Endowment losses force Conner Prairie to cut staff-WEB ONLY

Conner Prairie will prepare for the April 2 opening of its outdoor season with its full-time staff reduced by 18 percent after a combination of voluntary resignations and layoffs.

The cuts affect 19 employees, reducing the full-time staff to 104 workers. The museum employs another 175 people on a part-time and seasonal basis.

CEO Ellen Rosenthal said yesterday she does not plan to reduce seasonal hires at the Hamilton County living history museum.

Endowment losses were the driving factor behind the cuts, Rosenthal said. Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art also have trimmed staff as their savings have dwindled.

Conner Prairie derives more than half its annual revenue from an endowment that peaked at $116 million early in 2008, fell to $77 million by Dec. 31 and dropped again in January to about $74 million.

Rosenthal said she expects to save at most 2 percent from the 2009 budget of $10 million. “We were really, primarily trying to be proactive with this,” she said.

Not-for-profits that rely on endowments to supplement fund-raising and earned income base their annual draws on the average value of the savings accounts over a period of time, typically three to five years. Although that helps organizations avoid slashing programs in the wake of sudden precipitous market losses, it also means the effects will linger.

Rosenthal said she hopes the staff reductions and other budget trimming this year will put the museum in a better position come 2010. “It’s terrible and it’s very frustrating,” she said. “Conner Prairie has become the success story for outdoor museums.”

The museum increased attendance and donor support in 2008, ending the year with a $299,000 surplus. Its revenue of $10.1 million outpaced $9.8 million in expenses.

Still, after receiving the January financial report, museum leaders asked for voluntary resignations. Rosenthal said a surprising 13 full-time staff members put their hands up and departed with three months’ severance on Feb. 18. The museum might have to fill a few of the vacated positions.

Another six people were laid off on Feb. 25. Rosenthal said she assembled the staff late yesterday to let them know that she was finished cutting. “Conner Prairie has an unusual and close culture,” she said.