Chautauqua Institution invests millions annually in capital maintenance and facility upgrades. The chart below shows investments since 2010, including investments in the Athenaeum Hotel, showing a steady and increased commitment to capital funding since 2017, except for the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when investments were impacted by both decreased revenues and supply chain interruptions. Despite these investments, what is also true is Chautauqua has never generated enough funds from its operations to address all the needs of the physical plant. This informs the assessment that undergirds the strategic plan, 150 Forward, which states that our current business model, significantly dependent upon Summer Assembly operations, will not sustain Chautauqua’s needs moving forward. The plan’s focus on operations outside of the Summer Assembly is centered on our need to generate more revenue from year-round operations to, in part, sustain the physical plant, which is central to the Summer Assembly experience. The data from 2024 is not yet final.

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