Facing financial woes, Sedgwick looks to fall re-opening

A new board and executive director are working to steer the nonprofit into fiscal health.

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

The Sedgwick Cultural Center, the nonprofit arts group credited with sparking neighborhood revitalization in Upper Mt. Airy, suspended its programming last month. A new board and executive director are restructuring the organization in the hopes of returning this fall.

Sedgwick officials sought the "breathing space" to stabilize a community institution saddled with debt, said Nina Ahmad, president of the board.

"The Sedgwick has gone hand to mouth from one crisis to another," Ahmad said. "We've come to a point where that's not going to sustain it."

The board plans to install safeguards to ensure the Sedgwick's legacy of "building community through the arts." Members are developing strategies to strengthen long-term funding, Ahmad said. The hiatus also allows time for the board members to set their priorities as a group.

The new slate of directors was appointed in the fall after the former board resigned last July for reasons that remain unclear. "There was some kind of logjam between the board and the executive director," said Ahmad, who was not a board member at the time. "Instead of trying to muddle through, I think they just decided the Sedgwick needed a new start," she said of the former board.

Betty Ann Fellner, founder of the Sedgwick, said she had announced her intentions to step down as executive director last March and retired that August. She said she worked with Greg Martino, the center's new executive director, throughout the summer to smooth the transition. "I'm a starter, not a maintainer," Fellner said. "It was time for someone else to take over."

Asked about the circumstances surrounding the former board's resignation, Fellner declined to discuss specifics, saying, "I think that we're way beyond the time to talk about what those misunderstandings and difficulties were and I don't think it serves anyone's purpose to go over them."

Pressed on the issue, Fellner told a reporter: "I don't think it's your role to drum it up nine months later."

Last September, the new board was faced with maintaining an operation that had been "slowly bleeding" red ink, Ahmad said. "We decided before we incurred any more debt, to be fiscally responsible we need to stop, assess and see where the plugs need to be put in."

Among other reforms, planning programming that pays for itself is critical to the reorganization, she said.

Calling the decision to suspend programming a "cruel to be kind" step, Ahmad said it would have minimal impact on the community since summer is typically the Sedgwick's slowest season.

In addition to expanding its board, the Sedgwick will create an advisory board.

"It's moving from a founder-driven organization to the next level," Ahmad said.