https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/30/burning-man-is-desperate-for-cash/

Burning Man is urgently calling for millions more in donations amid
faltering ticket sales and staff layoffs.

The nonprofit�s CEO, Marian Goodell, primarily blamed flagging higher-
priced ticket sales and increased operating costs since the pandemic.

The festival has sold a tier of higher-priced tickets since at least
2016. In 2023, a limited number of more expensive advance tickets were
available between Feb. 1 and Feb. 3, with 1,000 tickets costing $2,750
each and 3,000 costing $1,500, according to an archived version of
Burning Man�s 2023 ticket page.

Ticket sales for the annual bacchanal in Black Rock City flopped this
year after a rain-plagued 2023 and scores of burners later resold their
tickets, eating huge losses.

As such, the fundraising target for Burning Man has doubled from $10
million to $20 million, Goodell said in a recent blog post. The funds
must be raised before 2025 ticket sales begin next year.

�This $5.7M shortfall, combined with a $3M dip in receipts from main-
sale tickets and vehicle passes, means that our year-end charitable
donation target has essentially doubled to nearly $20M,� she wrote.

To continue running Burning Man without corporate sponsorship,
organizers said they must seek philanthropic donations.

�While global engagement is at an all time high, revenue from Black Rock
City ticket sales does not cover our programming. The future of Black
Rock City and everything we support�is under threat,� said a
spokesperson from Burning Man Project, the nonprofit which organizes
Burning Man. �Without philanthropy, everything is at risk and, as we
look ahead, it is clear that the world needs more mechanisms to bridge
the gap between people, reduce loneliness, and inspire creativity, and
this is exactly what Burning Man does. We appreciate support from
dedicated major donors and from the wider community to keep Burning Man
accessible to anyone, everywhere.�

This isn�t the first time Burning Man has found itself cash-strapped �
organizers canceled the event in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions and
implemented staff layoffs and pay cuts.

But after canceling, the nonprofit raised $39 million in 2020 and 2021,
Goodell said in her recent post, and was able to retain some staff to
return post-pandemic. Burning Man eventually returned in 2022.

Some burners said they supported the call for more donations to fund
Burning Man.

�I think that every performing artist knows that these organizations
don�t make their money from ticket sales, and it�s naive to think
Burning Man would,� said Alameda resident Marisa Lenhardt, who has led
the Death Guild Thunderdome camp for 20 years.

Inverness resident Jim Pettigrew has run Black Rock Yacht Club with his
wife and children for two decades. He called Lenhardt�s perspective
valid but fears �big money� funding Burning Man, citing the influx of
wealthy glampers across the Playa.

�Having big money can be a contaminant when it comes to having an
authentic Burning Man experience. But when it brings in big art, it�s a
benefit,� Pettigrew said. �My worry is that it could increase the
population of billionaires, and there are already quite a few.�

Because Burning Man operates without corporate sponsorships or
merchandise revenue, �generous philanthropy� is needed to keep the
yearly event economically viable, Goodell wrote. She added that Burning
Man is working �behind the scenes� to get money from �dedicated major
donors,� whom she did not identify in the blog post, although the event
is popular with wealthy techies and VCs and counts Sam Altman among past
attendees.

Goodell said ticket sales can�t fully fund the event, noting that in
2023, Burning Man cost an estimated $749 per participant, while the main
ticket price was $575.

�This would price out diverse community participation and is
inconsistent with our principles,� Goodell said.

The blog post stops short of saying the annual event would be canceled
if the nonprofit can�t raise $20 million in time but hints at the
alternative � increasing ticket prices.

�We need your help to keep Burning Man accessible for the next
generation!� Goodell wrote.

Those interested in donating to the Burning Man Project can do so here.

https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/30/burning-man-is-desperate-for-cash/

--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

"Leroy N. Soetoro" <democrat-insurrection@mail.house.gov> wrote:

>November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
>forward to America being great again.

I'm not as such a Trump supporter. But I love the way it's playing
out. Matt Gaetz is gonna get confirmed, it's hilarious. DJT is just
screwing the Republicans in the ass.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.