Ahead of Burning Man’s namesake event in the northern Nevada desert later this month, Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell has outlined the nonprofit’s current financial picture.
In a blog post published Wednesday (Aug. 13) on the Burning Man site, Goodell wrote that “as a result of hard work and participation from the community, our financial outlook is much stronger than where we were a year ago.”
The announcement comes after a period of financial turbulence for Burning Man, which in late 2024 announced a significant revenue shortfall totaling approximately $8.7 million — a result of the highest-priced tickets for the 2024 festival not selling as planned, along with a dip in sales for main-sale tickets and vehicle passes. As a result, the organization’s year-end charitable donation target was $20 million, twice its regular amount.
That revelation came in tandem with a public fundraiser and, eventually, updated ticket tiers and an increase in some ticket prices for the 2025 event.
Goodell’s latest announcement indicates these efforts have paid off, as she wrote that “through a combination of charitable contributions, mission-aligned cost reductions, a reduction in headcount by 10%, and collaboration with partners to reduce costs, we began this year with our financial recovery well underway.”
She added that “further momentum for financial stability” is being created by financial donations made outside of the standard end-of-year donation period, along with “strong Black Rock City 2025 ticket sales.”
This year, Burning Man tickets started at $550, with prices scaling up from there, to $650, $750 and $950 and more. (Tickets for this month’s event are currently still available through the Burning Man website and begin at $950, with prices going as high as $3,000 per ticket.)
“Additionally,” Goodell wrote, “we continue to tightly manage operating expenses and capital expenses across operations.” She added that the Burning Man Project, the nonprofit behind the annual gathering in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and other Burning Man-related initiatives, “are always in need of financial support to help bring our mission to life.”