Sales of subscriptions for the coming season of programming at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are down by about $1.6 million, or roughly 36 percent, compared with last year.
By this point in 2024, the center had generated $4,413,147 in revenue from selling subscriptions to its theater, dance, classical and other seasons of performances. This year, it has generated $2,656,524 as of June 1, plus $155,243 from a new mix-and-match package, according to internal data obtained by The Washington Post.
The sales data was collected and shared by former Kennedy Center employees and confirmed by a current staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. The subscription data offers a window into the center’s overall finances but is just one source of revenue, in addition to donations, individual ticket sales, government funding and other sources. Its operating budget in 2024 was $268 million. Of that, roughly $125 million came from earned revenue, such as ticket sales.
“We understand providing information like this can be seen in a bad light,” the current staffer said in a message. “But we feel that it is necessary to show that mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization.” The employee said because the new leaders have overlooked staff opinions and fired some who disagreed, “we feel that we no longer have a choice but to force complete transparency with the public.”
Follow Trump’s second term
President Donald Trump took control of the Kennedy Center in February, filling the board of trustees with allies who then appointed him chair, and replacing the institution’s longtime president with Richard Grenell, who had served several roles in Trump’s first administration. Both Grenell and his new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin Kauranen, have repeatedly said the Kennedy Center is in dire financial health.
“We have an operating deficit of over $100 million,” she wrote in an email to the center’s staff in March. In May, Grenell accused the arts institution’s previous leadership of financial mismanagement and “fraud” during a speech at the White House, claiming “the ’24 and ’25 budgets” included “$26 million in phantom revenue.”
Former chairman David Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter have denied any financial mismanagement and dismissed the accusation as a partisan attack, pointing to past financial statements that are independently audited.
“Your comparison isn’t accurate because of several factors,” Kim Cooper, the Kennedy Center’s senior vice president of marketing, said in a message about the subscriptions data sent through a spokesperson. “We strategically launched later this year vs last year. Our renewal campaign is just kicking off and our hard-copy season brochures have not yet hit homes. Our patrons wait for our new season brochures and renewal campaigns to take action.” Cooper also pointed to the mix-and-match packages and to unannounced programming.
The Kennedy Center has declined several requests from The Washington Post to share financial documents or other details of the center’s finances, or to make Grenell available for an interview.
The center sells subscriptions — or ticket packages — across various genres: theater, dance, Fortas Chamber Music, Washington National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra and performances for young audiences. Patrons can purchase different subscriptions that come with tickets to a varying number of shows within a genre. This year, the center added an option for patrons to mix and match shows from different genres.
Subscriptions to the seasons went on sale earlier last year, so the data compiled by the former staffers compares subscription sales from the same duration of time in each subscription campaign — 10 weeks in for the classical season and two weeks in for the others. All percentages reflect a change in revenue generated from subscription sales.
By this point in 2024, the center had generated $4,413,147 in revenue from selling subscriptions to its theater, dance, classical and other seasons of performances. This year, it has generated $2,656,524 as of June 1, plus $155,243 from a new mix-and-match package, according to internal data obtained by The Washington Post.
The sales data was collected and shared by former Kennedy Center employees and confirmed by a current staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. The subscription data offers a window into the center’s overall finances but is just one source of revenue, in addition to donations, individual ticket sales, government funding and other sources. Its operating budget in 2024 was $268 million. Of that, roughly $125 million came from earned revenue, such as ticket sales.
“We understand providing information like this can be seen in a bad light,” the current staffer said in a message. “But we feel that it is necessary to show that mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization.” The employee said because the new leaders have overlooked staff opinions and fired some who disagreed, “we feel that we no longer have a choice but to force complete transparency with the public.”
Follow Trump’s second term
President Donald Trump took control of the Kennedy Center in February, filling the board of trustees with allies who then appointed him chair, and replacing the institution’s longtime president with Richard Grenell, who had served several roles in Trump’s first administration. Both Grenell and his new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin Kauranen, have repeatedly said the Kennedy Center is in dire financial health.
“We have an operating deficit of over $100 million,” she wrote in an email to the center’s staff in March. In May, Grenell accused the arts institution’s previous leadership of financial mismanagement and “fraud” during a speech at the White House, claiming “the ’24 and ’25 budgets” included “$26 million in phantom revenue.”
Former chairman David Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter have denied any financial mismanagement and dismissed the accusation as a partisan attack, pointing to past financial statements that are independently audited.
“Your comparison isn’t accurate because of several factors,” Kim Cooper, the Kennedy Center’s senior vice president of marketing, said in a message about the subscriptions data sent through a spokesperson. “We strategically launched later this year vs last year. Our renewal campaign is just kicking off and our hard-copy season brochures have not yet hit homes. Our patrons wait for our new season brochures and renewal campaigns to take action.” Cooper also pointed to the mix-and-match packages and to unannounced programming.
The Kennedy Center has declined several requests from The Washington Post to share financial documents or other details of the center’s finances, or to make Grenell available for an interview.
The center sells subscriptions — or ticket packages — across various genres: theater, dance, Fortas Chamber Music, Washington National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra and performances for young audiences. Patrons can purchase different subscriptions that come with tickets to a varying number of shows within a genre. This year, the center added an option for patrons to mix and match shows from different genres.
Subscriptions to the seasons went on sale earlier last year, so the data compiled by the former staffers compares subscription sales from the same duration of time in each subscription campaign — 10 weeks in for the classical season and two weeks in for the others. All percentages reflect a change in revenue generated from subscription sales.
