named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Brooklyn Poets Reading Series
Public reading series featuring established and emerging poets, held in-person at 144 Montague and livestreamed; includes book signings and community engagement.
Poetry Aloud
Weekly event where participants read poetry collections aloud from the bookstore’s curated selection, followed by informal discussion; celebrates diverse contemporary poets.
Virtual Writing Group
Online version of the writing group held via Zoom, providing structured writing time with staff-created prompts and an optional share-out; requires advance registration.
Writing Group
Weekly in-person and virtual sessions offering one hour of structured writing time with prompts from faculty, followed by an optional 30-minute share-out; free and open to the public.
Yawp
Workshop and reading event led by featured poets, combining instruction with public performance; part of a recurring series highlighting diverse voices in poetry.
activities · 3 groups
What they do
-
Literary Events & Workshops 6 activities
- Facilitate regular writing groupsHosts free, drop-in writing groups weekly: in-person on Fridays at 3pm and Saturdays at 12pm, and virtual on Wednesdays at 5:30pm ET via Zoom. Each session includes structured writing time using staff-created prompts and an optional share-out. Open to the public with optional donations to support programming.
- Host an annual poetry festivalOrganizes an annual three-day poetry festival featuring generative workshops, panels, craft talks, and evening readings with poets and community members. The festival includes 25 participating poets and offers both in-person and virtual attendance options, with access to livestream recordings upon request.
- Host poetry readings and public eventsHosts a Reading Series six times per year and a virtual triannual reading series, both free and open to the public, featuring emerging and established poets with emphasis on underrepresented communities. Also hosts monthly Yawp events combining a poetry workshop and open mic, with audience-voted Poem of the Month and annual contest. Includes livestreaming via Zoom and closed captioning for all events.
- Offer poetry workshopsOffers small, intensive poetry workshops taught by award-winning poets, available both online and in person. Provides multi-week workshops, craft labs, and generative sessions focused on poetic techniques and transformation, with financial aid, fellowships, and reduced-cost enrollment for fellows and finalists. Hosted 80 workshops serving over 678 students in one year and has held over 350 workshops serving more than 3,200 students overall.
- Produce student and cohort showcasesHosts annual Workshop Showcases (three in-person and three virtual), Fellows Showcases (three per year), and Intern Showcases (three per year) to feature work developed in workshops. Also holds free public group readings each spring, summer, and fall highlighting students, teachers, fellows, and interns, with faculty introducing student work.
- Provide event production and promotion servicesOffers event hosting support including livestreaming via Zoom, professional photography with a Canon DSLR, book sales for visiting authors, and custom promotional content creation shared on Instagram to support literary and artistic events hosted in their space.
-
-
Emerging Filmmaker Support Programs 2 activities
- Run a yearlong mentorship programOffers a year-long mentorship program for poets, supporting cohorts of writers with financial aid. The fifth cohort included 12 writers, 8 of whom received financial support.
- Support poets through fellowships and paid opportunitiesProvides fellowships, teaching positions, and feature opportunities with prioritization for historically underserved and marginalized groups. Created 205 paid opportunities for poets to read and teach, and awarded 55 full fellowships and partial awards to 60 finalists in one year.
-
-
Community Space Provision 1 activity
- Operate a community space and bookstoreOperates a free community space and bookstore at 144 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays. Offers rental access to a 1200 sq ft event space for literary or artistic events, workshops, classes, and retreats.
-
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$468K
Contributions & grants$127K27%
Program service revenue$297K63%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$45K
expenses
Total expenses$520K
Program expenses81%
Admin / overhead19%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$218K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$650K
Cash$13K
Investments$141K
Liabilities$505K
Net assets$145K
Liquid reserves3.6 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +5.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
board members · 4
- Gunny Scarfo — Board Member
- Hala Alyan — Board Member
- Modesto Jimenez — Board Member
- Rozanne Gold — Board Member
relationships · 19
Who they work with
- Academy of American Poets Partner — Features Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's work in its Poem-a-Day series.
- Books Are Magic Partner — Provided special discounts to festival attendees.
- Brooklyn Magazine Partner — Recognized the Brooklyn Poets Yawp as the “best poetry event in the borough” in editorial coverage.
- Brooklyn Poets Partner — Staff members curate and organize the Staff Picks reading series as part of their support for the organization's programs.
- Brooklyn Rail Partner — Publishes Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's work.
- Community Jewelbox Partner — Collaborates with Community Jewelbox on transformative justice work.
- Dia: Chelsea Partner — Exhibition venue for Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's poetic work.
- GTHR Partner — Provided special discounts to festival attendees.
- Instagram Partner — Uses Instagram to promote events hosted at their space
- L’Appartement 4F Partner — Provided in-kind donations of coffee, tea and pastries for festival attendees.
- Members Network — Individuals who support Brooklyn Poets through membership, receiving benefits such as discounts and exclusive access while enabling free programming and fellowships.
- Nightboat Books Partner — Publishing partner for Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's forthcoming poetry collection.
- PEN America Partner — Publishes Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's work.
- Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel Coalition — Brooklyn Poets affirms the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and its principles.
- Poetry Project Partner — Publishes Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's work.
- Rescue Press Partner — Publisher of Vanessa Jimenez Gabb's poetry collections.
- St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church Partner — Hosted Brooklyn Poets' solstice-eve gathering event at their church location.
- Time Out New York Partner — Recognized the Brooklyn Poets Yawp as “one of the most innovative literary events in the city” in editorial coverage.
- Yawp Partner — Hosts open mic events in partnership with Yawp.
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Anti-Oppression and Transformative Justice Frameworkmethodology: transformative_justiceBy centering anti-oppression principles and employing transformative justice practices, Brooklyn Poets reduces harm and fosters inclusion, because actively challenging systems of marginalization creates safer, more sustainable creative spaces for poets from underrepresented communities.
- Community-Centered Literary Developmentmethodology: community_centered_developmentBy combining workshops, readings, and open mics in a locally rooted format, Brooklyn Poets builds a close-knit, diverse community of poets and readers that counters the exclusivity of traditional graduate writing programs and mainstream literary institutions, because belonging and shared practice increase engagement and creative growth.
- Generative, Non-Instructional Writing Practicemethodology: generative_practice_modelBy offering structured and unstructured writing time without critique—using rotating prompts and dialogue with existing texts—Brooklyn Poets supports sustained creative development, because removing evaluative pressure fosters experimentation, openness, and long-term artistic growth.