The financial statements for a now-disbanded Balboa Park Centennial planning group were released Monday, giving insight to the severely cash-strapped organization.
The Balboa Park Celebration, Inc. (BPCI) voted to disband last week and to hand planning for the park’s 2015 centennial back to the City of San Diego.
The BPCI’s financial disclosure shows that through Jan. 31, 2014, the group was given $3,069,461 from the city’s major events revolving fund, the city’s Arts and Culture Commission, the San Diego Tourism Marketing District, the County of San Diego and nine private donors.
The non-profit's goal was to plan an ambitious, year-long celebration of the park by raising around $50 million.
However, the group said at the end of January, it had spent $2,608,351 on various vendor expenditures, including consulting, marketing and media groups. Thousands of dollars also went to many of Balboa Park’s museums.
BPCI said it now has $553,911 cash on hand, forcing the centennial plans to be severely cut back.
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Newly elected Mayor Kevin Faulconer said last week he will look into getting back the millions of dollars already spent.
“We need to make sure that we have a celebration that the community gets behind, that works for Balboa Park, that is open, that is transparent and has both the park and community support that we need," Faulconer said on Thursday.
Faulconer has criticized the non-profit in the past for refusing to disclose its financial information.
BPCI said the decision to disband “culminates months of conversation between BPCI and city leaders, during which BPCI presented scaled-down goals and program plans to reflect its projected funding.”
The group said passing the reins to the city will include supporting the mayor and his team to ensure the celebration is still an event worthy of San Diego.
