Arts funding just got slashed. Now what?

The arts sector can’t catch a break.

Audience declines. Shifting consumer behaviors. A global pandemic. And now—drastic cuts in federal funding.

It’s time to rethink business models. (Did you just roll your eyes? I get it. Talking long-term solutions can feel tone deaf when the whole sector is in survival mode.) But hear me out:

Right now, the arts sector is being pulled backward by outdated models—just when we need to leap forward.

That’s what business models do: they’re built to protect the status quo. Especially in the arts, where preserving tradition is central to the mission.

But when the world undergoes a monumental shift—like the digital revolution—legacy systems become liabilities.

They weren’t built for today’s audiences. Or today’s challenges. So they start working against you, rather than FOR you.

The good news? Reinvention isn’t as out of reach as it might seem. If you get the foundation right, every other part of your model starts to realign.

But most arts leaders who say ‘We need a new business model’ have no idea what a business model actually is. Let's break it down.

Your business model is made of four interconnected elements:

Your Value Proposition shapes how Resources are allocated,

which defines what Processes are possible,

which leads to your Profit Formula—

locking in which activities will drive revenue.

If your foundation is shaky, the whole model wobbles: Your resource allocation, processes, and profit formula lock you into activities that only reinforce irrelevance—at scale.

This wobble is everywhere in the arts sector. Most arts org business models are built on:

• The product not the purpose.

• The what not the why.

• The output not the outcome.

What's missing? The connection between the value proposition and what the customer values.

But it's not your fault. Most arts organizations are still running on a business model built in the 1950s. And business models are sticky:

Without a hard reset, a business model protects the status quo. By design. Even when it’s no longer working. Even when the world has changed.

Arts orgs are being pulled backward by their outdated models just when they need to leap forward.

Here's the point: You can’t retrofit relevance. You have to build for it. And it starts with the foundation: your value proposition.

An aligned value proposition starts with the value consumers care about. Not what you make. What you make possible. Get it right, and you’ve reset the entire system:

• Your resources flow where they actually matter.

• Your processes support relevance, rather than status quo.

• Your business model stops clinging to the past—and starts funding the future.

I’m building a free webinar to help arts leaders do just that. Interested? Click here to get on the list.

Don’t have time to wait for a webinar? Here are a few ways to start shifting your model right now:

🛠️ The Value Proposition Playbook (free tool)

🚀 Audience Alchemy (self-paced course)

⚡ 100 Marketing Prompts (quick win)

No fluff. (I hate fluff.) Just practical tools for building a model that matches today’s reality.