This is supremely hard; I don't know how, exactly, I can in good conscience just select three literary nonprofits out of that long list of worthy organizations. But this year, I'm choosing my nonprofits based on extraordinary need: these three organizations are about to enter times of great change, and so they could use your time and attention and money a little more than ever. In alphabetical order, they are:
As
I reported back in March, the APRIL Festival, which is dedicated to Authors, Publishers, and Readers of Independent Literature, is undergoing a staff change. Tara Atkinson, one of the founders of the festival, is leaving. This means that APRIL is facing a really difficult organizational moment: one of the guiding voices of the festival will not participate in the day-to-day planning of APRIL, which means there's room to expand and an opportunity for new voices to join in. At times like these, it's important for the community to give something back to a festival that has given us so much.
Later this month, the Hugo House will be vacating their building and moving to a First Hill temporary campus offered up by the good people at the Frye Art Museum. Two years from now, they'll move into shiny new offices at the base of a five-story condo building. These two years away from the location that birthed the House will undoubtedly be difficult; an organization with "House" in the name demands continuity. Your donations will help keep the House's programming going strong while they're in temporary exile, thereby increasing their visibility and ensuring that they have a community to return to in a couple years when they make the new House their home.
It's easy to take Town Hall Seattle for granted, because they consistently do such good work putting on such high-profile events. But for pretty much all of 2017, Town Hall will be closing for much-needed renovations including ADA accessibility and a new "West Lounge" bar space featuring drinks and food. You can
read more about this project here, but the gist is this: like Hugo House, Town Hall will be homeless for many months, and they need the funds to bring their programming to other venues in order to keep their community alive. Your donation will help make that happen.
