Maybe I'm slow, or maybe it is because "economist" is something that I could never be - my wife won't allow me to touch a checkbook, but your analogy is not sinking in my thick skull. Must be a Brit thing.

I guess that is the difference with our countries. By your description it sounds like there are more people with dedication, thicker skin, spare time and the spirit of volunteerism to run "our" version of folk clubs, which are very different than yours.   Rather than having 10 people sit around to wax poetically about how bright the old lightblub shone, one of our folks would think about how easy it is to change the damn bulb and see the bright light once again.

I think you are stuck with your model of a "club" - meaning that you need a venue that serves beer to be a home. (It also leads to the joke that you need to be half in the bag to enjoy British folk!!!) In this country, our "folk clubs" are run in church basements, coffeehouses, public schools, libraries, and other gathering spaces that would rent space.   Even more important, people sing in each others homes and we also promote folk concerts.

There is no excuse for letting something die. It sounds like a group of people seeing a body in the street and letting it bleed to death because no one is bright enough to pick up a phone and call for help.