0.7 Chapter five: new initiatives and economic shocks, 1982-1987  (Page 7/18)

Board dissension was reflected in other ways as well. Rather surprisingly, given the bad financial situation, the vote on whether to stage the fundraising benefit was not unanimous. Of the fourteen members present, the vote was eleven for, two against, and one abstention. Perhaps the most telling example of board dissension was the fact that just one month after abolishing the library and museum committees, the board overrode its previous action (which had been taken at Goelet's urging) and reestablished them both.

The financial picture also remained bleak. Year-end figures for 1983, Bell's first full year as director, painted a distressing picture. During the year, the Soci­ety's total unrestricted operating expenditures grew 53 percent, from $1.9 million to $2.9 million, while revenues grew only 15 percent, from $806,000 to $929,000, thereby creating a 1983 deficit of approximately $2 million—a staggering 66 per­cent of total expenditures (see Figures 5.1 and 5.2 for a depiction of the Society's operating results).

Platten, the treasurer, who had been warning her fellow trustees about the deficit continuously since she assumed the position in late 1982, continued to do so and suggested that the Society consider pursuing additional revenues by in­vesting an increased portion of the endowment in high-yielding fixed-income securities. Conditions did not improve appreciably, and by November 1984, the Society was running a monthly deficit of approximately $ 100,000. Goelet urged trustees to take the matter into their own hands. He proposed that the board raise $200,000 in the last two months of the year so that the annual deficit would at least not grow further. He then pledged $100,000 toward that goal and chal­lenged the rest of the board to meet it. Goelet's gift and appeal to the board helped address the current year's situation but had no impact on the funda­mental structural imbalance in the Society's activities. Despite Goelet's efforts, the Society's operating deficit in 1984 was $1.3 million, 48 percent of its total operating budget.

Even as the budget situation worsened, the Society continued to work to expand its services and public outreach efforts. At a meeting of the board in November 1984, the director of public programs for the Society reported on steps "to establish a viable and vigorous public program for the Society." She com­mented on the recruitment, training, and work of the volunteers program; the lec­tures, film, and concert programs that had been initiated; and the recently launched programs for school groups. An article in the New York Times promot­ing the Society's 180th birthday celebration appeared to confirm the success of these initiatives. The article noted that the Society recently had begun "to change its character, from a semiprivate preserve for the wealthy into an institution that welcomes the masses. The museum is open every day but Monday, with special tours available for school groups and a determined effort to draw in the public."