Lincoln Arts used $57,324 in savings from a house sale in 2007 to close the gap between its income and budgeted expenses in 2009.

That’s according to the nonprofit organization’s Executive Director Claudia Renati, who said Lincoln Arts’ budget deficit in 2009 was $57,324.

“I would just hope that we will develop a better membership base, (membership) renewals, and that sponsorship and attendance for Feats of Clay will be up,” Renati said when asked how Lincoln Arts expects to break even for this year and future years with the current economic climate.

The News Messenger recently sat down with Renati and board president June Reeves on three occasions to look over financial documents pertaining to Lincoln Arts.

Lincoln Arts budgeted $208,560 in 2009 for expenses, with $179,000 for their income.

Thirty-seven percent of those expenditures in 2009 were salaries for Renati and office manager Michelle Renati. Renati made $45,999 in 2009, and daughter Michelle earned $31,470, according to Renati.

Also on the payroll was Renati’s husband, John Renati, who made $200 per week to drive tour-goers into the Gladding, McBean factory during the Feats of Clay fundraiser held in April and May, according to Renati.

For 2010, Lincoln Arts has budgeted for $171,375 for expenses and $171,194 in income, according to Renati.

Lincoln Arts currently has $122,182 in CD’s, or certificates of deposit, and money market accounts, “and that’s after using the $57,324 to balance the 2009 budget,” according to Renati.

The house on Beermann Plaza was sold to the city for $250,000 in 2007, according to Renati.

“The city was going to eminent domain it because they had plans to put in an outside theater,” Renati said.

Both Renati and Lincoln Arts board president June Reeves told The News Messenger that they’re “hoping to break even” regarding this year’s budget.

This year, Renati said, “a CD of $18,000 was relinquished to Lincoln Arts and was used for the start-up of Feats of Clay.”

Lincoln Arts showed a significant drop in expenses on their profit and loss statement for this year’s Feats of Clay.

The profit and loss statement for 2010’s Feats of Clay shows an income of $103,000 for the event and expenses of $15,684, which means Lincoln Arts made a profit of $88,178.

For the 2009 Feats of Clay, expenses were $36,508; income was $100,429, with a profit of $64,413, according to the profit and loss statement for 2009.

Reeves and Renati both said the nonprofit organization saved money at this year’s Feats of Clay by changing the menu and by their setting up the event.

The News Messenger visited Lincoln Arts on Tuesday to look over Feats of Clay profit and loss statements for 2009 and 2010, as well as the profit and loss statement for the Lincoln Arts 2009 budget.

Major differences were noted between budgeted and actual expenses on the 2009 profit and loss statement for the budget.

The budgeted expense for advertising in 2009 was $8,400, with an actual expense of $13,340, according to the 2009 profit and loss statement for Lincoln Art’s 2009 budget.

The budgeted expense for entertainment was $30,312 with an actual expense of $52,020, according to the 2009 profit and loss statement for Lincoln Art’s 2009 budget, and the budgeted expense for food and beverage was $13,800, with the actual expense being $16,878.

“The biggest thing is we did not budget in Day on the Green,” Renati said. “Day on the Green was not budgeted. It didn’t pay off as we had hoped.”

Day on the Green was a music festival at McBean Park in September 2009. Renati said it lost Lincoln Arts $1,785.

Renati handed The News Messenger a stack of 990 tax return forms from 2008 for various nonprofit organizations in Lincoln. She indicated that The News Messenger should look into their finances, as well.

The 2008 990-tax return form for Lincoln Arts was not included in the stack.

“I think that would be the fair thing to do,” Renati said Wednesday, when asked by The News Messenger why she wanted the publication to look into the finances of other Lincoln nonprofits. “If we’re looking into Lincoln Arts, let’s look into all of the others.”

On Aug. 17, the 2008 tax return for Lincoln Arts was made available by Renati and Reeves for The News Messenger to see in their office but Renati said the 2009 tax return was not available “because we haven’t got it back from the CPA.”

Reeves directed The News Messenger to guidestar.org to look it up.

The Lincoln Arts board made the decision Aug. 18 to not have an independent and external financial and management audits, which was requested by 200 community members in July via a petition.

The board decided not to honor the request for the audit made by petitioners because of “vague language and the price of an audit.”

“The decisions seemed highly suspect. What is being hidden?” said Bobby Pilliard, a former board member and petition signer, on Tuesday. “The members and public should withhold any financial support until it is perfectly clear how the money is being spent and how the business is being run.”

Pilliard resigned Feb. 23, citing in the March 4 News Messenger (“Lincoln Arts board cut in half,” A15) she resigned “in order to preserve my financial values and business principals.”

Pilliard said she signed the petition because she saw “things that didn’t meet my business standards.”

“I’m disappointed that they didn’t heed the request, a legitimate request, by several citizens to conduct the audits,” said Paul Apfel, who resigned as Lincoln Arts board president Feb. 23. “As a petition signer, I feel that what was contained in the petition was valid.”

Apfel cited reasons, including a disagreement between board members about the proposed 2010 budget and disclosure rules, for his resignation in the March 4 News Messenger (“Lincoln Arts board cut in half,” Page A15.)

Current board president June Reeves said during the Aug. 18 Lincoln Arts board meeting that the petition’s language was vague.

Apfel talked about why the audit was needed.

“I believe that the accuracy and integrity of the data needs to be assured, and an audit is a useful tool in achieving that,” Apfel said. “They haven’t had one, I do not remember ever having run across any indication of an audit having been conducted. I believe it is now time for such an audit to occur, and apparently, there are several of my fellow citizens who feel the same.”