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Donate to Split This Rock and Invest in the Power of Poetry

Split This Rock was founded in fellowship halls and in the streets, and its success depends on people like you who believe in the power of poetry to speak truth in the halls of power.  Will you invest in Split This Rock today?
 
Collaged images of Rasha Abdulhadi, Alexa Patrick, Camisha Jones, Sarah Browning, Brandon Douglas, and Representative Andrea Jenkins.
 
Thanks to everyone who has spread the word about Split This Rock's work, donated, and launched fundraisers on our behalf. We still need your help to match $25,000 in challenge grants!


Read these special messages from year-end 2019:

For more than 12 years, Split This Rock has championed the power of poetry to speak truth, resist oppression, affirm the vibrant power of our many lineages, and give voice to solidarity here and abroad. That work is just as necessary now as it was in 2003 when Poets Against the War marched in DC. We are grateful for a community that is broad and deep, and we hope you’ll help the organization remain strong. It takes time, testimony, people power, and funds to deliver these wins, and we're going to need your help. Be part of making it happen! Invest in the power of poetry today!

As we prepare for a high-stakes election year, Split This Rock remains committed to bringing poetry into the public sphere where it can sustain and clarify movements for social justice. In this new chapter at Split This Rock, we're making gains that the organization has wanted to make for years: a single accessible venue for all festival sessions, new fellowships to bring forward a generation of poet-leaders, increased wages for teaching artists, and a relaunch of the free public writing workshops for youth in DC. We're also working to build sustainable funding for Split This Rock so that we're not working grant-to-grant and can sustain these free public programs in schools and in community year-round, locally and nationally. We are in a period of tremendous growth, and we need your help to sustain that promise.


Can we count on your support to make sure that socially engaged poets and poetry continue to have a home?

Please give an amount that is meaningful to you. We're working to match challenge grants totaling $25,000 for new and increased giving, so every dollar really does count!

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You can also read these special messages from year-end 2018:

Give Today & Honor a Poet's Legacy!

In celebration of Split This Rock’s first decade and to inspire support for the years to come, we have named Giving Circles in honor of poets who have inspired, supported, and helped to shape Split This Rock’s work. When you give, you build on their legacy. You can now give to honor following poets:

  • Langston Hughes Circle ($10,000): Split This Rock’s name is drawn from the Hughes’ poem “Big Buddy”: Don’t you hear this hammer ring? / I’m gonna split this rock / And split it wide! / When I split this rock, / Stand by my side. Permission granted by the Langston Hughes estate.
  • June Jordan Circle ($5,000+): On the 10th anniversary of Jordan's passing, Split This Rock dedicated the 2012 Festival in her memory. Her poetry, prose, and teaching continue to inspire and animate Split This Rock’s work.
  • Adrienne Rich Circle ($1,000+): Moved by the vision for Split This Rock, Adrienne sent Split This Rock’s founders a powerful letter of endorsement and a check for $1,000 to support the first festival.
  • Lucille Clifton Circle ($500+): One of the first poets to say “yes” to featuring at the 2008 festival, Ms. Lucille, as she's fondly known, sadly was unable to attend due to illness. Split This Rock paid tribute to her at the 2010 festival, a month after her death. In her memory, her family has made the inaugural gift to the Lucille Clifton Circle.
  • Francisco X. Alarcón Circle ($250+): A faithful attendee at Split This Rock Poetry Festivals, Francisco spearheaded Poets Responding to SB 1070, often partnering with Split This Rock, and worked tirelessly for immigration justice.
  • Zahara Heckscher Circle ($100+): An active member of Split This Rock’s network, Zahara invented the Poetry Game, presenting it at festivals and designating a portion of proceeds to supporting Split This Rock.
  • Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr. Circle ($1-99): After being fired as Poet Laureate of Nassau County, NY for writing poems against the Iraq War, Max was declared Poet Laureate by the community’s poets. An attendee and panelist at Split This Rock’s first festival, Max mailed $5 checks to Split This Rock every month until his death in 2016.

20172018 Logo for Catalogue for PhilanthropySPLIT THIS ROCK NAMED ONE OF DC'S BEST SMALL CHARITIES

Split This Rock is featured in the 2019-2020 Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region. Visit Split This Rock's page to give today! Donations given through the Catalogue portal incur the lowest transaction fees.