It's been a rough year locally for non-profits. The Redmond Humane Society is on the verge of financial collapse, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Oregon are closing several locations because of a cash shortage and the Cascade Festival of Music packed it in, owing to a lack of sponsors.
As if the tough economic times, which have sent donors and sponsors heading for the sidelines, weren't enough, the taxman is getting in on the act. Not the IRS mind you. No, it's the county tax collectors who are putting the pinch on one local non-profit, Arts Central, the regional arts council, that provides art opportunities for kids as well as support for public art displays, like Bend's roundabouts.
Executive Director Cate O'Hagan said that Arts Central recently got word from the Deschutes County Assessor's Office that it is revoking the organization's tax-exempt status for the Mirror Pond gallery in downtown. The gallery, which sits adjacent to Drake Park in the historic Rademacher house, is an exhibition outlet for local artists and one of the few sources of non-donor/grant revenue for the local arts group.
