Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Form 990 for tax year 2023

Filed by POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA.

Totals

Total revenue
$807,651
Total expenses
$870,379
Contributions and grants received
$469,006
Grants paid
$97,750
Program service revenue
$62,362
Investment income
$271,795
Other revenue
$4,488
Total assets, end of year
$5,989,552
Total liabilities, end of year
$495,569
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$5,493,983
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$561,248
Management and general expenses
$200,683
Fundraising expenses
$108,448
Program service expenses (Part III)
$561,248

Program services were 64.5% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1e · Government grants (contributions)

    $123,450

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $345,556

  • 1g · Noncash contributions included above

    $26,427

  • 2a · Program service revenue: AWARD ENTRY FEES

    total $34,981 · related or exempt $34,981

  • 2b · Program service revenue: CLASS/EVENT FEES

    total $27,381 · related or exempt $27,381

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $271,795 · excluded $271,795

  • 10a · Gross sales of inventory

    $4,488

  • 10b · Cost of goods sold

    $0

  • 10c · Net income from sales of inventory

    total $4,488 · related or exempt $4,488

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments

    total $3,900 · program services $3,900

  • 2 · Grants to domestic individuals

    total $93,850 · program services $93,850

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $142,261 · program services $91,296 · management and general $26,939 · fundraising $24,026

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $214,500 · program services $159,817 · management and general $25,409 · fundraising $29,274

  • 8 · Pension plan contributions

    total $2,526 · program services $1,672 · management and general $363 · fundraising $491

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $25,066 · program services $17,635 · management and general $3,677 · fundraising $3,754

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $29,529 · program services $20,775 · management and general $4,332 · fundraising $4,422

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $46,652 · management and general $46,652

  • 11f · Fees: investment management

    total $53,822 · management and general $53,822

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $14,905 · program services $12,905 · management and general $2,000

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $53,049 · program services $26,092 · management and general $21,283 · fundraising $5,674

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $64,979 · program services $45,717 · management and general $9,533 · fundraising $9,729

  • 17 · Travel

    total $11,019 · program services $10,556 · management and general $463

  • 19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings

    total $46,334 · program services $17,709 · management and general $2,198 · fundraising $26,427

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $9,194 · program services $6,469 · management and general $1,348 · fundraising $1,377

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $5,503 · program services $3,872 · management and general $807 · fundraising $824

  • 24a · Other expenses: PRINTING & PUBLICATION

    total $47,858 · program services $45,293 · management and general $115 · fundraising $2,450

  • 24b · Other expenses: BOOKS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

    total $3,896 · program services $3,690 · management and general $206

  • 24c · Other expenses: MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSE

    total $1,536 · management and general $1,536

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $232,522 · end of year $95,335

  • 2 · Savings and temporary cash investments

    beginning of year $780,224

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $251,739 · end of year $209,773

  • 9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges

    beginning of year $5,171 · end of year $2,339

  • 10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis

    $88,778

  • 10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation

    $34,816

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $40,870 · end of year $53,962

  • 11 · Investments: publicly traded securities

    beginning of year $3,492 · end of year $930,917

  • 15 · Other assets

    beginning of year $4,403,501 · end of year $4,697,226

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $27,262 · end of year $50,460

  • 25 · Other liabilities

    beginning of year $487,520 · end of year $445,109

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $870,635 · end of year $944,675

  • 28 · Net assets with donor restrictions

    beginning of year $4,332,102 · end of year $4,549,308

Mission and programs · 2023

Mission

THE POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, THE NATION'S OLDEST POETRY ORGANIZATION, WAS FOUNDED IN 1910. ITS MISSION IS TO BUILD A LARGER AND MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCE FOR POETRY, TO ENCOURAGE A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF THE VITALITY (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)AND BREADTH OF POETRY IN THE CULTURAL CONVERSATION, AND TO PLACE POETRY AT THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICAN LIFE.

Activities or mission (Part I)

TO BUILD A LARGER AND MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCE FOR POETRY, (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O) TO ENCOURAGE A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF THE VITALITY AND BREADTH OF POETRY IN THE CULTURAL CONVERSATION, AND TO PLACE POETRY AT THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICAN LIFE.

  • PUBLIC PROGRAMS:THE POETRY SOCIETY PRESENTS LIVE AND DIGITAL PROGRAMS THAT EXPLORE THE WORK OF INDIVIDUAL POETS, AS WELL AS IMPORTANT THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY POETRY. THESE INCLUDE A WIDE VARIETY OF EVENTS IN THE POETRY SOCIETY'S STOREFRONT SPACE: READINGS, LECTURES, SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, TEACHER TRAININGS, CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS, AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. THE POETRY SOCIETY'S DIGITAL PROGRAMS, WHICH INCLUDE VIDEO RECORDINGS OF LIVE EVENTS AND ONLINE SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS, AS WELL AS THE PUBLICATION OF ESSAYS, INTERVIEWS, AND ORIGINAL POEMS, SERVE HUNDREDS OF POETS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF READERS EACH YEAR.

    Expenses $251,188 · Grants $43,350 · Revenue $31,869

  • ANNUAL AWARDSEACH YEAR, THE POETRY SOCIETY OFFERS MORE THAN A DOZEN AWARDS TO HONOR AND SUPPORT POETS AT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR CAREERS, RANGING FROM AN AWARD FOR A STUDENT POET TO BEST FIRST BOOK TO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN POETRY. RECIPIENTS OF THE POETRY SOCIETY'S MOST DISTINGUISHED AWARD, THE FROST MEDAL, HAVE INCLUDED GWENDOLYN BROOKS, WALLACE STEVENS, MARIANNE MOORE, JOHN ASHBERY, AND LUCILLE CLIFTON. RECIPIENTS OF THE FOUR QUARTETS PRIZE FOR BEST POETRY SEQUENCE HAVE INCLUDED DANTE MICHEAUX, DANEZ SMITH, AND JOHN MURILLO. EACH YEAR, THE POETRY SOCIETY ALSO AWARDS TWO CHAPBOOK FELLOWSHIPS, WHICH INCLUDE A PRIZE OF $1,000 AND THE PUBLICATION OF THEIR FIRST CHAPBOOK, ALONG WITH MENTORSHIP BY AN ESTABLISHED POET IN THE EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION PROCESS.

    Expenses $141,003 · Grants $52,100 · Revenue $34,981

  • POETRY AND PUBLIC SPACESINCE 1992, THE POETRY SOCIETY HAS PRESENTED POETRY IN MOTION, WHICH PLACES POEMS IN TRANSIT SYSTEMS AROUND THE COUNTRY, CREATING UNEXPECTED AND MEANINGFUL ENCOUNTERS IN PUBLIC SPACES BETWEEN POEMS AND MILLIONS OF READERS. IN 2021, THE PROGRAM EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE WASHINGTON DC AREA METRO SYSTEM AND PATH/PORT AUTHORITY STATIONS IN NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK. THE PROGRAM SERVES APPROXIMATELY 9 MILLION PEOPLE EACH YEAR. POETRY IN MOTION IS NOW THE CORNERSTONE OF A LARGER ARRAY OF PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC SPACE, INCLUDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS TO PRESENT POETRY-BASED PUBLIC ART PROJECTS. IN 2022, THE POETRY SOCIETY PARTNERED WITH THE DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN PARTNERSHIP TO PRESET SEEING INTO TOMORROW, WHICH TRANSFORMED POEMS BY RICHARD WRIGHT INTO LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATIONS ON WALLS IN SEVERAL BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS. IN APRIL 2023, THE POETRY SOCIETY LAUNCHED PARK POEMS, A PARTNERSHIP WITH NYC PARKS TO PLACE POEMS IN FIVE PUBLIC PARKS, ONE IN EACH BOROUGH. IN 2024, PARK POEMS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NEW YORK STATE PARKS AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. THIS PROGRAM AREA ALSO INCLUDES POEMS ON WHEELS, A PARTNERSHIP WITH MEALS ON WHEELS CHAPTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY TO PROVIDE POEMS ALONG WITH NOURISHING MEALS TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS.

    Expenses $169,057 · Grants $2,300

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • Catherine Woodard

    PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Abigail Wender

    SECRETARY

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Ellen Rachlin

    TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Major Jackson

    FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Billy Collins Left 82024

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Gary Ellis

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Jacqueline Woodson

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Allison Binns Left 32024

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Kim Bendheim

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Michael A Boyd

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Victoria Chang

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Cornelius Eady

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Kate Gale

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Indira Goris

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Karen Karpowich

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Martha King

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Jane Otto

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Elise Paschen

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Peter Rose

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Howard Rothman

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Peter G Smith

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Helen Klein Ross

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Stephen Syzpulski

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Matt Brogan

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $139,712
    From this org
    $137,500
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $2,212
    Hours/week
    40

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2023
Filed
6 May 2025
IRS schema version
2023v6.0
Source object
202521289349302877

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.