@2 gen: only if you consider a 1/3 dive in attendance and over 50% dive in their donations jars significant at all.
The pricing structure was also changed wildly at the last minute. Passes that people were used to getting were eliminated. Old guard supporters and audience were slighted.

Though the real reason they couldn't pay the artists was the huge $50,000+ debt they'd built up before the fest that year had even started. The artists never had a chance -the Fringe Board had bet the house: the only way anyone would have been paid that last year is if every show sold out and donations were record-high.

Fall was picked, despite the reality of seattle theatre audiences (when faced with the last few summery days vs hot stinky blackbox hit-or-miss art...), and many competing other local festivals taking advantage of said weather, to appease fans and participants in the North American fringe circuit -
the excuse kept being "we need the much-higher quality that SF and Vancouver artists will bring on the circuit" - I always found this self-deprecation to be incredibly destructive to local artist morale: holding the fest in March, for 11 years, Seattle Fringe stood on Seattle merits just fine. We also had a fair number (10% of total companies) of out of town and international acts DESPITE not lining up ideally on the circuit.
The last pc of scandal:
in 99 and 2000 When the board surveyed artists and audience, the majority voted to keep fringe in March. It was an empty political move to even have the survey: The board changed the results, ignored the artists and supporters, - and common sense. Then went into the hole several thousands by signing invoices for bills they knew they couldn't pay.

That said, I wish these folks luck. If they can avoid all the above, they've got a chance. But september is foolish.