One year after announcing a major restructuring of staffing and offerings due to a budget shortfall, the IX Art Park Foundation has found its footing financially, according to a September 3 press release. With the stabilization, the nonprofit hopes to bring back some offerings in the upcoming months, but it still needs community support.
“We really refocused on our sources of revenue and how we can collaborate with other organizations, partners, and just community members … to support the programming that we want to offer [in] an affordable or free way to the community,” says Ewa Harr, executive director of the IX Art Park Foundation.
The nonprofit has hit roughly 80 percent of its grants fundraising goal this year, according to Harr; public donation progress has been slower, currently sitting at 20 percent of the annual goal. IX Art Park Foundation hopes to rally community support with its PhoenIX: Rising Together fundraising campaign, which hopes to raise $10,000 and officially launches on the park’s 10th anniversary at LOVEFEST on September 21.
“Our revenue sources are our signature events, tickets to The Looking Glass, and events and private rentals that we do here,” says Harr. “We’re [otherwise] dependent on grants, private and public donations, and corporate sponsorships to make the magic happen here.”
The most recent tax filing from the foundation was filed on November 14, 2023, but it pertains to fiscal year 2022. In the filing, the nonprofit’s 990 form shows a negative net income of more than $57,000 and a massive decline in contributions and grants compared to the year prior—down from $2,051,905 to $874,073.
No tax filings pertaining to the nonprofit’s revenue or net income post-restructuring are publicly available at press time.
While IX has continued its signature events since cutting back operations, offerings including summer camps, IX Flix, and community outreach efforts have been paused. The nonprofit hopes to resume some previous programming on top of new events in the months to come, with expanding hours for The Looking Glass at the top of the list.
According to Harr, the interactive museum could move to four-days-a-week operations as soon as January.
“We definitely want to bring back some of our educational and community programming,” she says. “Summer camps were very successful here; the kids really enjoyed it. … My goal is to be able to bring some more of our free art-making out into the community. Not everybody can make it to IX Art Park, but maybe we can bring some of our inspiration out to the community as well.”
Bringing back offerings may also financially benefit the nonprofit. In its 2023 impact report, IX Art Park Foundation reported 24 percent of revenue came from museum tickets, with an additional 10 percent from summer camps and workshops. A majority of the foundation’s revenue comes from signature and weekly events (35 percent).
Beyond financial contributions, Harr says the nonprofit is also looking for volunteers and collaborators.
“So many people have been so supportive of this renaissance that we’ve experienced,” says Harr. “A lot of people have been donating their time and talent, and we are just waiting here with open arms for anybody that has ideas [and] creative concepts—that wants to get involved and collaborate and contribute.”