President and CEO Paul Schofer

Kauffman Center will build upon three years of fiscally-sound operations, community engagement and innovative artistic successes both nationally and within the Kansas City community.

Kansas City, MO – This week, the Kauffman Center celebrated three years of bringing extraordinary and diverse performing arts experiences to the Kansas City community with an inaugural gathering of key stakeholders, including the Kauffman Center Board of Directors and Mayor Sly James.

Chairman of the Board, Julia Irene Kauffman welcomed an intimate crowd of supporters Tuesday evening and introduced President & CEO Paul J. Schofer to offer insight into the operational milestones, artistic successes and future focus of the Center.

Since the opening, Kauffman Center has hosted more than 830 public performances welcoming more than 1.3 million audience members and guests through its doors. Its diverse programming continues to shine a spotlight on Kansas City’s own vibrant arts community and attract national talent from all genres. Resident companies the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, along with numerous other community arts organizations, have experienced record attendance in their new performance homes.

“We will continue to provide diverse and extraordinary performing arts experiences for audiences of all ages and interests to the tune of nearly 300 public on-stage performances annually,” states Paul J. Schofer, president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “The area in which we will increase our focus is in community engagement. Kauffman Center will be creating more opportunities and more events for everyone in our community to experience, learn from and be inspired by the performing arts.”

Kauffman Center’s vision of serving everyone in the community is evident from its commitment to providing children and families access to the Center’s performances. More than 127,000 students have attended a matinee performance at the Kauffman Center and more than 68,000 school children have been provided transportation funding through the Kauffman Center’s Open Doors Transportation Fund. Additionally, Open Doors Community Tickets continues to provide opportunities for Kansas City individuals and families to attend performances at no cost through partnerships with social service agencies.

In addition, a wide range of free or low-cost programming is offered throughout the year at Kauffman Center, including Kansas City Symphony free Happy Hour Concerts and Kauffman Center’s own Future Stages Festival, an annual free community event which welcomed 6,000 people and provided opportunity for 600 performers, mostly youth, to perform on stage as part of the event last June. Audiences are also able to experience low-cost presentations and performances priced as low as $10, such as the popular National Geographic Live series, part of Kauffman Center Presents.

Along with artistic successes, Kauffman Center’s first three years have been marked by solid financials due, in no small part, to efficiencies created within the Center’s operating and staffing models and from financial and volunteer support within the Kansas City community. Effective management and strong annual fundraising support have allowed Kauffman Center to operate in the black for each of its first three years, which is considered an exceptional accomplishment in comparison with performing arts centers nationally.

“We currently operate in an environment in which numerous arts organizations across the country are in financial disarray, facing financial shortfalls, labor strikes and, in some cases, bankruptcy. At the same time, the performing arts in Kansas City seem to be thriving, with many local organizations having banner years. Kauffman Center’s overall contributed and sponsorship revenue has increased by 73% since our grand opening year,” explains Schofer.

Strong support from donors in the community have been a vital component to the Kauffman Center’s successes enabling the organization to complete its capital campaign, achieve first phase of endowment funding and reach annual fundraising goals.

“We are grateful for the incredible support we have received from the Kansas City community. For long-term success, we can’t be complacent. Our goal is to further stabilize our annual revenue model. To do so, we will be quickly moving into phase two of building our endowment. At the same time, we will continue to develop our business programs – and individual giving programs – to strengthen the Center’s overall financial structure,” stated Schofer.

Kauffman Center has received national and international recognition within its first three years. Earlier this year, CNN reported that the Kauffman Center is one of only two American venues included in Emporis’ rankings of The World’s 15 Most Beautiful Concert Halls. Paul Schofer asserts that Kauffman Center’s success is a direct reflection on Kansas City’s forward momentum. “The Kauffman Center has established itself as an iconic landmark in the Kansas City skyline. It not only shows the world our city’s passion and appreciation for the performing arts, but it symbolizes the transformation of Kansas City’s urban core; and reflects the vibrant energy, creativity and forward-thinking that this community has embraced.”

KAUFFMAN CENTER’S FIRST THREE YEARS AT A GLANCE
– 1,300,000 people attended Kauffman Center events.
– 836 performances occurred in first three years.
-127,082 school children attended student matinee programming.
– Kauffman Center has operated in the black in each of its first three years.

COMING SOON TO THE KAUFFMAN CENTER PRESENTS SERIES
– October 19: WORDLESS! Art Spiegelman and Phillip Johnston
– October 26: Virtuosic organist, Cameron Carpenter
– November 21: Burt Bacharach
– February through June: National Geographic Live speaker series
– June 28: Future Stages Festival (free event)

New programs will be announced throughout the year. Visit kauffmancenter.org or download the Kauffman Center mobile app to learn more and sign up for email updates and presale offers.

ABOUT THE KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a major center for music, opera, theater, and dance designed by Moshe Safdie, opened in 2011. Serving as a cultural cornerstone for Kansas City and the region, the Kauffman Center delivers extraordinary and diverse performing arts experiences. Recently honored as one of the World’s 15 Most Beautiful Concert Halls, the Kauffman Center attracts some of the world’s most renowned performers and entertainers.

Through educational outreach programs and community enrichment, the Kauffman Center supports Kansas City as a cultural destination.

More information on the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is available at www.kauffmancenter.org.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts would like to thank our official building sponsors, Aristocrat Motors and Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City, and extend special thanks to Sprint for its generous support of our 2014-2015 season.