Cuts also take philanthropists too far, and music lessons become unaffordable, Kerkrade retains its theatre

'Philanthropists cannot absorb cuts'

(...) "Funds are less and less willing to just write a cheque. Owners want to be involved, contribute their expertise and measure impacts. They ask about the applicant's objective, how they intend to achieve it and whether it is measurable. (..)
"On average, a fund pays out 4 per cent of its assets every year. So that would amount to 800 million a year. To achieve that, a fund does need to achieve a return of 5 to 6 per cent, otherwise inflation hollows out the fund." (..)

"But it seems that the effect of a retreating government is twofold. On the one hand, there is more need for financial aid: we are receiving more applications from individual Dutch people who are at risk of falling between the cracks and more applications from civil society. Then it's about libraries or youth clubs having to close. But you also see a decrease in the number of requests from civil society organisations."

"Their agency fees were often paid by the government. With the government cutting subsidies, I am increasingly getting the impression that charities have had to reduce their staffing levels. As a result, they also have less capacity to apply for funds.” (..)
"The government decides where it cuts back, such as on culture or social security. Citizens and entrepreneurs decide which things to pick up from that." (..)

Source: Wed    21 Nov 11 [my italics]

Kerkrade theatre will continue to exist

Kerkrade Theatre will remain in its current form. It will be refurbished at a cost of several million euros and, together with the library, will be given a prominent place in the new town centre plan. (..)
Earlier this year, Kerkrade was on its hind legs when the municipality wanted to sharply downsize the theatre. (...) According to that plan, the theatre had to be reduced from 610 seats to 250 seats. Thomas and his colleagues now believe that the theatre should be retained in its current form for Kerkrade.

Source: The Limburger    Nov 19, 11 [my italics]

Amsterdam - 'Learning to play an instrument will be prohibitively expensive'

The Amsterdam Music School fears an exodus of students, as lessons will become twice as expensive if the municipality no longer subsidises the school. (..)
'The municipality wants to offer music lessons in schools. We think that is good, of course. But that comes at the expense of children who are taught outside school hours. In this way, the child is thrown out with the bathwater.' (..)
The [municipal] memorandum states that the municipal government sees extracurricular music lessons as a responsibility of children and their parents. The cost of these lessons should therefore be met by them, the note says. Now, over half of the cost is covered by subsidy from the municipality.

Source: Parole    18 Nov 11 [my italics]