Ruskin Art Club Inc.

“An independent certified public accountant prepares the returns from the books of the Organization. A draft is provided to the President and Treasurer to review. Any needed changes are then made and a final copy is provided to the Orgnaization. The President or the Treasurer then provides a copy of the final returns to all Board members.”

“Any noted conflicts are brought to the attention of the President who brings the matter before the entire Board for discussion and appropriate corrective action.To date there have been no conflicts. A written conflict of interest policy is in the process of being prepared and will be presented for adoption at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees.”

“The following organizational documents of The Ruskin Art Club are available for inspection or copying at the organization's office during normal business hours at no charge, except for a nominal copying fee:1) Tax Exemption Application2) IRS Determination letter3) Articles of Incorporation4) By-Laws5) Form 990 for the most recent and prior two years. The public inspection copy of the Form 990 will not include Schedule A or the Schedule B.The most updated versions of all of the preceding forms will be available.When responding to a public inspection request for any organizational document or Form 990 by anyone, The Ruskin Art Club will fulfill such request in a timely fashion without inquiring as to the reason for the public inspection request.”

“In 1988, the Ruskin Art Club celebrated its centennial, an event recognized in a number of official city commendations. In the aftermath of that celebration, however, a period of crisis ensued: Many members, mindful of the organizations dwindling numbers and a societal climate in which club membership was in general decline, proposed to sell the clubhouse and regroup as a more informal, home-based association. The move was defeated by a single vote Margaret Clausens, who, then, found herself faced with resuscitating the Ruskin Art Club without many of the older members. In the 1990s, a new generation emerged: Jim Burns helped to develop a Music in Mansions concert series; composer Alfred Carlson, a student of Arnold Schoenberg, became Ruskin Art Club composer-in-residence; weaver Estelle Carlson launched a popular series of textile exhibitions; choral conductor and silent-movie musician Robert Mitchell performed regularly and the club sponsored a series of weekly luncheon programs. The Club also organized summer concerts at the historic Southwest Museum in the Arroyo Seco. In 1997, local historian Joseph Ryan delivered the first Ruskin lecture on the history of the club, later published as a monograph, and led the ultimately successful campaign to designate the Ruskin Art Club headquarters as an official Los Angeles historical monument. However, it must be noted, that the traditional focused program of study that had been so characteristic of the Club in its first hundred years largely disappears after 1988 in favor of a calendar of diverse individual programs.As the new century dawned, Gabriel Meyer, the Ruskin Art Clubs first male president, steered the club back to its earliest roots in the ideals of John Ruskin and in association with other historic California arts and crafts-oriented institutions: the Judson Studios in Highland Park, the Gamble House in Pasadena, the California Art Club, the Huntington Library and the Southwest Museum. In addition, the club sought to organize itself more effectively for the future by shifting its legal status from a members-only organization to a non-profit public arts corporation. New younger members also spearheaded a host of new programs at the clubhouse in the first decade of the new century: chamber concerts, the Jazz at the Ruskin series, annual Ruskin Lectures, a symposium honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Arnold Schoenberg, readers theater presentations, Ruskin study groups, a monthly poetry series in collaboration with Pasadena-based Red Hen Press, a Modern Masters literary series designed by the clubs literary programs director, Elena Karina Byrne and a series of Saturday literary workshops led by local and nationally recognized writers.However, by 2008, and the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Ruskin Art Club, the physical condition of the nearly 90-year-old clubhouse was increasingly inhibiting the clubs mission and its ability to mount programs. In late 2013, the board of directors made the painful and difficult decision to sell the organizations historic mid-Wilshire property, entrusting its fate to a talented restoration architect and to a new future as a private residence albeit one that remains a Los Angeles cultural and historic monument. This move allowed the Ruskin Art Club, in its 125th year, to return to its original mission not to manage property, however historic but to advance the cause of Ruskins thought in the 21st century and to develop ways to support writers, artists, musicians, architects, and thinkers who espouse Ruskins values in Southern California.”

“Bank fees: Column (A) - Total = $347; Column (B) - Program Services = $0; Column (C) - Management & General = $347; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0”

“Hospitality: Column (A) - Total = $323; Column (B) - Program Services = $323; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0”

“Outside services: Column (A) - Total = $200; Column (B) - Program Services = $200; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0”

“Taxes: Column (A) - Total = $50; Column (B) - Program Services = $0; Column (C) - Management & General = $50; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0”

“Telephone: Column (A) - Total = $424; Column (B) - Program Services = $212; Column (C) - Management & General = $212; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0”