There was a cartoon I read as a child, in MAD magazine I think, that stated Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and then used the profits to reward people who refused to use it. Not a good business model, that’s for sure.

What made me think of this wasn’t the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize but recent news that complemented my entries about arts support from less than politically correct sources. (Though as a popularly elected official, Gov. Huckabee is obviously politically correct for a lot of people.)

Nobel apparently had pacifist leanings and believed that people would be so horrified by the explosive power of dynamite, war would be impossible. That didn’t stop a French newspaper, upon mistaking his brother’s death for his, from exclaiming “the merchant of death is dead.”

The recent news that Altria (nee Philip Morris) would be leaving NYC heralding the end to the grant support they provided to the arts community and the closure of a branch site of the Whitney Museum.

Whether you approve of Altria or not, this is certainly a blow to many organizations in NYC which depended on the money. I don’t know what this means for the arts organizations that they support nationally. I know of a number of companies located outside of NYC who receive funding from Altria.

There were some details to the controversy over arts organizations accepting money from a tobacco company that the NY Times covered of which I wasn’t aware. There are apparently people who won’t go to see performances by companies who accept Altria funding. It makes sense that there would be since there are artists who won’t perform in places that accept the support of certain companies. I had just never come across an arts patron who boycotted a performance group.

I have to admit, I have always been suspicious of Altria’s arts philanthropy because the preponderance of their support seems to go to dance companies. As a group, dancers tend to be biggest consumer of cigarettes among performing artists due to their appetite suppressing properties which help them stay thin.

I have to also acknowledge that even though I don’t receive six or seven figure donations at my organization (and fewer five figure ones than I would like!), the source of some of those funds may conflict with my social/political/business leanings. When you put out an appeal for funding, it is difficult to control who will respond to your call. When you have knowledge of the original source of the money, the decision to accept can require a lot of soul searching.

I wonder with corporate support waning as companies and banks move or merge, will arts organizations faced with this reality have an easier time accepting or rejecting funding knowing that longevity of support is no longer assured.