SFAI Finally Discloses Its 990 Tax Return; And We Have A Question About That Loan To The President

August 13, 2009.  Last night, SFAI finally released its 990 tax return for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 to the SFAI Action Group.  990s are open to public inspection.  Members of this group have been asking SFAI for the 990 since early May of 2009.  (In May, we were told that it would be ready in two weeks.)  The 990 is one of the most essential documents for a non-profit to complete.  However, for some reason, SFAI failed to timely file it with the IRS, and took this long to disclose it.  

Which reminds us: In an open meeting in March 2009, a student asked Dean Okwui Enwezor why SFAI was not releasing its financial documents for students to review.  Dean Enwezor stated that SFAI's financials are "not a secret."  Enwezor then berated the student with this question: "if you get it, what will you do with it, what will you do, what will you do with it if you get it?!"  He clearly meant this question as a put down, strongly suggesting that SFAI students are not equipped to make sense of things.  

Well, all artists may not be financial experts.  But we are doing our best to make sense of things, to ask questions, research, and analyze the situation.  We have checked out books about nonprofits from a library, visited the IRS website, made public records requests, reviewed scholarly works on nonprofit accountability on the Internet, and made inquiries with friends who may know more.  We do all this because we care deeply about our school.

We agree with Dean Enwezor that SFAI's financial information is "not secret" or confidential.  The problem here is that SFAI appears to be attempting to hide information that is essentially public information.  Just last month, COO/CFO Espi Sanjana denied this group a copy of SFAI's balance sheet and current compensation information for SFAI executives and its highest paid employees.  He claimed that such information is private.  He is wrong.  Such information is precisely the type of information a nonprofit is required to disclose.  To answer Dean Enwezor: when we get SFAI's financial information, we will study it, share it with other stakeholders, and hold the SFAI Administration accountable.  And, we will ask questions when we need clarification or more information.  

Now that we have the 990, at this time we have one question, which we have sent to Mr. Sanjana.  See below:

At Part III, Statement of Activities of the 990, the IRS asks a series of questions regarding SFAI's transactions with those affiliated with SFAI, such as trustees, directors, and officers.  In its most recent 990, SFAI answered "Yes" to the question about "lending of money or other extension of credit."  SFAI explained in Statement 14 that it had "extended promissory note to the President for $200,000.  The loan is secured by real estate."  In SFAI's previous 990s, SFAI answered "No" to the same question.  Should SFAI have reported this loan to the IRS in previous filings?  We ask this question because you informed us in your letter of April 22, 2009 that SFAI made a loan to the President when he moved to the Bay Area, which was about five years ago.