Self-Help Graphics Update

Self Help Graphics & Art
Community Meeting
June 28, 2005
7 p.m.

Moderator: Chon A. Noriega, Ph.D.

Ave 50 Studio
Director: Kathy Gallegos
131 N. Avenue 50
Highland Park
323.258-1435


The text contained in the two documents that were
distributed to members of the community by Self Help
Graphics and by Coalition of Concerned Citizens for
SHG during the meeting are presented here:


DOCUMENT #1 - SHG - Flyer

Self Help Graphics & Art Update
June 28, 2005

Commitment to the Community
Thank you to everyone for the calls of support and the
positive reinforcement for Self-Help Graphics & Art
(SHG) during this transition period and restructuring.
The Board wants to emphasize that we share the same
goal - the reopening of Self Help Graphics.

These are challenging times as arts funding continues
to decrease from most traditional sources. In order
to turn this crisis around we will need solid and
steadfast support from funders, the artist community
and community at large. We will need everyone's best
thinking and good will to re-open and strengthen Self
Help. We acknowledge fully that in great part the
current situation is due to our failure to act sooner.
However, we fully belief [sp.] that if there is a
will there is a way.

As we prepare for the future, we want to emphasize
that SHG continues to be committed to its mission:

To preserve and continue the exploration of the
"Chicano experience" through fostering development and
empowerment of youth and artists and their art.

Why the Temporary Closing?
Facing very difficult financial challenges, the SHG
Board of Directors made the tough decision to
temporarily close the art center's building on June
7th. At the same time the Board accepted the
resignation of its longtime Executive Director Tomas
Benitez who submitted his resignation in December
2004.

Both decisions were made for financial reasons. The
organization had been incurring debt for at least 6
months. Funds were insufficient for payroll and other
basic operating necessities. The action was also
taken to curtail incurring additional debt.

As funds failed to be realized, a serious funding
shortfall occurred. The heavy damage caused by the
rains earlier this year, caused the Board to make the
extremely difficult decision to take a temporary
hiatus. In addition, SHG's primary funding had
primarily come from generous foundation, government
and corporate sources. Over the past couple of years
funds from these sources have been hard to find and
arts funding in general has taken a hard hit.

The situation offered a timely opportunity to make
this a time for transition - critical time to reshape
Self Help. The volunteer board members had been
actively planning new growth strategies for Self Help
Graphics since last July. Key Board initiatives
include:

. Restructuring staff to match core programs
. Reprioritizing [sp] funding efforts to balance
private and public sources
. Developing new model for leadership and artistic
direction
. Securing capital to fund extensive building repairs
. Expanding board membership to match development
needs of Self Help
. Developing ideas for forming an artist group to
advise on artistic direction

What is Being Done to Reopen?
Since June 7th the basic operation of Self Help
Graphics has been ongoing on a volunteer basis by a
transition team of board members, key staff and
volunteers. The working committees are:

Financial assessment - records are being updated and
organized to get a complete picture of SHG debt. A
current audit will be initiated.

Building - Working to negotiate a favorable lease for
the organization to remain at its landmark location as
Sister Karen always intended.

Executive Director Search - The Board is accepting
applications for the Executive Director's position.

Development/Fundraising - Board members are meeting
with funders and elected officials to raise emergency
funds to reopen and secure operating funds for the
future. A plan is also being development [sp] in
concert with public and private funders who have
generously supported Self-Help since its founding in
1973 by Sister Karen Boccalero.

Our community leaders, neighborhood supporters,
artists, and long-time supporters and funders, as well
as the board of directors, are all interested in a
prosperous future for Self-Help. In order to move
forward we are working to put in place funding and a
management team that will take Self-Help Graphics to
the next level ensuring that a severe financial crisis
like the one we are currently facing is prevented in
the future.

We look forward to continuing SHG programs and
services to youth and the community and to promoting
Chicano and Latino artists, just as soon as we can
ensure a solid financial footing.

selfhelpboard@earthlink.net

####

DOCUMENT #2 - Coalition of Concerned Citizens for SHG
- Letter

Dear Board Members,

On behalf of our coalition of concerned
artists/citizens of the Los Angeles County, we hereby
request an immediate response to our concerns/issues
as to the status of Self Help Graphics.

Within 48 hours, please send us the answers and/or
information we are requesting to the address listed
below in this letter. We are a pro-active group of
concern citizens and our only motivation to requesting
your cooperation is to help you succeed in
coordinating a smooth transition and to present an
open forum for transparency:

1) Please forward a copy of the Board of Directors
agendas and minutes of meetings for the last 12
months.

2) Please forward the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
financial reports/statements.

3) Please forward a copy to us of your 2001-2005
fundraising plans.

4) Please forward a copy of your current by-laws.

5) Please forward a copy of your listing of your
contributions (i.e., government grants, or from
private sources and/or co-sponsorships) for your
current or past 3 years of projects/programs.

6) Please forward a copy of Tomas Benitez's'
resignation letter.

7) Please forward any letters of intent from Gloria
Molina's office indicating financial support in the
amount of $100,000, plus of what ever amount was
committed to your agency if approved or in study.

8) Please clarify to as what were the SPECIFIC reasons
for closing the doors of Self-Help Graphics.

9) Please forward the Executive Director's monthly
status reports to the Board on the status of Self-Help
Graphics for the past four years.

10.) Has there been any recent audits of Self-Help
Graphics? If so, please forward a copy of this audited
report to us.

11) Has the Board participated in any strategic
planning sessions in the past years? If so, can we
have a copy of these business plans.

12) Do you have any donations/funding coming from any
other sources committed to Self-Help Graphics? If so,
from whom, and in what amounts, and for what
projects/programs?

13) What is your transition plan for the next six
months, your budgeted operational cost, fundraising
and operating plans to help improve Self-Help
Graphics?

14) Do you have plans to hire or contract a management
consultant to review and strengthen the Board decision
making processes and internal management processes?

15) What is the status as to the hiring of a new
Executive Director? How many people have applied for
the position? Have you begun the interview process?

To help improve your communications with the general
public as a California Non-profit Public Benefit
Corporation, we hereby request that the Board - post
on the Self-Help Graphics web site within 48 hours -
as to the status of Self-Help Graphics in order to
properly inform the general public. A simple
statement of what happen and what steps are you taking
to correct this situation will be appreciated. Again,
we are a pro-active group and our only motivation for
requesting this information is to assist you in having
a transparent change with citizenship involvement as a
California Non profit Public Benefit Corporation.

Thank you for your sincere cooperation to our request.

Respectfully submitted,

___________________________________
Linda Gamboa/Co-chair Ricardo Duffy/Co-chair

June 28, 2005

cc: Self-Help Graphics Board of Directors

Please send the above requested materials to the
following address:

Coalition of Concerned Citizens for SHG
P.O. Box 861868
Los Angeles, CA 90086

####

Some of the 250+ who's who in attendance at Ave 50
Studio on 6/28/05:

Roberto Delgado, Ofelia Esparza, Barbara Carrasco, Leo
Limón, Wayne Healy, Diane Gamboa, Ruben Guevara,
Gustavo Leclerc, Jose Antonio Aguirre, Sybil Venegas,
Richard T. Rodriguez, Ph.D., Ginger Holguin, Ernesto
de La Loza, Anita Miranda, Rudy Calderon, Vibiana
Aparicio-Chamberlain, Pat Gomez, Maria de la Luz
Blaire, Arturo Romo, Patricia Parra, Adrian Arancibia,
Mark A. Martínez, Jose Luis Sedano, María Elena
Gaitán, Chon A. Noriega, Ph.D., Carlo Haro, Ph.D.,
Ricardo Duffy, Sepideh Riahi, Linda Gamboa, Sandra
Pocha Peña, Victoria Delgadillo, Becky Cortez, Yreina
Cervantez, Cheryl Mendoza, Ph.D., Armando Durón, Mary
Durón, Guillermo Bejarano, Raquel Salinas, Alma Lopez,
Paula Crisostomo, Victor Payan, Jesús "Chuy" Torres,
Ruben Mendoza, Christina Ochoa, Joe Apuche, Jennifer
Flores Sternad, Mark Vallen, Shervin Shahbazi, Daniel
Hernandez, J. Michael Walker, Raoul de la Sota, Ginger
Varney, Michael Amescua, Stephanie De La Torre,
Margaret Garcia, Kathy Gallegos, Margaret Sosa, Judy
Martinez, Reyes Rodriguez, Isabel Rodriguez, Susana
Bautista, Debra Padilla, Victor Payan, Denise Carlos,
Nick Pacheco, Adrian Rivas, James Rojas, Patricia
Alizalde, Rosa Maria Marquez, Felicia Montes, Jay
Belloli, Val Echavarria


_____________________________________________
The Morning Review with Gabriel Gutierrez
KPFK 90.7
Wednesdays
7 a.m.

The radio broadcast of June 29, 2005:
Gabriel Gutierrez interviewed Mark Vallen and Harry
Gamboa Jr. regarding the SHG community meeting and
their observations regarding the current situation.
As stated by Dr. Gutierrez, the SHG board was invited
to participate but did not respond.


http://www.art-for-a-change.com/blog/2005/06/update-on-self-help-graphics-crisis.html

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Personal suggestions:
a.
The process of passing a hat during SHG community
meetings to collect cash donations from the community
and artists should be halted until financial
credibility of the organization is verified by an
independent auditor.

b.
Non-SHG organizations should avoid utilizing SHG
meetings as a platform to further their own agendas.

-HG
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