CARRBORO - The ArtsCenter has named a longtime volunteer, supporter and committee member its interim director as it works to climb out of a half-million dollar hole.

Jay Miller first began associating with The ArtsCenter almost 30 years ago, when the nonprofit arts organization was in Carr Mill Mall and he played tenor sax and keyboards for Lise Uyanik's Mobile City Band, which performed there. In the decades since, he has remained involved in a number of roles.

In June Miller accepted the position of interim director of The ArtsCenter. He plans to serve for about six months, he said.

"It's the evolution of a long, long relationship with The ArtsCenter," said Miller, former owner of the Music Loft and currently the president and chief executive officer of Shared Visions, a nonprofit that helps build organizational capacities in local nonprofit agencies. "I got to know the board and the staff there and admired what they were doing, and that led to my becoming a regular supporter. I've wanted to do what I can to help out for a long time.

"I'm a little overwhelmed, but I feel really good about what we're doing and where we're going."

That would be back toward financial health, he hopes. The ArtsCenter, like most nonprofits, has been hit hard by the economic recession.

The organization has suffered several consecutive years of financial losses. According to tax returns, in 2009-10, the last year for which returns are available, The ArtsCenter lost $265,000, increasing its overall debt to $560,000.

To help it continue operations, according to the 2009-10 tax return, the organization took out a $315,000 loan against its building at 300-G E. Main St.

Miller's job, along with the board of directors and administration, is to turn the downward financial trend around.

He said that change of course has already begun. Although final figures haven't been compiled yet, he said, the fiscal year that ended on June 30 of this year, was much better than the previous year.

"We've turned the corner," said Miller, who is working for The ArtsCenter under a service grant from Shared Visions Foundation. "I'm very optimistic. It's not over yet, but we are definitely through the worst of it, and we're going to be improving our position from here out."

The recovery effort got a big boost with confirmation Friday of a $100,000 grant from the Nicholson Foundation, a New Jersey-based organization, to pay off outstanding debts, said Betsy James, chair of the board.

The board earlier this year eliminated the position of executive director held by Ed Camp. That's a savings of $85,000, Miller said.

Another full-time staff position, director of the Youth Performing Arts Conservatory, became vacant voluntarily, and The ArtsCenter was able to continue the program without filling the position.

Miller said the board recently approved a $1.2 million budget for the coming year that is deliberately "ultra-conservative."

"We've had budgets in the past that were overly ambitious," he said. "This one projects revenue of $1.2 million, which is less than we actually took in last year. Our goal is to do better than that, finish paying our past due payables and start to grow the organization."

James said the board and administration have adopted a new budgeting approach designed to stabilize finances and allow a long-term strategy to succeed.

"We've had too many budgets that relied on development funding to take care of too much," she said. "For the first time in a while, I think we have a budget we can meet. It's a balanced budget, and it's doesn't rely on development to come up with dollars that aren't there yet. At the same time, we're going to develop a plan for development to grow, and grow quickly."

To that end, the ArtsCenter recently named Julie Tomkovick director of development. She held that post in the 1990s and said she'll work to raise The ArtsCenter's public profile, build membership and connect with donors and potential donors.

"I know there are a lot of people out there who are interested and pulling for us," she said. "We want to reach out to them and encourage them and make sure everybody knows that we're here for the long run."

Membership, which peaked at between 1,200 and 1,500 in the 1990s, is in the 300s now, Tomkovick said. That's up from last year, when membership fell below 170.

She said she hopes to double membership in the next six months, and increase it by another 250 in the six months after that.

"A big ship like this doesn't turn on a dime," she said. "But I definitely see us going in the right direction."