Sundance Institute has laid off 11 staff — about six % of its 180-person employees — on Wednesday, with the non-profit group citing a drop in earned income, rising inflation, and a “tougher fundraising local weather.”
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente knowledgeable the workforce on Wednesday in a memo despatched to employees and obtained by IndieWire, and the laid off staff had been knowledgeable earlier as we speak.
The cuts impacted a number of departments, however no particular names or roles had been revealed. Vicente mentioned one different employees member is transferring to a “decreased work schedule,” and the group has needed to make different powerful choices relating to seasonal labor requests. A supply mentioned the strikes are essential within the altering financial panorama and to maneuver ahead by redesigning elements of their work and staffing.
“Like many nonprofits, the financial local weather has challenged our enterprise,” Vicente wrote. “We entered FY23 with a deficit, and it has gotten dearer to run the Institute as a consequence of rising prices from inflation, a drop in our earned income, and a tougher fundraising local weather. Due to this, we would have liked to make powerful decisions for our future. We’ve undertaken a rigorous evaluate throughout the Institute to start defining a path ahead. The positions we’re eliminating replicate the end result of that evaluate, and within the coming yr, we are going to proceed to prioritize the core work of the Institute, embrace reinvention, and create efficiencies.”
The layoffs comply with the return of an in-person Sundance Movie Pageant again in January after two years by which the pageant pivoted to digital. The pageant noticed sturdy attendance and a healthy sales market. The information additionally comes after the pageant simply this previous month received a historic $4 million grant, the biggest in its historical past, from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous program.
Sundance isn’t alone amongst arts establishments and non-profits which have had layoffs not too long ago, together with simply this month BAM and Central Theatre Group additionally reducing employees and pausing applications.
Subsequent yr’s Sundance will be its 40th anniversary, and the pageant is scheduled for January 18-28, 2024.
Learn Vicente’s full notice to employees under:
Expensive Sundancers,
I’ve some troublesome information to share. Over these final a number of months, we’ve got been candid about our work to strengthen the group financially for a robust basis for our future as we face a altering financial panorama. In gentle of this, as we speak, we’re lowering the dimensions of our workforce by 11 positions. Earlier, we notified the colleagues who had been affected by these choices.
Along with these reductions, one employees member is transferring to a decreased work schedule, and we’ve got needed to make choices round seasonal labor requests, which we’ve got shared with departments as a part of our planning course of.
It’s onerous to say goodbye to people who’ve meaningfully contributed to this group, deeply gifted people we’ve got liked working with. I wish to thank our valued colleagues for his or her affect on Sundance. We plan to help them with severance packages as beneficiant as we will afford.
I wish to share what introduced us right here. Like many nonprofits, the financial local weather has challenged our enterprise. We entered FY23 with a deficit, and it has gotten dearer to run the Institute as a consequence of rising prices from inflation, a drop in our earned income, and a tougher fundraising local weather. Due to this, we would have liked to make powerful decisions for our future. We’ve undertaken a rigorous evaluate throughout the Institute to start defining a path ahead. The positions we’re eliminating replicate the end result of that evaluate, and within the coming yr, we are going to proceed to prioritize the core work of the Institute, embrace reinvention, and create efficiencies.
We’ve got a robust mission, impactful and life-changing applications for artists, and a group centered on discovering and supporting artists -artists who assist change tradition, entertain, and transfer us. As you already know, we’re engaged on a 3-5 yr strategic plan centered on refreshing the Institute’s priorities, enterprise mannequin, and operations; as we speak’s organizational adjustments work in live performance with this.
I’m assured concerning the big alternative in entrance of us due to our extremely gifted workforce, who’re stewards of this group, and the worth of what we’ve got supplied for over 4 a long time to arts and tradition.
I do know you’ll have many questions on what I’ve simply shared, our plans for subsequent yr, and the way we’ll transfer ahead. We’ll go over these components throughout as we speak’s all-staff assembly and within the coming weeks and months in our work collectively.
Please deal with yourselves as you course of this troublesome information and lean in your Core Leaders, together with me, to work by means of this collectively.
I’m grateful to all of you in your work on behalf of artists and Sundance.
With appreciation,
Joana
THR first reported the information.
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