I recently went to San Juan, city #40 on the Kennedy Center's "Arts in Crisis" tour. I knew that I would have to alter my message a bit since Puerto Rico's arts organizations do not enjoy the same level of private philanthropy as do those in the 50 states.

There is a European flavor to the funding of the arts in Puerto Rico; government is a key sponsor of a few select organizations, corporations are the most prominent source of private funding and there is but one major foundation that supports the arts. Individual donors are few and far between. Even board members act more like overseers; they are not routinely expected to make financial contributions or to play a central role in fundraising. Arts organizations that do not receive government funding have to rely on earned income and on any bit of support they can develop from the small group of private funders.

The recession, not surprisingly, has had a major impact on virtually all arts endeavors. So, like everywhere else, there is fear. Artists are scared, as are managers and board members.

But these remarkably open people were very accepting of my message. They understood that reducing programming was not a healthy way to proceed. They agreed that they under-market their artistic programming and that they were unlikely to build a larger philanthropic base until the community better appreciates their work. And, of key importance, they accepted that their boards would have to change dramatically and quickly. Even the numerous board members who attended my session seemed to appreciate that they, like their cousins serving on European boards, needed to revise their job descriptions.

As the pressure to increase private funding dramatically is felt here in Puerto Rico as it is being felt in Europe and South America and Asia, boards will have to change their roles.

Therefore, this is a scary time of transition. Board members, who currently are wonderful ambassadors for their organizations, and who take their obligation to evaluate and approve plans and budgets seriously, will have to play a far larger role in fundraising. And charity must begin at home; board members will have to become substantial donors to their own organizations.

I have every confidence that this will happen in those organizations that learn how to make it fun to be an individual donor, approach individual fundraising with discipline and creativity, and are willing to restructure their boards.

The arts in Puerto Rico must survive; there is a tremendous love for creativity and music and dancing and the visual arts. Every person present at my session was deeply proud of the work of their organizations and eager for me to come to their performance, school or exhibition. So many important artists of all genres emerge from these groups. And the enthusiastic reception I received was evidence that the arts community appreciates the need for change.

But the leaders of this community must work diligently to create a new funding model and a new approach to governance to assure the vitality of the arts ecology.