Do you want to support local students and artists in your community?

Today I'm writing to ask you to consider donating goods or services to our annual fundraiser as our nonprofit celebrates our 50th year! Your donation will have a direct impact on the Chicago community. 

The Chicago Poetry Center is a Chicago nonprofit that supports:

• Playful, engaging creative literacy programming in classrooms across Chicago
• Creative job opportunities for Chicago’s artistic sector–specifically poets
• Programs citywide–from Hegewisch to Jefferson Park and Englewood to Humboldt Park
• Scholarship support for creative literacy, SEL-focused programming in CPS classrooms
• Free, public, accessible artistic programming for people of all ages

Last year our fundraiser raised over $100,000 for our programs, and our goal for this year is to raise $110,000. An important part of our fundraising plan is the online silent auction which will be publicly available online from January 15th to February 5th, 2024.

All businesses contributing to the silent auction will have their logo displayed on the site as a contributing sponsor (2,500+ logo views), have their business name shared in emails sent to 4,000+ individuals, and will help us ensure major educational and artistic impact across Chicago. 

We are grateful for any donation your organization might offer.  I’m happy to tell you more about our work by phone or email, and you can watch videos of us and our students in action and read their original poems on our website. 

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Rinnah Shaw, Operations and Resource Manager

(312)-436-1065  | rinnah@poetrycenter.org

P.S. To see us in action, here’s a short video showcasing a day in our programs, and an interview with one of our students

The Chicago Poetry Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. FEIN 23-7400515