Following the news, Elena K. Holy, producing artistic director of FringeNYC and The Present Company, organized a campaign at Fundly.com that aims to raise $20,000 in 40 days. The festival will go on whether the goal is met or not, but FringeNYC may cut back on special events and planning.

"The festival (of 1,000+ performances) is definitely happening," Holy told Playbill.com in a statement. "It operates almost entirely on earned income. It's our special events that we may need to reconsider — i.e. the mostly free stuff we do each year for New Yorkers."

The Department of Cultural Affairs has not yet responded to Playbill.com's request for comment.

The campaign explains, "Each spring, as we're reviewing applications from all over the world, we're also applying for funding from the City of New York for the upcoming festival. Before we even know which shows will be a part of FringeNYC the following summer, we ask the city for some modest support of our special events – FringeHIGH, FringeJR, FringeU, FringeART, FringeAL FRESCO, and FringeCLUB – the unique programming that we do in addition to our 1,000+ performances.

"In the fall, after the festival, we find out how much funding we've received FOR THE FESTIVAL WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTIVELY MADE HAPPEN. After an incredibly successful FringeNYC '14 Special Events line up, where even New York's Attorney General attended one of our FringeHIGH talkbacks ….we recently found out that this year New York City didn't F*** us (and by that we mean FUND). Quite frankly, we feel like we kinda got F***ED (and by that we mean. . . well, you probably get the idea)." More information can be found at Fundly.com/F-FringeNYC.

For more on New York City's annual Fringe Festival, visit FringeNYC.org.