Holyoke arts education program ceases operations after revenue slump

HOLYOKE – A long-standing arts education program will pause its operations for a year through the summer of 2025 in hopes of getting back on solid financial footing.

The Enchanted Circle announced Tuesday that it will spend the next school year getting its finances in order, including ensuring it has an executive director for the first time since 2021.

The 48-year-old program also announced a fundraising goal of $300,000 for its hiatus, a move made necessary by the lack of COVID relief funds it relied on to deal with the pandemic.

“We believe the arts are a really powerful tool for justice and liberation,” said Mel Redwin, interim chair of Enchanted Circle’s board of directors. “We want to make sure that our approach to our mission meets the needs of our community, especially Holyoke, where we have a lot of our attention. We’ve become even more focused on Holyoke in recent years.”

Enchanted Circle promised to provide updates throughout the closure. Community members are encouraged to get involved, provide input and stay informed, it said in a letter to supporters.

“Emergency funding has enabled us to maintain our operations during these unprecedented times, but the failure to extend that funding has resulted in a significant budget deficit,” Redwin said.

“Enchanted Circle is not alone in its struggle,” she said. “We are a local example of a national crisis.”

In a normal year, Enchanted Circle would wrap up its school year programs in June, said Danielle Amodeo, the program’s spokesperson. Normally, they would be preparing for summer programs and the upcoming school year.

Enchanted Circle began as a theater group but expanded to include music, visual arts such as painting, and creative writing.

“We often teach science through drama and math through dance,” Redwin said.

According to federal records, Enchanted Circle received a $105,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2021. Like most PPP loans, it was later forgiven.

According to the group’s 2021 tax return, the most recent, revenue fell from $622,000 in 2020 to $280,000 in 2021. The group reported a surplus of $41,565 (after deducting expenses from revenue), but a loss of $158,406 in 2021.

Redwin said Enchanted Circle has operated on an annual budget of $300,000 and has three part-time employees and one full-time employee. Starting Monday, there will be no employees.

The remaining funds come from a variety of sources, including groups such as the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Additional revenue comes from school districts that contract Enchanted Circle to run programs.

“Programs don’t necessarily have the money to pay us. And schools can struggle as well,” Redwin said. “Oftentimes, our organization doesn’t quite have enough to pay our artists and staff well and also cover basic operating costs.”

In this situation, Redwin said she hopes schools and groups like the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke will partner with Enchanted Circle’s trained artists or others to continue their programs on their own.

“We really want to encourage partners and artists to continue to work together,” Redwin said. “There is a lot more need out there. One of the problems is certainly that the art teaching profession does not offer enough stability,” she said.

One solution is to create jobs for arts and culture educators that can support a family, Redwin said.

Enchanted Circle Theater Executive and Artistic Director Priscilla Kane Hellweg stepped down in 2022 after 40 years, leading the nonprofit’s growth from its beginnings as a small touring educational theater company.