The Burning Man Project is facing a financial shortfall, and ahead of the 2025 edition of the event, organizers are now asking for help to keep Black Rock City alive.
Aside from its annual event in Nevada, the Burning Man Project operates year-round, bringing culture from the festival across the world. Its focuses include the 10 Principles: radical inclusion; gifting; decommodification; radical self-reliance; radical self-expression; communal effort; civic responsibility; leaving no trace; participation; and immediacy.
In a blog post, the non-profit’s first chief executive Marian Goodell said that the organization is largely in a cash crunch due to Black Rock City’s higher-priced tickets this year. Now, Goodell said the company suffered a $5.7 million shortfall and $3 million dip in main ticket sales and vehicle passes. They’re requesting a charitable donation target of $20 million ahead of 2025’s onsale.
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While other festivals rely on commercial sponsorships or advertising for 25-30% of their revenue, Goodell said this goes against one of Burning Man’s 10 principles: decommodification.
“Many are surprised to learn that ticket revenue alone does not fund all that Burning Man Project does to bring Burning Man to the world, including the production of Black Rock City, and has not for years,” Goodell wrote. “Specific to BRC [Black Rock City], in 2023, the cost to produce the event was an estimated $749 per participant while the main sale ticket price was $575 per ticket. Furthermore, since 2014, the Black Rock City production cost per participant has been greater than the main sale ticket price and the event has had to be subsidised.”
Ahead of next year’s event, Burning Man hopes to balance their budget for 2024 and readjust revenue and cost objectives. In the meantime, Goodell has pleaded for support, noting that “the world needs what we offer now more than ever.”
“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,” Goodell said.
In the comment section of Goodell’s blog post, Burners called-out the organization for mismanaging their money and offered possible solutions:
While previous events sold out within 30 minutes of going on sale, this year’s festival failed to sell out just over a week before it began.
The lack of enthusiasm surrounding this year’s event could have to do with the chaos during Burning Man’s 2023 edition; the nine-day event was originally delayed due to Hurricane Hilary, which led to flooding in the playa. During the 2022 event, thousands were stuck for over eight hours on the two-lane road leading to the nearest major highway. However, last year, attendees couldn’t even leave if they wanted to, as rainfall caused the streets to become impassable.
| READ: Burning Man Eventgoers ‘Stranded’ After Flood Leaves Roads Impassable |
Burners were trapped in the desert for up to three days, and attendees were forced to conserve water and gas to survive. Some even made the trek out of the desert on-foot, walking miles through the mud.
Aside from 2023’s messy outcome, Burning Man might have fallen victim to this year’s festival lull. Since the start of 2024, dozens of festivals across the globe have been called-off.
