Chautauqua Institution officials are looking to cut between $4 million and $6 million from the budget – or increase revenues by that much – after a possible 13% decrease in attendance this year.

Attendance in 2025 could end up as much as 13% below 2019 attendance. Keogh said the institution needs to improve net operating performance by between $4 million to $6 million, or roughly 13% of the institution’s budget, starting in 2016. Attendance in 2019 was 145,475, counted in gate passes other than season-long passes, while 2025 is forecast at 125,000 gate passes. The 2026 budget assumes the same attendance as 2025 rather than assuming any increase.

Kyle Keogh, interim Chautauqua Institution CEO, is asking Chautauquans to consider philanthropic giving – particularly if they had stopped donating in the past or hadn’t begun donating in the first place. Prices are projected to increase 4% next year as well.

Institution officials said recalibrating Chautauqua’s financial framework will include a focus on the nine-week summer assembly, investing $4.2 million in annual capital preservation to be paid for from annual earned and contributed revenue. The institution will also look to maintain an adequate cash balance while positioning the institution to attract and retain talent, including its next president.

Restructuring efforts so far focus on three main areas: year-round personnel, operations and programming. Year-round personnel expenses are expected to decrease between $2.5 million and $3 million due to retirements, unfilled positions and staff reductions and area reorganizations. Keogh and the institution’s administrative team are looking to consolidate operations including restructuring retail operations and integrating youth, family and recreation activities. Changes to year-round personnel will include an eye toward keeping things that patrons have said improved their experience at Chautauqua, as well as considering risks with staff cuts and philanthropic opportunities.

“We have had an increase in the number of personnel over the last five to ten years, and we are in a position, unfortunately, where we cannot sustain the number of people we currently have,” Keogh said during the webinar. “This is gonna be really hard. I take no joy in this whatsoever. We will try our best to do this retirements and unfilled positions. There will be staff reductions, though, and there’ll be areas of reorganization. We built ourselves for growth. That growth has not come, and now we need to make sure our cost structure, and in particular, our main, year round employee base matches that. This will have impacts, though. We looked at earlier at that amazing patron experience. We’re gonna do our best to mitigate all of that, but that does come with challenges.”

Another $1 million to $1.5 million in savings are eyed through non-direct program related expense cuts and savings by reducing staff housing costs, eliminating the Grounds Access Pass, rethinking or eliminating enterprise activities, achieving a break-even status on several activities, closing the Washington, D.C., office and improving hotel financial performance. This will include prioritizing philanthropy aimed at rehabilitating the historic Athanaeum Hotel and identifying solutions to problems with staff housing.

Institution officials said the cost of on-grounds housing per night has increased from $107.05 in 2019 to $193.87 in 2025. The cost of on-grounds housing for staff was $262,983 in 2019 and increased to $899,060 in 2025 compared with $289,875 for staff living outside of the institution in 2019 and $299,050 in 2025. At the same time, on-grounds housing has increased over the past six years.

“We are looking at actually working with some of the local hotels here and with Jamestown Community College for housing,” Keogh said in response to a Chautauquan’s question. “So and then also trying to reach one over in Findley Lake so we could get capacity those ways. So we’re looking at all those options. We’re open to any of them, though.

We also do need to make sure that it’s appropriate housing for staff, right, and that it matches the the age of the people and the demographic and the needs of them. Several of them are a little older, have families. We need to make sure that it’s a facility that can work for all of them. But definitely for some of the younger single people, those would be great options.”

Institution officials have eyed the need to decrease spending on the CHQ Assembly and The Chautauquan Daily, which require $243,000 and $170,000 in investment, respectively. CHQ Assembly racked up 9.7 million views and 2,500 members in 2024.

A final $1 million in savings is eyed in programming by modifications within the institution’s “Four Pillars’ and investments aligned with demand and philanthropic funding. That includes reducing investments in targeted areas and soliciting additional endowment and annual philanthropy. This includes attempting to preserve core activities that are part of the summer assembly while considering setting fundraising targets by program for a combination of annual funding and endowment funding to create resilient long-term programs.

Based on the 2024 Chautauqua General Survey, the 10:45 a.m. Chautauqua Lecture Series is the most enjoyed aspect of the Chautauqua program (22%) followed by Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra performances (15%), the sense of community (13.9%), morning worship (8.1%), interfaith lectures at 2 p.m. weekday afternoons (5.5%), popular entertainment concerts (5.2%) and Chautauqua Theater Company performances (4.9%).

“What we’d love to do is a shift from endowing buildings or endowing other areas to really thinking about endowing programming,” Keogh said. “Right? If the orchestra is what you value, can you support it? We’d like you to consider doing this in addition to what you’re already doing, but we understand everybody has to make their own decisions. And we’d love for you to consider what your financial resources are and your love for this place and to really lean in at this moment, as many others have done and say, what can I do to really help Chautauqua? And to actually give until it feels good, until it feels like what you’re doing and how much you’re donating to us matches that. We are not relying on this as our current plan. Our current plan says we do not get increased philanthropy, and this is the $4 to $6 million. This is how we’re gonna find it today.”