Kennedy Center Unveils New Donor Level for Gifts That Never Actually Arrive

WASHINGTON — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday unveiled a new top donor level, the Benefactor in Transit Circle, created for patrons whose gifts are promised, wired somewhere else entirely, and never actually reach the building.

Members get VIP events, gala seating and, according to a text message now with the White House counsel, the chance to “get close with the administration, even with POTUS.” Ric Grenell, who led the center at the time, has called the accusations “lies” and denied sending it.

The circle has no fixed price. Its suggested gift is $17 million, $6 million, or $5.6 million, depending on what day you ask, while the center’s own books list the pledge as $270,000.

“Donors told us the old tiers felt rigid,” said Penny Wyre, the center’s newly appointed vice president of funds in transit. “Here, the amount is a living document. It’s less a donation than a weather system.”

Each member also gets a tracking page showing where their contribution currently is. Wyre said the flagship gift last appeared as $17.6 million leaving Congo’s finance ministry in Kinshasa for a defense company in Houston, “which we’re choosing to see as international outreach.”

A White House official investigating the matter said, “This has been hard to track because numbers have changed.” Glen Shortfall, who has run the Sugar Land Lions Club bake sale for 31 years, called it normal. “I’ve seen a pledge shrink before,” he said. “Usually a pie turns into a bag of rolls. I’ve never seen one turn into a software deal.”

Reached for comment late Monday, a Kennedy Center usher confirmed that the circle’s private box is sold out for the entire season and, as of curtain time, completely empty.