Is there a better way to fund theatre?

I stumbled on an article from Bloomburg this morning that is talking about a significant decline in corporate and family philanthropy for the arts.

A few nuggets from the article:

• 45% of companies, in a recent poll, are cutting their philanthropy budget
  
• Another 16% are considering cuts
  
• High net-worth family contributions to the arts are down 71%
  
• During the same time charitable giving to health-related causes has grown by 51.2%
  

I am a firm believer in the value that the arts bring to the world and see theatre as one of the underpinnings of our rich culture. However, are we doing this the right way? Is charitable giving the only way to support and foster the arts in our society? If it is, then are we not hanging our cultural hat on the hooks of the Dow or the whims of the wealthy?

Solving the starvation of the arts in our society may take a bigger view than just searching for wealthy benefactors. Are the arts organizations in our communities doing enough to foster and grow a theatre-going public? Should we be looking at solutions that build a true arts economy?

I've got some ideas on how our struggling theatre community can leverage new ideas and new economic models that have been proven in other industries. Over the coming months I hope we can discuss it more. In the meantime, go see a play.