St Louis Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants for the Arts
Meets Standards
Standards For Charity Accountability
Governance
-
Board Oversight
-
Board Size
-
Board Meetings
-
Board Compensation
-
Conflict of Interest
Measuring Effectiveness
-
Effectiveness Policy
-
Effectiveness Report
Finances
-
Program Expenses
-
Fundraising Expenses
-
Accumulating Funds
-
Audit Report
-
Detailed Expense Breakdown
-
Accurate Expense Reporting
-
Budget Plan
Fundraising & Info
-
Truthful Materials
-
Annual Report
-
Website Disclosures
-
Donor Privacy
-
Cause Marketing Disclosures
-
Complaints
St Louis Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants for the Arts meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
Stated Purpose:
"supports the creative community by providing free legal and accounting assistance and a wide variety of affordable educational programs."
Year, State Incorporated:
1982, MO
St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA) connects artists and arts organizations of every discipline with accountants and lawyers who donate their time and expertise to help their appreciative clients navigate the complicated world of finance and law. It also provides information and skills training designed to help the arts community develop sound business practices.
Through VLAA, more than 300 accountants and lawyers offer counsel to artists and administrators who are asking for help in record numbers. Each year, our volunteers donate more than $150,000 in pro bono services to the arts community.
Founded in 1982 by St. Louis University School of Law and the city’s Arts and Humanities Commission, VLAA is housed in the Regional Arts Commission’s building on Delmar, which opened in 2003. Our primary service area is greater St. Louis, which includes St. Louis City, St. Charles, St. Louis, and Jefferson counties in Missouri and Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois. But it also serves Columbia and eastern Missouri.
It added arts-related mediation to our menu of services in 1997. Mediation is an innovative and informal process in which trained neutral mediators help disputing parties communicate directly with each other in order to create their own solutions. While the caseload for mediation is not large, those who have used the service say it is invaluable.
Because familiarity with arts law and business practices can help avoid legal and accounting problems, it has an extensive education program that includes a popular Business Edge series for individual artists; Accidental Arts Administrator, which provides a regular, low-cost opportunity for those running small and emerging arts organizations to obtain affordable basic training in arts management and annual training in QuickBooks. Our Upstart program provides training and support to college students and faculty.
It also provides speakers to educational and professional organizations and publishes free, easy-to-understand guides on issues affecting artists and arts organizations.
For the year ended June 30, 2023, St Louis Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants for the Arts's program expenses were:
| Program Services | $100,396 |
| Total Program Expenses | $100,396 |
Chief Executive
Sue Greenberg, Executive Director
Chair of the Board
Daniel Kohn, Attorney
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Husch Blackwell
Board Size
16
Paid Staff Size
0
Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Print advertisements (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Grant proposals, Internet, Appeals via Social Media (Facebook, etc.)
This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
The following information is based on St Louis Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants for the Arts's IRS Form 990-EZ for the year ended June 30, 2023.
Source of Funds
| Contributions | $139,694 |
| Program Service Revenue | $8,291 |
| Investment Income | $3,790 |
| Special Events | $-2,687 |
| Total Income | $149,088 |
Programs: 81% Fundraising: 10% Administrative: 10%
| Total Income | $149,088 |
| Total expenses: | $124,001 |
| Program expenses | $100,396 |
| Fundraising expenses | $11,802 |
| Administrative expenses | $11,803 |
| Other expenses | $0 |
| Income in Excess of Expenses | $25,087 |
| Beginning Net Assets | $237,429 |
| Other Changes In Net Assets | $2,941 |
| Ending Net Assets | $265,457 |
| Total Liabilities | $5,490 |
| Total Assets | $270,947 |
An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.
This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Meets Standards
-
Standards Not Met
-
Did Not Disclose
-
Review in Progress
-
Unable to Verify
Report completed by:
BBB of Eastern & Southwest Missouri & Southern Illinois