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Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing Inc

EIN 23-7401416 · Portland, OR

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair69 out of 100GovernanceWeak46 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing fosters a diverse, engaged, and art-focused community through the sustained investigation of the mysterious nature and aim of art. Preserving, nurturing, and expanding the pedagogy and artistic legacy of the school is made concrete through ongoing dialogue, educational apprenticeship, and artistic achievement rooted in Aix-en-Provence, France. The Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing is a school of art that seeks to teach its students (people of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels) to see into nature, into works of art, and into themselves through a combination of impactful and immersive educational programs including painting and drawing workshops in Aix-en- Provence, France and beyond, museum study workshops in the United States, online programming, community- building events, and more.

Income
$331,786
Spending
$319,979
Spent on programs
100%
Reserves
0 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 69%
Employees
1
Volunteers
5
Highest pay
$15,287, board president, artistic director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 69 out of 100. Higher than 36% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 32% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    100% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Weak: 46 out of 100. Higher than 14% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    4 of 6 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    0 of 15

    Reports no written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $93,349 spent. Summer Painting Program in Aix-en-Provence (June/July 2025): A five-week summer program intended for students of all ages. 37 students enrolled/participated, ranging from ages 15 through 79. Courses in painting, drawing, art history, philosophy, creative writing, peacebuilding, and French were given along with field studies to surrounding regions to learn of the artists of the area (Van Gogh, Cezanne, etc.).
  2. $14,019 spent. Spring Landscape Painting Workshops in Aix-en-Provence, France and in Venice, Italy (March/April 2025): We run two one-week painting workshops each spring intended for students of all ages/experience levels. 14 participants, aged 24-77, joined these two spring workshops. The Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing likes to offer shorter-term workshops for people with busy lives to come abroad and learn to paint. The school has been taking students to Venice for a week in April for 40 years and this program allows students to give themselves over to painting and drawing for seven straight days in the famed canals of Venice, Italy.
  3. $13,754 spent. Imagination & Form in Great Works of Art: A Museum Study Seminar in New York, New York (October 2024): A wonderful group of 13 participants gathered in New York City from Friday, October 25th through Sunday, October 27th, 2024 for a long-weekend museum study seminar: Imagination & Form in Great Works of Art, which drew upon art historian Lionello Venturis book, Painting and Painters - How to Look at a Picture, From Giotto to Chagall. The group went on a deep dive into the imaginations of some of the great artists represented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum seminar included texts by renowned artists, writers, and thinkers as the group spent extensive time discussing together what they found while taking long looks at artworks to discover meaning through the form of each work of art.
  4. Additional Program Expenses: $593 to cover a student's housing that we arranged during a private workshop. We also have -$1,677 reported in this fiscal year from our 2024 Summer Program due to some expenses getting reimbursed to the school later in the year, related to a student being robbed and us fronting him the money to get back home. So $593 + (-$1,677) = -$1,084 in additional program expenses In addition to the three main program services listed above, we also have small online drawing/painting programs that we run that bring in additional revenue ($3,570 from August 1, 2024-July 31, 2025). These do not have any direct expenses to run.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.

    Status was revoked on May 15, 2021 for not filing returns for three years, and reinstated on September 15, 2021.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending July 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since November 2021.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.