Wagon Wheel Theatre Seeking Donations As It Experiences Budget Shortfall
October 25, 2020 at 9:59 p.m.
Wagon Wheel Theatre Seeking Donations As It Experiences Budget Shortfall
By David [email protected]
The Wagon Wheel Theatre has been a part of the Warsaw community for 65 years, but it’s struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What happened was, we lost all of the normal revenue that we would get on season ticket purchases for the next year. So, normally, the fourth show of the summer, we would put the next summer season on sale. And, normally, we would bring $400,000-$420,000 in season tickets for that stretch. ... So that gets us through the winter, with other events that we have, obviously. So not having that money has created a huge budget shortfall, a huge budget cash flow issue,” said Jay Michaels, executive director of the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts.
He said they’re doing OK and not in dire straits, but if things continue as they are, the Wagon Wheel is going to have to figure out a way to address the shortfall.
Wagon Wheel does have a line of credit and has only taken a little bit of money off that. “We’ve been very lucky. We eliminated one position. We only have seven full-time employees, so it’s not like we’re spending a lot of money doing that,” Michaels said.
People have told him that with the theater being closed, the Wagon Wheel doesn’t have its “normal” expenses. That’s not true.
“We still do have expenses. There are three buildings that we own that we have to pay for power, and we have to pay for heating and air. We own the White Hill, we own 2517 and we own (the theater). Everyday expenses are still going to be there,” Michaels explained.
During the initial shutdown, which started in March, Wagon Wheel employees worked from home. When it was OK to reopen, employees were brought back slowly. All employees are now back at some capacity as they plan and get ready for shows for a future that no one can predict.
“We don’t know when this is all going to be over. We don’t know when we’re going to be open to full capacity, but we’ve got to get from now to next summer. And we just sent out a bunch of donation letters (Oct. 20) to try to make up some of that money,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has applied for grants. It did receive a $49,000 grant from the Indiana Arts Commission for destination marketing. The Kosciusko County Community Foundation provided the Wagon Wheel with some recovery funding, and the Center also received some other COVID-relief funding. It got some Payroll Paycheck Protection dollars earlier this year, which got the theater through the summer to keep everyone employed.
“That’s been my goal from day one: To a.) keep these doors open and b.) keep everybody employed, because we are a small staff and everybody has a unique skill set that we need on a day-to-day basis, even when we’re not doing shows,” Michaels said.
When the 2020 summer season was rescheduled to 2021, Michaels said a lot of folks moved their subscription from this year to next. A few donated their subscriptions for this year and paid for a subscription for 2021. “That’s what we really need. More folks to do that. Money that they were already planning on spending, maybe, but we really need folks to do that,” he said.
The Wagon Wheel needs to make up that $400,000.
“I know that number seems daunting. When you really think about it, that’s just the subscriptions. We lost out on summer season individual ticket sales. We’ve lost out on concessions. We’ve lost out on all of those things, and when you play all those in, we’re looking more in the $700,000 range is what we really didn’t bring in. And when you’re counting on that in your budget, and you’re counting to be able to make it to the next year – and cancelling concerts, postponing concerts didn’t help. That money has now been spent because we obviously had to keep up and pay the bills,” Michaels said.
Leading up to March 2020, Michaels said the Wagon Wheel was doing “so well.” That initially allowed the theater to weather the storm, but it’s been seven months of not being able to do much.
“We tried to be creative in some things that we did,” he said. They performed “Always, Patsy Cline” outdoors. Center Street Community Theatre sold out all of its shows indoors for “Clue.”
“And as we’re continuing to move forward cautiously, with Wagon Wheel Jr. and our Christmas show we’ve got scheduled for this year, not only do we need people to donate, but we need people just to come,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has followed all protocols that need to be followed to make the theater experience as safe as possible.
“Buy a ticket to the Christmas show. Buy a ticket to the (Wagon Wheel Jr.) show. And come out and see us again. See what we’ve done to make this safe,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel understands this is a hard time for a lot of people, but Michaels asks that people make donations if they can. Along with the need for donations to get through this storm, he said they have a lot of grant requests they’re waiting to hear back on.
“We’re just hoping that the community can rally together around us and help us get through this,” Michaels said.
Wagon Wheel has been a nonprofit organization for over eight years. Donations to it are tax deductible.
“A lot of people don’t realize we’re a nonprofit. A lot of people maybe don’t understand why we’re a nonprofit or what changed after 56 years of being a for-profit. A lot of it had to do with the educational stuff. Everything we do has an educational component to it. We don’t do a very good job of shouting it from the rooftops that we are a not-for-profit, but we are,” Michaels said.
An aspect about the Wagon Wheel a lot of people don’t understand, he said, is how much it costs to do a production.
“Our overall budget for the entire Wagon Wheel for a year for all of our entities – Symphony of the Lakes, Wagon Wheel Jr., our education piece, the professional season and our concerts and Center Street Community Theatre – all of those things, our overall budget is $1.6 million. And, unfortunately, right now, about 90% of the money that comes in is ticket sales. Not donations,” Michaels said.
Those ticket sales are great and he loves to see the theater full, but it needs donations as well. “That really is going to help us get over that hump and make it to next summer,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has 2,900 subscribers, just for the summer shows. Most shows bring in 5,000-6,500 people over the course of their 11-day run.
“We know we’re a very important asset to the community. I’ve got restaurants and hotels that tell me they know when we have shows, without even checking our calendar, because they’re busy,” Michaels said.
Indiana Independent Venues says that for every $1 spent on a ticket to a show, $12 goes back into the community.
“Our shows are $37 for a summer season adult ticket. So think about how much money goes back into the community. When you talk about gas, or food, or hotels or just tourism itself. People who go to The Village before they come here. Bus trips. Those type of things. So there’s a lot of money that goes back into the community because we are here, and we are so lucky to be a community as small as we are to have the things that we have. And the Wagon Wheel is one of those things, because there aren’t a lot of communities of 15,000 people that have a place like the Wagon Wheel,” Michaels said. “And I said this before I started working here, and I will say that after I’m done working here: There is no better place to see a show than here, anywhere.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Wagon Wheel, mail a check to the Wagon Wheel at 2515 E. Center St., Warsaw IN 46580; contact Donors Relations Director Elisa Wise by phone or email at [email protected]; call the box office at 574-267-8041 or 866-823-2618; or visit the website at www.wagonwheelcenter.org.
The Wagon Wheel Theatre has been a part of the Warsaw community for 65 years, but it’s struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What happened was, we lost all of the normal revenue that we would get on season ticket purchases for the next year. So, normally, the fourth show of the summer, we would put the next summer season on sale. And, normally, we would bring $400,000-$420,000 in season tickets for that stretch. ... So that gets us through the winter, with other events that we have, obviously. So not having that money has created a huge budget shortfall, a huge budget cash flow issue,” said Jay Michaels, executive director of the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts.
He said they’re doing OK and not in dire straits, but if things continue as they are, the Wagon Wheel is going to have to figure out a way to address the shortfall.
Wagon Wheel does have a line of credit and has only taken a little bit of money off that. “We’ve been very lucky. We eliminated one position. We only have seven full-time employees, so it’s not like we’re spending a lot of money doing that,” Michaels said.
People have told him that with the theater being closed, the Wagon Wheel doesn’t have its “normal” expenses. That’s not true.
“We still do have expenses. There are three buildings that we own that we have to pay for power, and we have to pay for heating and air. We own the White Hill, we own 2517 and we own (the theater). Everyday expenses are still going to be there,” Michaels explained.
During the initial shutdown, which started in March, Wagon Wheel employees worked from home. When it was OK to reopen, employees were brought back slowly. All employees are now back at some capacity as they plan and get ready for shows for a future that no one can predict.
“We don’t know when this is all going to be over. We don’t know when we’re going to be open to full capacity, but we’ve got to get from now to next summer. And we just sent out a bunch of donation letters (Oct. 20) to try to make up some of that money,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has applied for grants. It did receive a $49,000 grant from the Indiana Arts Commission for destination marketing. The Kosciusko County Community Foundation provided the Wagon Wheel with some recovery funding, and the Center also received some other COVID-relief funding. It got some Payroll Paycheck Protection dollars earlier this year, which got the theater through the summer to keep everyone employed.
“That’s been my goal from day one: To a.) keep these doors open and b.) keep everybody employed, because we are a small staff and everybody has a unique skill set that we need on a day-to-day basis, even when we’re not doing shows,” Michaels said.
When the 2020 summer season was rescheduled to 2021, Michaels said a lot of folks moved their subscription from this year to next. A few donated their subscriptions for this year and paid for a subscription for 2021. “That’s what we really need. More folks to do that. Money that they were already planning on spending, maybe, but we really need folks to do that,” he said.
The Wagon Wheel needs to make up that $400,000.
“I know that number seems daunting. When you really think about it, that’s just the subscriptions. We lost out on summer season individual ticket sales. We’ve lost out on concessions. We’ve lost out on all of those things, and when you play all those in, we’re looking more in the $700,000 range is what we really didn’t bring in. And when you’re counting on that in your budget, and you’re counting to be able to make it to the next year – and cancelling concerts, postponing concerts didn’t help. That money has now been spent because we obviously had to keep up and pay the bills,” Michaels said.
Leading up to March 2020, Michaels said the Wagon Wheel was doing “so well.” That initially allowed the theater to weather the storm, but it’s been seven months of not being able to do much.
“We tried to be creative in some things that we did,” he said. They performed “Always, Patsy Cline” outdoors. Center Street Community Theatre sold out all of its shows indoors for “Clue.”
“And as we’re continuing to move forward cautiously, with Wagon Wheel Jr. and our Christmas show we’ve got scheduled for this year, not only do we need people to donate, but we need people just to come,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has followed all protocols that need to be followed to make the theater experience as safe as possible.
“Buy a ticket to the Christmas show. Buy a ticket to the (Wagon Wheel Jr.) show. And come out and see us again. See what we’ve done to make this safe,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel understands this is a hard time for a lot of people, but Michaels asks that people make donations if they can. Along with the need for donations to get through this storm, he said they have a lot of grant requests they’re waiting to hear back on.
“We’re just hoping that the community can rally together around us and help us get through this,” Michaels said.
Wagon Wheel has been a nonprofit organization for over eight years. Donations to it are tax deductible.
“A lot of people don’t realize we’re a nonprofit. A lot of people maybe don’t understand why we’re a nonprofit or what changed after 56 years of being a for-profit. A lot of it had to do with the educational stuff. Everything we do has an educational component to it. We don’t do a very good job of shouting it from the rooftops that we are a not-for-profit, but we are,” Michaels said.
An aspect about the Wagon Wheel a lot of people don’t understand, he said, is how much it costs to do a production.
“Our overall budget for the entire Wagon Wheel for a year for all of our entities – Symphony of the Lakes, Wagon Wheel Jr., our education piece, the professional season and our concerts and Center Street Community Theatre – all of those things, our overall budget is $1.6 million. And, unfortunately, right now, about 90% of the money that comes in is ticket sales. Not donations,” Michaels said.
Those ticket sales are great and he loves to see the theater full, but it needs donations as well. “That really is going to help us get over that hump and make it to next summer,” Michaels said.
The Wagon Wheel has 2,900 subscribers, just for the summer shows. Most shows bring in 5,000-6,500 people over the course of their 11-day run.
“We know we’re a very important asset to the community. I’ve got restaurants and hotels that tell me they know when we have shows, without even checking our calendar, because they’re busy,” Michaels said.
Indiana Independent Venues says that for every $1 spent on a ticket to a show, $12 goes back into the community.
“Our shows are $37 for a summer season adult ticket. So think about how much money goes back into the community. When you talk about gas, or food, or hotels or just tourism itself. People who go to The Village before they come here. Bus trips. Those type of things. So there’s a lot of money that goes back into the community because we are here, and we are so lucky to be a community as small as we are to have the things that we have. And the Wagon Wheel is one of those things, because there aren’t a lot of communities of 15,000 people that have a place like the Wagon Wheel,” Michaels said. “And I said this before I started working here, and I will say that after I’m done working here: There is no better place to see a show than here, anywhere.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Wagon Wheel, mail a check to the Wagon Wheel at 2515 E. Center St., Warsaw IN 46580; contact Donors Relations Director Elisa Wise by phone or email at [email protected]; call the box office at 574-267-8041 or 866-823-2618; or visit the website at www.wagonwheelcenter.org.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092