Free Overhead: How Creative Mission Led to Cost Savings

The Nordic Hall is the showpiece of the nonprofit Scandinavian Cultural Center outside Boston. It’s an intimate performance and exhibition space with a wood-beam ceiling, a Steinway grand piano, and seating for about 100. The best part: Though the center doesn’t own the hall, it doesn’t pay a dime in rent or upkeep. Indeed, it pays none of its facility costs, a savings of about $120,000 – a handy sum for an organization that spends as much as $100,000 a year on programs.

How does the center’s balance sheet work out so well? It’s a story of creative thinking about mission, finance, and, surprisingly, how we care for the elderly.

An unusual partnership. The cultural center is part of the Scandinavian Charitable Society of Greater Boston, a nonprofit born of century-old organizations that cared for elderly Swedes and Norwegians. In 2001, the society launched the Scandinavian Living Center, a 40-apartment assisted-living facility in Newton, Mass. A decade later, it opened the cultural center within the living center.

Bring the community to the seniors. The assisted-living center is modeled after elder-care homes in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It aims to break down the isolation and institutional feel of many residential homes for older people. The key: Establish within the center businesses and other enterprises that draw the community inside its doors.

In addition to the cultural center, the Newton living center houses a physical therapist who serves both residents and outside families. It’s also the headquarters of Newton at Home, a nonprofit whose volunteers help the elderly around the area with household tasks, medical visits, and more.

A magnet for the arts crowd. The cultural center features at least three public events monthly that promote Scandinavian culture, including films, music performances, art exhibits, lectures, and an annual Nordic food festival. Some performances are free to the public, but residents can attend all for free. The center also rents out the Nordic Hall to outside groups, bringing more variety to residents. One favorite: monthly Suzuki piano recitals by area children.

A win-win. Thanks in part to the cultural center, the society reports that roughly 2,000 people come to the living center each month. The food festival alone drew a crowd of 400. “It’s not quiet here,” says Bill Woodard, director of development for the society. “People are coming in every day.”

Freed from overhead costs, meanwhile, the cultural center can focus its dollars on attracting top talent. Among the recent performers: rising Ecuadorian cello star Francisco Vila. “We can afford to really look for quality programming because we’re not worried about making rent,” says Kerry Lavin, the cultural center’s director.