Burning Man CEO Asks For Donations To “Secure The Long-Term” Of The Event

Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell is asking for donations from the event’s community “to help secure the long-term” of its philanthropic efforts after the 2024 edition’s financial shortcomings.

In a blog post shared on the event’s Burning Man Journal site last week, Goodell wrote that lower-than-expected ticket sales for this year’s Burning Man, which returned to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert from August 25 to September 2, have the music and arts gathering at an “inflection point as a nonprofit.”

“On the one hand, global interest is at an all-time high, and the world needs Burning Man more than ever,” Goodell wrote. “On the other hand, we are well past the point where ticket revenues from Black Rock City are able to support our year-round cultural work.”

Goodell explained that 2024 sales for Burning Man’s higher-priced tickets were $5.7 million short of the event’s revenue goal. This, combined with another $3 million sales shortcoming on main-sale tickets and vehicle passes, Goodell wrote, “means that our year-end charitable donation target has essentially doubled to nearly $20M. This needs to happen before 2025 ticket sales and our annual revenue cycle begins in January.”

She’s now soliciting monthly $20 donations from supporters to secure the event’s various initiatives, from art showcases and regional burns, to the Burning Man LIVE podcast and the actual construction of Black Rock City each spring.

It’s not the first time Goodell has called for financial support from Burners. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, supporters generated more than $39 million in donations for the festival, which has continued to “tighten its belt” by reorganizing and laying off staff, among other efforts in the years since, according to Goodell.

“The world needs what we offer now more than ever,” she continued. “For us to continue to be this force for good, convening people in person, inspiring creativity and innovation, and storytelling in ways that spark change, we need your help to raise the funds needed to preserve Black Rock City as the vibrant heart of Burning Man, and to protect the culture with which the event is intertwined.”

Read Goodell’s full post and donate to Burning Man here.

Featured image from The Burning Man Project. Credit: Jon Bookout.