran a 6% average surplus in 2020, and a 7% average surplus in 2023.

When examining organizations’ financial trajectories from the onset of the pandemic, a striking contrast emerged between choruses and nonprofit arts organizations across all disciplines. Our analysis of organizations nationally found that those with the largest deficits in 2019 fell further into financial distress over the next five years. Choruses, however, bucked that trend.

Many of the 58 choruses who reported a deficit in 2019 moved quickly to stabilize their finances, leading to an average surplus among that same group in 2020. Interestingly, choruses that started the pandemic in a surplus were more likely to experience a temporary deficit.  This suggests that choruses in a weaker financial position at the outset of the pandemic may have been swifter to implement expense cuts and other adjustments to weather the crisis.

By 2023, those same 58 choruses reported an average surplus of 7%, signaling an improvement in their overall financial positions. This is a notable difference from broader arts sector trends, where financially unstable organizations largely fell deeper into deficits between 2019 and 2023.

While Government relief funding tapers off, other revenue sources have not kept pace with prices.

Key Findings

• Among contributed revenue sources, only government support kept pace with inflation from 2019 to 2023.
• Individual giving fell by 12% when adjusted for inflation.

Aside from government funding, all sources of contributed revenue for choruses did not keep up with inflation over the last five years. While some major sources within this category – which includes donations from individuals as well as grants – did return to pre-pandemic levels in nominal dollars, they have not kept pace with rising costs and are not able to cover the same portion of organizational expenses. Individual giving, the largest source of contributed revenue for choruses, has lagged behind inflation by 12% over the five-year period. Even as individual donors renew gifts during periods of rising prices, they may not factor inflation into their donation amounts, leading to static giving even as prices rise. Compared to other arts sectors that saw a 10% decrease in inflation-adjusted individual giving, this shows a more sluggish recovery for choruses.

Lagging behind inflation by only 1% over the five-year period, foundation contributions for the choruses analyzed showed some instability, rising in 2022 then declining slightly in 2023. The number of organizations receiving foundation grants remained fairly steady, suggesting that while these fluctuations do not reflect significant net changes in grants received, they may indicate shifts in the amount of funding awarded. It is worth noting that foundation giving to choruses lags behind national trends across all arts disciplines, where foundation contributions increased by 28% from 2019 to 2023.

While government funding has outpaced inflation, the historically high levels of funding due to pandemic aid are diminishing, a trend that is likely to continue with locally distributed federal aid set to be distributed by 2026.

Earned revenue was recovering from pandemic losses, but not keeping pace with inflation.

Key Findings

• Inflation-adjusted earned revenue for choruses fell 14% from 2019 to 2023, a less robust recovery than for all arts organizations.
• Ticket and subscriber/membership revenues did not keep pace with inflation, though choruses did see an increase in the number of subscribers and members.

Across all arts sectors, earned revenue – which includes ticket sales, memberships, and other revenue earned directly from the organization’s activities – has recovered but not fully, and this trend is more pronounced for choruses. While average earned revenue has more than doubled since 2021, it has still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. When adjusted for inflation, it is 14% lower than pre-pandemic amounts. This is a more dramatic lag than for organizations of all disciplines, where earned revenue dropped by 12% in inflation adjusted dollars. A significant component of earned income, ticket sales revenue, followed a similar pattern. Although there were nominal increases in ticket sale revenue over the five-year period, it remained 14% lower when adjusted for inflation.

During this five-year period, the average chorus lowered their lowest ticket price and increased their highest ticket prices, expanding the range of prices offered to remain accessible while also taking advantage of increased ability to pay among prices. Attendance declined at a greater rate than overall revenue, indicating that fewer tickets were sold but at higher prices. This suggests that organizations were able to generate more revenue per attendee, likely due to the increased willingness of higher-income individuals to pay premium prices.

Membership and subscription revenue also fell drastically, with choruses reporting a 45% decline from 2019 to 2023 when adjusted for inflation. While this decrease is significant, it is less steep than declines for organizations of all disciplines, whose average membership and subscription revenues fell by 73% in inflation adjusted dollars over the same period. Interestingly, choruses saw an 11 % increase in the number of subscribers and members over the same period, which may signal a trend in lower-cost memberships or subscriptions.

Choruses, like all arts nonprofits, have navigated significant shifts in funding and rising prices over the last five years. With ongoing inflationary pressures and the reduction of government aid, continued vigilance will be required. However, choruses have already demonstrated resilience and adaptability, positioning themselves to meet future challenges with creativity and determination.

For more information and visualizations of the data, download our slide deck from a 2024 presentation with Chorus America. 

Download the Presentation (PDF)