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leftovers said:
According to Adam
lol.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Art & Artists
Wonderland Columbus - News & Updates
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polymethylmethacrylate
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leftovers said:
Was reading about Junctionview in the Dispatch and Wonderland got a small soundbite. According to Adam there is still a pulse.A new Wonderland is “still in motion,” said Brouillette, who in the interim is working to help Junctionview tenants find new homes.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/02/11/junctionview-studios-to-close.html
Feels pretty safe to chalk up “still in motion” to some seriously wishful thinking at this point.
Posted 2 months ago # -
la bauta
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Well, if this listing is accurate, wishful thinking pays off.
Revenue Amount:$126,240
Posted 2 months ago # -
cbusarts
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Like most people here, I do not want to get involved in all this Wonderland drama. We have a very small and tight-knit community here in Columbus and I see most of these people on a weekly basis. I don't believe they are bad people, but I can't stay quiet about what I'm seeing happen.
Since Wonderland is a non-profit, any John Q. Public can get a copy of their IRS forms. Here's a copy of theirs from 2011 which is where that FindTheBest probably got its information from:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127306624/Wonderland-Columbus-990-EZ-2011
Like most things from or for the IRS, it's not a very exciting read, so I've pulled out some information that I find to be most pertinent.
End of fiscal year 2010 funds: $1185
2011 INCOME
contributions, gifts, grants $122,803
program service revenue $3,435
Investment income $2
Total Revenue $126,240EXPENSES
salaries, other compensation, and employee benefits $0
professional fees and other payments to independent contractors $113,685This I find interesting because they go out of their way to mention they have no employees. I've seen the inside of a few non-profits in my day, and this is a bit strange. What this is saying is that the ED is not an employee of Wonderland but an independent contractor. More info on why that's a little fishy here:
"An executive director should not be an independent contractor. This is because they would likely fail multiple questions of the IRS's 20 Factor Test. The most obvious one that comes to mind is #3 on the 20 Factor Test- Integration. The IRS says that if the services that someone is providing for an organization are vital and ongoing for the organization's success (i.e. they are providing continuing day-to-day work) then they are probably not an independent contractor."
(http://nonprofitsos.blogspot.com/2008/11/reader-question-can-executive-director.html)
2011 EXPENSES continued...
occupancy, rent, utilities $57
printing, publications, postage, and shipping $2764
other expenses $1331
Total Expenses $117,837Total Assets at the end of 2011: $9588
Not sure how many warehouses are going for sub $10k...
Here's a more thorough breakdown of their expenses as far as programing and events go:
Programming- Wonderland has developed and employed a series of unique programming geared towards connecting creative individuals with the community Cinemusica, Science Fair, QR Code Art Show, Shirt Show, and several others have been developed as unique ways for the public and the creative community to connect. These efforts helped over 1500 people experience creative culture in a new way $32,960
Collaboration- Wonderland has provided a series of conversations with the public and creative individuals and organizations this collaboration building has served as the foundation for our unique effort by building bridges in the creative community Wonderland has developed relationships between over 120 organizations and over 500 individuals $30,525
Education- Wonderland provided a series of educational programs to expand the skills, abilities, and resources of artists and the public Through the Wonderland Wunderblender series, our constituents were able to learn new skills from other individuals they had met Wonderland has worked to continue fostering the educational connections between the individuals Involved These efforts enabled over 100 individuals to new educational experiences $16,480
Total Program services $79,965
Part IV - List of Officers, Directors, Trustees, and Key Employees
No mention of Executive Director, only board members. There's actually no mention of their Executive Director in the full 10 page IRS document.
I’m not sure if this will be helpful at all to anyone, but as a person who is familiar with non-profits and the Arts I found it interesting. We’re 1000 posts into this thread and a full year without any information from the people running this. There’s a reason people are talking about this project so much. Our community poured a lot of time and effort into this and I feel we’re no closer to really understanding what exactly happened here.
Posted 2 months ago # -
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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Just let it go, we have more on our plates.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Coy
Discovery District
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Well, I'd like to thank cbusarts for pointing out the gaping hole in la buata's claim....
Namely, that they HAD $126k... they now have less than $10.And what exactly do they have to show for it?
$70k of that at least was public funding.The verbiage and lack of accountability in this document provided show a planned avoidance of responsibility on the part of the Executive Director that is highly unusual in a nonprofit org.
Running a nonprofit for which you seek out public grants as the chief officer, only then turning around and paying yourself as an independent contractor is fraudulent.
Where was the board of directors when this was happening?
Better yet, who at GCAC of the Cbus Foundation is holding WL responsible for how they handled the money.
The more light that gets shown on this project, the more embarrassing it becomes.Posted 2 months ago # -
Coy
Discovery District
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Snarf said:
Which is why I don't understand the "just let it go" mentality. How about some resolution first?LOL. Kudos Snarf...
I actually expected to get zinged by you in some way on this topic... ha!I really think that, in spite of the unholy mess that WL has made of the scene and monies it was given, this continues to be an informative topic about the future of Cbus arts and how to NOT run a nonprofit.
If we really want to be on the map for arts, then these issues need hashed out and resolved.
People need to understand that they can't misuse the public trust placed in nonprofits and expect no reaction from the public.And Columbus artists need to stop being afraid to speak out about the misbehavior of the people in critical positions around the city for fear of reprisal ( probably the next most disturbing thing to come out of this, after the misuse of funds).
I think those artists looking at this with scrutiny and upset over the actions that were taken will find that they have more community support that they expected.Posted 2 months ago # -
Coy
Discovery District
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la bauta said:
Don't be so hard on Brouillette- he did, after all, keep Wonderland's expenses for "occupancy, rent, utilities and maintenance" down to a mere $57. UIn this economy, that takes real talent!yeah... Good God, the arrogance.
Having over a hundred Gs to work with and managing to get free workspace, so you can then use that space to fleece your organization of most of its money for self profit.Posted 2 months ago # -
la bauta
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Brouillette is currently counter-suing his former student, claiming damage to his "employment relationship", so it's probably safe to assume he's received some compensation. He and the board have both stated publicly that Executive Director is a paid position. The board stated he "deserved to be paid, and paid well". So, what's the problem with disclosing how much?
“People think we’re getting paid bunches of money. That’s not the case, but we’re also not a team of volunteers.” -Adam Brouillette
Posted 2 months ago # -
MRipley
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mrpoppinzs said:
Just let it go, we have more on our plates.Why should this team of scam artists not be held accountable?
It's should be investigated much more throughly. Every individual on the controlling board should be looked at hard for their involvment in this public scam.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Dotson
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Walker said:
Is it my responsibility next time I talk to someone at NRI to tell them that some people think that the Arena District sucks?Totally fair question to ask what's happening. I think it starts to blur the line when assumptions are made that no news = dead in the water. There's been a lot of cheerleading for the doom of this project, which is what I'm referring to as the witch hunt.
Anyway, as I said before. I'll continue to investigate on this story and report when there's something to report.
Any updates with your investigation on this? It seems as though a lot of foul stuff has been going on.
Posted 2 months ago # -
la bauta
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Cbusarts is correct- no paid staff or ED are listed at all on the 990, but on the official Wonderland site, the pie charts on the "project review" list 51% of revenue having been paid in compensation to staff. That seems odd, considering they list $79,965 for "programming", "collaboration" and "education".
Posted 2 months ago # -
Coy
Discovery District
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Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to contact the board via email on the website, though I'd imagine several of them are on here regularly.
They really need to answer for what happened/whats going on.
Board positions need to stop being resume fodder and be recognized as an actual responsibility.
I wonder where Josh Quinn lands with all this, as asst director?I can say that I had a meeting unrelated to this with GCAC late in the Fall and they still brought up WL as if it was a real thing.
My jaw dropped, but it wasn't the appropriate time to argue the point.
I'm just really curious if the the granting orgs have any idea what has happened here.As a private citizen, this thing is a disgraceful mess to me.
As a grad student in art policy, I seriously just can't pull my eyes off this train wreck.Posted 2 months ago #
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