MPTF Facing “Imminent Demise” & Prospect Of Going Out Of Business By Year’s End

The 100-plus-year-old Motion Picture & Television Fund, hit by a “perfect storm” of rising expenses and declining revenue, is facing its “imminent demise” and the very real prospect of closing its doors and going out of business by the end of 2022 unless it gets a dramatic infusion of cash donations.

“Our mission has never faced such dire challenges,” MPTF president and CEO Bob Beitcher says in an urgent appeal that’s going out to some 600 industry leaders. “To put it bluntly, the MPTF legacy and mission – our ability to exist – are in real jeopardy. Our ability to continue to support the thousands of industry members on our campus and in the community who depend on the MPTF for food, shelter, charitable assistance, medical care and socialization, literally hangs in the balance. Without some dramatic infusion of funds, we will not be able to take care of our own much longer.”

“After more than a decade as CEO of MPTF, I’m writing a letter I hoped I’d never have to write:­ one that says we desperately and urgently need your help,” he wrote. “Coming through the pandemic, every member of the MPTF fiduciary team has been forced to take a hard look at our financial circumstances; and right now, things don’t look good.

“Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, MPTF has incurred a staggering operating shortfall­ the result of a pernicious combination of Covid-related costs for residents and staff on our campus in Woodland Hills, nursing shortages and lower occupancy rates, and lost revenues from our major events during the pandemic — all costing us over $20 million. Tag onto that the recent drop in our investment portfolio! Never sufficiently endowed, MPTF has always survived year to year and deficit to deficit. We are now operating in dangerous territory, rapidly depleting our cash reserves.”

See his full letter to industry leaders here.

The pandemic’s impact on MPTF’s finances has been profound. According to MPTF, the 101-year-old charity has lost an estimated $22 million from 2020 through the end of this year due to the pandemic, including more than $9 million in direct Covid expenses, over $7 million in lost revenue, and nearly $7 million in shortfalls from Covid-impacted fundraising events. The losses would have been even greater if not for $1,296,108 in federal provider-relief funding.

Beitcher told Deadline that “Covid costs of over $20 million over the past three years, a decline in our investment portfolio, and lower fund-raising have all combined to create a perfect storm of putting MPTF against the wall in terms of its ability to meet its bank line compliance and continue ongoing operations. So, we wanted to put this out now and give the industry the opportunity to step up and be counted before it’s too late.

“If we don’t raise $10 million-$12 million by the end of the year in cash, then we risk breaking our bank covenant. What the bank does after that is really unclear. The bank has a lot of options, but in theory it could push us to the point of insolvency.

“We borrowed $20 million plus – this was before my time…