The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts has run out of money and likely will not be able to pay its bills without city help, the latest in a series of blows to the beleaguered nonprofit.
BOPA’s Board of Directors on Wednesday called an emergency meeting for Thursday to discuss the nonprofit’s “fiscal standing and strategic path forward,” according to a copy of the agenda. The board is supposed to go to into a closed session, with the ominous description “Discuss Personnel and Business Location – VOTE REQUIRED.”
Two sources with knowledge who were not authorized to discuss the situation said that BOPA may not be able to meet its current payroll obligations without financial help from City Hall, and that the organization is cash-strapped.
The institution, which stages many of Baltimore’s most iconic events including Artscape, also serves as the city’s film office, arts council and a facilities manager. Amy Burke Friedman, a spokeswoman for the organization, initially declined to comment and referred back to the special meeting agenda.
Then, in a follow-up, Burke Friedman sent a statement from BOPA CEO Rachel D. Graham.
“While an emergency board meeting has been called to address concerns about current and historical financial issues with BOPA, accounts regarding us not meeting payroll are not accurate,” Graham said without further elaboration.
But an email sent Monday by interim BOPA board chair Andrew Chaveas, and reviewed by The Banner, casts doubt on Graham’s statement. Chaveas wrote his fellow board members that BOPA would operate at a negative cash flow starting this month and risks being unable to pay “fundamental expenses.”
For years BOPA leadership has shifted money from reserves to cover expenses and “reflect a balanced book” without replenishing itself, Chaveas wrote. He acknowledged the severity of the situation, calling it “shocking.” Graham is tasked with making recommendations to “return BOPA to a balanced cash flow,” which could include asking Scott’s administration for financial help.
The organization has hit turbulence over the past two years in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and internal management disarray. Its last leader, Donna Drew Sawyer, resigned in early 2023 following a bitter, public dispute with Scott over its failure to stage the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. The agency under Sawyer also ran afoul of the city’s Law Department when it tried to trademark Artscape, a direct violation of its contract.
It was later revealed after Sawyer resigned that she received at least $10,000 in severance paid from BOPA’s budget without the city’s knowledge.
A review of BOPA’s tax filings shows its financial position has weakened every year since the coronavirus shut down live events. At the end of the 2019 fiscal year, the arts group had $5.8 million in net assets. At the end of fiscal year 2023, it had just $1 million in assets. Millions that were meant to be spent on the signature event Artscape were unable to be recouped, according to the tax filings.
According to its website, BOPA employs 22 people, many who are assigned to work at its offices at 7 St. Paul St., a downtown office tower. The nonprofit also manages the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower and several other city-owned or leased sites.
Graham, the former head of external relations for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, took over BOPA in March. She received praise from members of the Baltimore City Council earlier this year for helping to steer the group back on track.
BOPA, which receives much of its funding from Baltimore’s budget, missed a deadline to finalize its contract with city government earlier this year, which includes money for Artscape. At the time, Chaveas said negotiations with the city took longer than expected.
At a special meeting in June, Graham said she wasn’t concerned about a possible lapse in funding, citing confidence in the city’s commitment in “doing what’s best” for its local artists. The contract wound up being approved by the city’s spending board with a few weeks to spare.
In the budget year that began July 1, the city agreed to pay BOPA $2.8 million as part of its contract. That agreement includes a provision that requires the organization to alert a “monitor” in City Hall if it can’t meet its contractual obligations.
A spokesperson for Scott’s office said the administration is “closely monitoring” the situation, however the path forward for the arts authority remains unclear.
