Equity in Verse
The Equity in Verse grant category was created in direct response to the June 6, 2020 community letter requesting that the Poetry Foundation examine its historic cultural debt to poets of color. These grants are intended to provide support for nonprofit poetry and literary organizations, which include presses and publications, led and staffed by people of color.
The Poetry Foundation acknowledges that the art, ideas, and labor of BIPOC people are integral to its work and poetry as an art form and that those contributions have gone underrecognized. Honoring the legacy of past BIPOC poets and making space for living and future poets are critical to the Foundation’s evolution.
Grants range in size from $10,000-$100,000, and all grants are for a 12-month period.
Eligibility
Equity in Verse Grants are only available to US-based nonprofit organizations. There are two types of support in this category: general operating support and program support.
To apply for general operating support, you must be a BIPOC-led poetry nonprofit organization or a BIPOC-led literary arts nonprofit organization with a significant focus on poetry. If you do not meet these qualifications, you will need to apply for program support. If you are a non-profit organization with multiple types of poetry programs applying for program support, your application can include a request for support for multiple programs.
If you have a question about your eligibility or which category of support you qualify for, please contact [email protected] before applying.
How to Apply
To apply, you will need to request access through the Poetry Foundation’s online portal. You will be required to submit a registration request. If your registration is approved, you will receive login credentials in order to access the portal and submit an application. Please note that it can take up to three business days for your registration request to be processed. Also, please check your spam folder if you do not receive an email response to your registration request within three business days.
Access the Grantee Portal
As part of our commitment to accessibility, the Poetry Foundation offers alternative application formats (e.g., audio format, video format, and interview with transcription). Please contact [email protected] or call 312-799-8072 at least two weeks prior to the application deadline to arrange for a method of submitting your organization’s application that best meets the accessibility needs of the applicant.
For any questions about the application process or to schedule a conversation about your application, please contact [email protected].
Deadlines
The deadline to register for an account in our grants portal is Friday, August 25, 2023.
The Poetry Foundation accepts applications for Equity in Verse grants twice a year (the deadlines are March 1 and September 1).
The deadline to apply is Friday, September 1, 2023 by 5:00 PM (CT) through the online portal. All applications will receive equal consideration regardless of when they are submitted before the deadline. Poetry Foundation will begin reviewing applications after the deadline and notify applicants by November 15, 2023.
Reporting Requirements
Grantees will be asked to submit a short final report within 30 days of the grant’s end date. A final report form will be sent to grantees before the deadline.
Information Session
Join us for a virtual grants information session on Tuesday, July 25 at 1PM (CT). ASL and Cart Captioning will be available. Register here. A recording of the session will be available on the website following the event.
View a recording of the grants information session from Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please also see our general grants program FAQs.
Can we apply to multiple categories of funding?
No. At this time, the Poetry Foundation offers two categories of funding that nonprofit organizations can apply for, which are Equity in Verse and Poetry Programs, Partnerships, and Innovation. Organizations must select one category under which to submit their application. Furthermore, within each category there is the option to apply for general operating support (based on your organization’s mission) or program support; organizations can only choose one type of support to apply for within the category for which they are applying.
Does the Poetry Foundation fund presses and publications?
Yes. As long as the press or publication is a US-based nonprofit organization, they can apply for funding through the Poetry Foundation.
Who is eligible to apply for general operating or unrestricted support for Equity in Verse?
For the Equity in Verse category, only BIPOC-led poetry nonprofit organizations or BIPOC-led literary arts nonprofit organizations with a significant focus on poetry are eligible for general operating support. All other nonprofit organizations in this category will need to apply for program support to fund poetry-specific programs.
Does the Poetry Foundation allow for indirect/F&A/overhead cost recovery on program grants?
Yes. When applying for a program grant, organizations can budget up to 25% of the total grant amount to go towards indirect/facility and administrative (F&A)/overhead cost recovery. Indirect/F&A/overhead cost recovery is not available for general operating support grants.
If we have multiple poetry programs, do we have to choose a single program to request funding for?
No. If your organization has or is proposing multiple poetry-based programs, they can be bundled together as poetry programs/programming, and you can request funding to support all of the programs.
How much can we request in funding for Equity in Verse?
For the Equity in Verse category grants range in size from $10,000-$100,000 with the exact amount to be determined by the applying organization. The Poetry Foundation reserves the right to award a lesser grant amount than requested to an organization, so we encourage you to request the full amount you need since you will not be penalized or denied outright if the Poetry Foundation cannot award the amount requested.
Is there a matching requirement for Poetry Foundation grants?
No. There is no matching requirement, however, the Poetry Foundation requires that the organizational budget be at least twice as much as the amount you are requesting (e.g., if you are requesting $15,000 you need to have an organizational budget of at least $30,000), and that you have diverse public-funding sources, which can include in-kind support, in order to maintain your public charitable organization status. For more information on meeting and maintaining the requirements for the public support test for public charities, please visit this IRS link.
Who will be evaluating the grant applications?
A panel of paid external reviewers with familiarity of the field have been assembled to review, score, and make recommendations for funding that will be approved by the Poetry Foundation’s President and members of the Board of Directors.