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Thanks to many of you who’ve reached out over the last few months asking us to cover BMorg’s latest financial shenanigans. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to – it’s outrageous, and definitely a hot topic of discussion amongst my Burner friends. I’ve just been very busy with IRL stuff building AI systems at aiLevelUp.ai. I was hoping that over the holiday break I would get some downtime for my Burning Man art project.

As luck would have it, BMorg’s official IRS 990 Tax Report for 2023 came out yesterday, the last day of 2024 and perfect timing for me to do this analysis. We’ll have to wait a whole ‘nother year to find out what happened in 2024 to cause this dire financial crisis. The Burning Man Project ended 2023 sitting on a $30 million net assets pile (up $10 million since COVID), most of which is liquid…so WTF went wrong?

Of course the self-proclaimed Leaders in Non-Profit Transparency haven’t bothered to put this information on their web site yet. It’s…wait for it…”coming soon”. They’re desperate for millions more of our dollars, but not so desperate that they feel any need to explain their salary increases or the general inefficiency of this $67 million “non-profit” behemoth that’s kicking off $3m net income per year.

No really.

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FUELED BY FOSSILS

It’s now been a full 10 years of public IRS filings, so we can consider not just the changes from when Burning Man first “transitioned” until today, but also look at the performance over the past decade of this regime – many of whom are doing the same jobs they did in the 90’s or even 80’s.

I notice many of the same names on the Board today as when we started this blog back in 2012…come on Chip and Jennifer and Leo and Mercedes and Ping and Terry and the rest, no disrespect, they’re all fine people, but where is the accountability? Where are the fresh ideas? As Einstein said, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”. Yet basically we have a party for people in their 20’s and 30’s being organized by people in their 70’s. Why should it be on the Zoomers to bail out the Boomers? It should be the other way round, the Boomers should be rushing to empower the Zoomers to take the reins and take Burning Man to levels nobody has even imagined yet! For fuck’s sake we have the richest man in the world wanting to go to Mars (Space Playa) and he launches companies at Burning Man and his brother Kimbal is on the Burning Man Board…yet somehow BURNERS are expected to foot the bill for bloated bureaucracy and hokum holocracy and mediocre middle mismanagement? EVERY YEAR? It makes me so mad I want to tell someone take a big step back and go fuck yourself in the face, then go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend. Or something.

We need D.O.G.E. – our own one, the Department Of Gerlach Efficiency. Or perhaps Donor Operated Gift Economy.

Why not use the advanced cyber-tribal civilization of Burning Man to rapidly iterate through prototypes of operational efficiency civic upgrades before applying the flamethrower to a million+ Government jobs? After all, it is an experimental test site on Federal property, where every participant agrees to accept the risks. Burners are demographically more likely to be able to absorb the economic shocks from Radical Self-Reliance writ to Giga scale, and hey, who knows – maybe we have some things to contribute too.

Forget fossil fuels: this is being fueled by fossils. Sustainability starts at Burning Man with Civic Responsibility, Radical Self Reliance, Radical Self Expression, Gifting, Immediacy, Communal Effort, Participation, and Radical Inclusion. How Radical would it be if those values were expressed by a new generation of leadership with a new vision for this community that can inspire the world. Burning Man is stagnating, decaying, fading: Leave No Trace wasn’t supposed to mean let it disappear when the founders got too old. Decommodification is butting heads with Concierge Camps and Instagram.

It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s the people that make the party.

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CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

How much was spent on the party, how much was spent on the year-round overhead, how much was spent on the mission? How much went to “spread Burner culture around the world”? What % went to art? How come the 2nd biggest regional could be financially sustainable while spending 50% of revenue on art…but instead of learning the lessons from the field, the Org decided to cancel it?

For those who want to geek out on the data here’s the full spreadsheet, compiled from the last 10 years of IRS Form 990 data.

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SALARIES

For the people who were there from the start (rest in peace Larry Harvey and Ray Allen), this highly profitable “non-profit” has sure kicked back some hefty sums. Charlie Dolman’s earned every penny, but the others need to take ownership for the current circumstances. Other than the $30 million assets and $3 million annual profits that are now outside the LLC and free from taxes…has anything really changed? I mean sure, the culture has got worse. But what about the Permanent Utopia we’re building at Fly Ranch? No? There’s a geyser you can pay $430 to walk around, if you’re on the guest list. I guess that’s making the world a better place. I kinda feel with the collective creativity and talents of the global Burner diaspora we could set our sights a little higher. How are we going with spreading Burner culture around the world? Oh, Love Burn got too big and shared too much of the ticket revenue with artists, making the Org look bad? Shut it down!

If Burners were shareholders we’d be voting these people out. If “Civic Responsibility” meant Burners having a say in the Civics of the City they build and tear down every year then we’d also be voting these people out. Instead there is absolutely no oversight. You’re looking at it here. Unlike other festivals, we can’t vote with our dollar – not only is there just one Black Rock City in the world, it’s made by us. And yet we’re powerless to stop its decline or call to account its past-their-use-by-date leadership. Needless to say I won’t be donating; Your Mileage May Vary. Give your money to Operation Dignity providing shelter for the Bay Area’s homeless veterans instead, the overheads are low and the social impact of your dollar is very high.

Oh and speaking of philanthropy, Captain Paul Watson is free – huge thanks to SHIFTPOD for bringing that interview to us all the way from Greenland.

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UPDATE 3 Jan 2025

Thanks to Burner Christopher Schardt for putting together this more detailed salary review, which highlights the consistency of these people giving themselves raises while becoming increasingly dependent on extra donations beyond the $60 million annual event. The Treasurer is literally called “Raiser”, perhaps that should have been a clue…

Source: Christopher Schardt, via ProPublica

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WHERE IS THE MONEY BEING SPENT?

The party is profitable. It’s making $13m a year from $57m revenues, an extremely healthy profit margin of 23%. The problem lies in all the other stuff.

They gave out art grants of $1,325,470 in 2023. Almost all of that was for art at Burning Man – what for every other festival is considered part of the expenses of the party. In this case it’s being dressed up as “Burning Man’s mission” and it takes them an additional $2,425,606 of program spending to decide how to hand those grants out. That’s $1.83 of overhead for every $1 of grant. And we’re not including any general corporate overhead here – this is specific to Black Rock Arts, Crimson’s fiefdom. Crimson herself claims the situation is even worse than this, with $5m of overhead required for $1m of art (her email is included at the end of this post).

The Regionals got grants of $20,275. Yes you read that right, that’s twenty THOUSAND total not twenty million. For 87 official events, so an average of $233 was generously donated to each Regional by the Org. That’s about the same as a vehicle pass these days. This is how we spread Burner culture around the world: starve the Regionals so they’re small and kind of sucky, serving mainly as a feeder to the Nevada event – where BMorg get all the direct income, but vast fortunes are also being made from ancillary businesses like fuel and rentals and food and water and honey wagons. This area of the Burning Man economy has always been impenetrably murky – they were forced to reveal their now 100+ list of vendors authorized to profit from the Playa only after we filed a FOIA request in 2017. Who owns what share of which vendors and what kickbacks flow to whom is one of the Black Box Bamboozlers of Black Rock…just like where all the acid comes from. Same same?

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GERLACH EFFICIENCY

What are the KPIs on the Organization’s mission, and how are they tracking against them? Is Marian smashing her numbers every quarter? Or is this a rat-infested ship that’s slowly sinking under the weight of its own smug hubris?

In the past 10 years Burning Man has received $67m in donations. This is on top of the $340m they’ve raked in from 8 Black Rock City events. Combined they’ve brought in $427m. How much was given out in grants? Bearing in mind that 80% of the grants go to art that’s part of the event, and the artists have to transfer their intellectual property to Burning Man who can earn continuing royalties on it.

$13.4 million. 3%. So 97% of the money flowing into Burning Man does not go out into funding the alleged purposes of this “charity” non-profit highly profitable tax-exempt corporate structure.

To put this generous giving back to the community in perspective, $12.5 million was spent on meals and entertainment, $7m on travel. $6m went to lawyers and accountants, in addition to all the lawyers and accountants on the BMorg year-round payroll. How hard can counting these ticket sales really be to figure out, after doing it for 40 years? $33.7m was spent on rental equipment, despite the organization having $30m in assets. At what point does it make more sense to own the stuff yourself, rather than spending $8 million every year to rent it from your mates? Or just hire a single book-keeper that can count ticket sales and file a Form 990 in the same year – corporate governance, where are you? We have an emergency here!

We hear a lot about how expenses keep going up because of the Feds, but in fact the permit costs have stayed relatively stable compared to other expenses like Salaries and Office Expenses. If you want to make $427 million from 8 events on government land, they’ll charge you $33 million – not a bad deal.

Payroll, Board and Benefits combined is around $190m, by far the biggest expense, and clearly the first area of fat for the DOGE trimmers to start liposucting.

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C’MON BRO, GIVE US YOUR MONEY BRO, WE REALLY NEED IT BRO

Crimson Rose sent this from “giving@burningman.org” on Nov 25th 2024. ICYMI that’s us giving to them, not them giving to anyone…[highlighting ours]

Do you remember the first time an amazing work of art at Burning Man opened your heart? For me, it was the Man itself, which I had the honor of sending to its fiery release at my first Burn in the desert in 1991. Now, imagine a newcomer coming to Black Rock City and experiencing Burning Man art for the first time, just as we did. How would their hearts open?

Radical Self-expression is one of our core principles, and art has always been central to the Burning Man experience. A work of art can take you on a journey and give you insight into your own art spirit, for we are transformed from spectator to participant and we are given permission to become active contributors to the creative process. 

But it also requires an incredible contribution from the community to make it possible — countless hours of work and the essential monetary support. When you tally it all up — the annual Honoraria grants, art support services such as heavy equipment, and ticket assistance for participating artists — the nonprofit’s annual cost for facilitating Black Rock City art is approaching $5 million. This is a relatively small part of the roughly $48 million spent in 2023 to produce the event, but it’s a priceless and irreplaceable part that brings so much joy to so many.

While it may seem we just finished Black Rock City 2024, the Burning Man Project art team and artists around the world are still in high gear, focused on creating next year’s Burning Man art. 

The Tomorrow Today art theme has been announced, the Honoraria grant process is underway, and proposals for the Temple have been submitted and are under review. 

But ticket prices have not yet been set. In order to keep them reasonable, and to fully fund our art programs, we need elevated long-term financial support from the community to be able to plan with confidence for the future. Burning Man needs your help to raise $3 million that will go towards art and engagement in Black Rock City. 

To keep Burning Man accessible and fund Black Rock City art,
we urgently need your recurring support, now and into the future. 

As stimulating as the art of Black Rock City is for so many people, its influence extends far beyond the city limits, reaching local communities around the world, every day of the year. Did you know — community members have helped place hundreds of art pieces from Black Rock City out in the world. The joy and connection on the playa reaches beyond it! I remember when we chose “Charon” by Peter Hudson for an Honoraria grant in 2011. Little did we know that work of art would spend years touring France, Belgium and the UK. 

Artwork that once had a life in Black Rock City can live again. By installing art in a community, the same creative energy that was born of the desert is exposed to new audiences. We always look for art that resonates in Black Rock City, and we are overjoyed when people around the world get the chance to experience this art too.

We are making progress toward the 2024 fundraising goal and we thank you for being so responsive and involved. The community goal for December to raise $3 million plays an important role in securing the future of Burning Man art — on the playa and in the world. And, that goal will help to keep Black Rock City accessible. If you have the means to contribute, I’m asking for your help. I have been part of building and running the art program since 1991 because of the people I’ve met and the art I’ve experienced at Burning Man events around the world. 

Join me in supporting Burning Man Project with a tax-deductible donation today. 

Burn brightly,

Crimson Rose
Burning Man Co-founder

Can someone explain to me please how they need $3 million in December to “facilitate” $1 million of art being deployed on the Playa next August? How does this “secure the future of Burning Man Art” in any way? And since when was “the people I’ve met and the art I’ve experienced” been a qualification for running anything?

We’ll leave you with an email from the CEO asking for $14 million, not so much “mea culpa” as “tua sumptu“:

Dear Burning Man community, 

Here we are two weeks before the end of the calendar year. Thank you to all of you who have sent words of encouragement, donations, and pledges to participate in Burning Man and bring more joy, awe, art and engagement to the world.

Let me give an update as to where we are so far in our year-end fundraising effort, and what’s in store.

We started 2024 with a commitment to raise $10M philanthropically. This was up 20% from the $8.2M raised in 2023. Due to the ticket sales shortfall to Black Rock City in 2024, we found ourselves needing to make mission-aligned budget adjustments and raise the remaining deficit to the tune of approximately $10M—this, in addition to the initial $10M goal. And today, with reductions as well as dollars raised from supporters, we’re still about $14M short of where we ought to be.

We cut expenses, reduced the year-round workforce, deferred some payments, got reductions on our office rentals, and doubled down on our commitment to do more to bring Burning Man and Black Rock City to the world, not less.

Burning Man is like nothing else in the world. There is no other mass gathering the size and length of Black Rock City that, driven by Principles including participation, gifting, and inclusion, creates such awe and joy—all without corporate sponsorship, vending and merchandise to subsidize the operation. Much bigger than an event or festival, Burning Man is a global cultural movement that is already benefiting the world. 

So, how do we sustain it, and get more Burning Man out there? 

We have dedicated and passionate donors and supporters. Thank you. With your support, we will continue to lean into what Burning Man Project is: A global arts and culture nonprofit that needs year-round philanthropic support to accomplish our mission to facilitate and extend Burning Man culture to the world.: 

This is the first front of our inflection point: leaning into philanthropy to bring more belonging, connection and creativity to the world. 

We launched a $3M December Community Campaign on Nov. 25. Now, thanks to the generosity of enthusiastic donors, we are able to offer a match to your donations through the end of the year to help us reach our goal. Every dollar donated is worth $2. 

The opposite of shrinking, we are also leaning into our role as a service provider. This is the second front of our inflection point. Burning Man Project is in service to a global cultural movement advancing a more creative, connected and thriving society. 

And, to be in service to you, the participants that bring Burning Man to life and sustain it 365, we are making it easier to participate in this phenomenon that started on a beach and migrated to the Nevada desert and out into the world. How? 

• We are determined to keep Burning Man financially accessible by offering reasonably priced ticket options for Black Rock City 2025, and we’ve improved many processes to provide better access to tickets and support your efforts to bring your self expression to Burning Man. Ticket details are still being ironed out, and today’s philanthropic support helps inform planning for the 2025 event. 
• We have reduced many administrative processes, including how you bring your art, content, mutant vehicles and Theme Camps to Black Rock City. This includes the shortening of forms, including the Theme Camp Statement Of Intent, the Placed Camp Questionnaire and the Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV) Application Form, and removal of unnecessary questions, to ensure we are seeking only the most necessary details. Additionally, with a new fast-track system for returning camps in good standing, you’ll find many questions pre-populated from your previous applications.

• We are looking deeper into feedback around delivery of Recreational Vehicles not being allowed to the playa, to ensure the policy best balances your safety and mitigation of onsite commercial activity. 
• As we did in 2024, we will continue to visit Theme Camps less for compliance to government regulations and instead lean more heavily into pre-event education. In Black Rock City 2024, we simplified the complex fuel storage guidelines to make it easier for participants to follow.
• We are also making ourselves more accessible. By offering town halls, office hours and more clearly providing contact points for you within the nonprofit, we are making ourselves available to participants as a resource, supporting them to successfully contribute to and advance Burning Man culture in every corner of the world. 
• We will continue to optimize your Black Rock City gate experience not only for wait times, but to also feel welcoming. This includes helping you prepare for what is expected for entry, and resolving side trips to D-Lot quickly and respectfully.

It is heartwarming and frankly overwhelming at times to hear all of your powerful stories of change and transformation at Burning Man. Most recently, we were thrilled to hear from a major Black Rock City theme camp and art car community that is working to have their group achieve 100% participation in donating to Burning Man Project. Gifts of any amount help us increase our fundraising participation numbers, and when everyone takes part, the benefit Burning Man can have on the world is limitless. 

The world needs more Burning Man — let’s lean in and make it happen together. 

With gratitude and love,

Marian Goodell, CEO, Burning Man Project

They’re looking deeper into the feedback, sweet. We’re saved.

Burning Man As A Service – BAAS? Could it work? Hands up who is eager to pay money to receive the wisdom and expertise of BMorg to help advise them how to have a good time! Silicon Valley is pivoting away from SAAS, something tells me this is not going to be the answer to the management team’s woes.

If the team keeps losing and you keep bringing in new players and they still keep losing and it’s the same old coach running the same old playbook telling you “no everything’s fine, it’s the fans who are the problem”…do you give that coach a 10% payrise?