The Edifice Complex

A piece in yesterday's New York Times sounded a note that's all too familiar to our consultants at Nonprofit Finance Fund. “For Arts Institutions, Thinking Big Can Be Suicidal” highlighted a new study by the Cultural Policy Center at The University of Chicago showing that the enthusiasm for fancy new buildings and extensive renovations has put an incredible strain on arts institutions.

This Edifice Complex is indeed omnipresent in the cultural sector. In our 30-plus years advising and financing arts organizations at NFF, we’ve seen scores of organizations jeopardize the long-term vibrancy of their programs because they focused on getting the building built rather than having a healthy organization inside it. In our experience, the institutions that undertake facility expansion successfully run capital campaigns that place the facility expansion in the context of the organization’s overall vision and strategy. These campaigns have several things in common.