logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Abandoned at an Arts Center: Who’s in Charge?

Ruth McCambridge
May 24, 2017
“Amidst the noise is a cry for #help. Listen out for it.” Credit: Michael de Groot

May 22, 2017; Post Independent (Glenwood Springs, CO)

The Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts is broke, and its staff and some of its board members have been trying for years to get someone to pay attention, even long enough to contract for an audit. This is one of those art centers that depend in part on a deal with the city for sustainability. In fact, Christina Brusig, its executive director, was paid by the city. But it also has its own board and financial accounts, and therein lies a problem, because evidently no one has wanted to take responsibility for investigating the multiple complaints made about the financial management of the center or the executive director, who was seen by some as being responsible for its problems over a period of three years.

Now, Glenwood Springs police are involved in an investigation that was finally sparked mere days after Brusig resigned in early April. The city’s funding for the center has been cut, and amid a forensic audit, and the question of closing the center down forever came up.

The Post Independent found that the city was tipped off about the situation repeatedly, starting in 2015, and some of the tips about Brusig came from board members. In one case, when board members asked for an audit, the city simply emailed the request to Brusig herself with a note explaining that the city did not have any administrative capacity to intervene.

Fast-forward a couple of years’ worth of missed paychecks, overdrawn accounts, and money raised for one purpose perhaps being used for another, during which time the board couldn’t see a way to do something. The bookkeeper resigned around September 2015, writing in her resignation to the board,

During my ten years working as bookkeeper for the Center for the Arts, I have never seen the Center for the Arts in such poor financial shape…When I have tried to address these concerns with Christina, she has told me not to worry. But I do worry. And it’s been keeping me up at night for quite some time. I simply cannot afford to continue to have this level of stress in my life.

Still nothing.

A former ballet instructor at the art center, Dana Peterson, sent two emails to the city’s human resources director reiterating the same concerns in 2015. Peterson told the Post Independent on Monday that she also had tried to tip off the city’s human resources department twice in 2015 and was turned away.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Then, on April 5th, Brusig resigned. (Brusig since has said her leaving was by mutual agreement with the board and that she had been working too many hours with inadequate support.) The next day, the board sent this note to City Manager Debra Figueroa: “Thanks for meeting with us today. It really has been a rough day; particularly regarding staff upset about the disruption to their lives and their checks bouncing. One employee was upset as her rent was due today, and I didn’t really know what to tell her. You’d better believe I’m hearing about it!”

The city agreed to pay a $20,000 advance to get staff paid.

On April 10, McRaith wrote to Figueroa that she was “very disturbed” by what they had learned about the art center’s bookkeeping issues. McRaith said staff had shared suspicious stories “that involve reputable bookkeepers who (stopped) working at the center because they were nervous about what was happening, disappearances, and replaced hard drives on the financial computer.”

Stacey Barnum, the art center board’s treasurer, emailed Figueroa on the same day with a list of recently discovered issues. She reported finding accounts that didn’t show the history of money that they should have, possibly other art center accounts at a different bank, overdrawn accounts, multiple accounts for Summer of Music, an account that had been closed by the bank after too many days of insufficient funds, money that wasn’t there for Dancers Dancing costumes even though parents had been billed for the costumes and costumes that had never been ordered.

Art center staff had also told Barnum “that some information presented at various board meetings concerning grants that had been awarded to the art center, employment of a part time grant writer, and the purchase of a $10,000 grant software program were most likely false,” Barnum wrote. “Many teachers have had their paychecks bounce this week and historically we are discovering that payroll has been spotty,” she wrote. “Some teacher’s checks have bounced more than once.”

Meanwhile, Brusig’s final paycheck included more than 200 hours of vacation time. Apparently, she did not take any vacation from 2015 to 2017—which, by the way, is a red flag for potential financial problems.

As the police investigation started, the two board members who originally sent the city their list of concerns forwarded it to the city again with a note suggesting that the whole meltdown could have been prevented had they just taken their warnings seriously. The city’s April 28th press release, which announced the funding cut to the art center, “continued to emphasize that it has no supervisory responsibility over the art center and its director.”

The city attorney has called the oversight situation at the arts center “awkward” and an arrangement that probably needs to be looked at. That is, if the center survives.—Ruth McCambridge

About the author
Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: Board GovernanceFinancial ManagementNonprofit NewsNonprofit Sector

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Black Imagination as Strategy: Reclaiming Creativity in Nonprofit Leadership
Coniqua Johnson-Reed
Meet the Hidden Majority of Nonprofits: The All-Volunteer Organization
Jan Masaoka
Report Uplifts New and Old Challenges Facing Nonprofits
Rebekah Barber
Conservatives Attack Nonprofits on Capitol Hill
Isaiah Thompson
How to File a Temporary Restraining Order Against the Trump Administration
Abdullahi Lawal
Merging Missions: Starting with Relationships and Shared Authority
Hoang Murphy

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register

    
You might also like
Graffiti art pictures Jean-Michel Basquiat in the center, with artistic elements reflecting his style surrounding his face.
Black Imagination as Strategy: Reclaiming Creativity in...
Coniqua Johnson-Reed
A co-ed under-10 soccer game. Pictured are four youth wearing yellow jerseys and one youth wearing a purple jersey.
Meet the Hidden Majority of Nonprofits: The All-Volunteer...
Jan Masaoka
A thoughtful young Asian woman sits at her table, appearing concerned as she navigates challenges on her laptop at home.
Report Uplifts New and Old Challenges Facing Nonprofits
Rebekah Barber

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.