Members are invited to our annual membership meeting on November 8 from 3 – 5 pm. Our board chair will give a report on 2025 actions, and you can meet board members, discuss opportunities for volunteering, and give feedback. Then vote for board candidates, in person or online.

What: Annual Membership Meeting and Open House
When: Saturday, November 8, from 3 – 5 pm
Where: 9341 Mill Street, Ben Lomond

Vote for Board Members

Annual Report to the Membership

SCMAC Mission statement:
The Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center supports and encourages art through education, exhibition, and cultural activities.

How well is the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center (SCMAC) meeting our mission goals? Below is a brief overview of who is responsible, what the organization is doing to achieve our Mission and the support we have to do this.

The Who:

SCMAC is a non-profit 501(c)3 membership organization. In addition to the Board of Directors there is a Committee structure to help develop and execute our programs. Our staff includes paid and volunteer positions. SCMAC does not employ an Executive Director, thus the programs offered are under the management of the Board of Directors and committee chairs. Our Board Chair is Susan Archibald.

Currently the Board of Directors has seven members, out of a possible eleven. The Board meets on the 2nd Monday of each month via Zoom. We welcome members who would like to attend the Board meetings. To do this, you can make a request at info@mountainartcenter.org for a link to the meeting.

The What:

SCMAC strives to meet our Mission by continuing to offer a variety of educational art classes for both adults and youth. Our classes include ceramics, painting and drawing, jewelry making, sewing, and a vibrant youth art program.

Gallery exhibits are also part of our Mission. The seven to eight exhibits planned each year for the Thomas Gallery include fun and challenging themed shows, a wonderful youth show, a members-only exhibit and our popular holiday gift show.

Cultural activities we take part in include First Friday receptions, events like Cera-A-Rama, participation in community meetings, SLV Non-profit Roundtable and hosting for the Valley Art Tour.

The Support:

Financial support for SCMAC comes from individual and local business sources. The Profit and Loss budget for 2025 planned for an estimated income of $213,250, and expenses estimated at $229,779. This left an approximate $16,500 deficit. We also saw a deficit in 2024. The deficits of the past two years are mostly credited to a few large facility repair expenses.

Our major source of income is from classes, which are also our greatest expense. Previously teachers were independent contractors. But the law changed in 2020 making them employees. This greatly increased our costs, and our staff’s workload. Unfortunately, we have not received any grants in 2025. In the past, grants have been a huge financial benefit. On a positive note however, our gallery sales, membership, and donations have seen a strong increase this year.

Also, SCMAC has no debt at this time and retains a prudent reserve for major adverse events. But we are all aware of the inflationary costs of things like labor, equipment, materials, and energy. These affect small non-profits like us, as well as major corporations. When planning next year’s budget, the finance committee will need to decide where to increase costs so that SCMAC can continue offering all our services.

Support also depends on our small staff, our teachers, and our wonderful volunteers. Our Office Manager, Gretchen McPherson, is a paid employee, however her responsibilities have greatly increased as SCMAC grows. Our Board of Directors are all volunteers. Our programs and committees are also run by volunteers. These include curatorial, clay lab, soda firing, marketing, events, fundraising, community involvement and facilities maintenance.

There is evidence and a growing recognition that participation with the arts provides mental and physical benefits to adults and youth, particularly in stressful times. SCMAC would not be able to offer art experiences to our community, without the daily physical and financial help that we receive from our members and hard working volunteers.

Your Board of Directors thanks you and welcomes your thoughts, ideas, and participation in making the Art Center a thriving, sustainable, continuing part of the Santa Cruz Mountains community.

2025 By the Numbers

  • 8 gallery exhibits
  • 13 class instructors
  • 43 classes with 513 bookable sessions
  • 79 scholarships awarded
  • 170 members
  • 187 pounds of clay purchased
  • 383 class participants
  • 1.1K Instagram followers
  • 1.9K Facebook followers
  • 2.4K email subscribers
  • 15.8K website visitors