Equity in Verse
The Equity in Verse grant program was launched in direct response to the June 6, 2020, community letter calling on the Poetry Foundation to examine its cultural debt to poets of color. Designed to support nonprofit poetry and literary organizations led and staffed by people of color, the program recognized the integral contributions of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities to poetry—past, present, and future—and sought to address the historic underrecognition of their art, ideas, and labor.
Grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 for a 12-month period provided two types of support: general operating support for BIPOC-led poetry or literary arts nonprofits with a significant focus on poetry and program support for BIPOC-led organizations delivering multiple poetry programs.
The program, which was active from 2021-2024, reflected the Poetry Foundation’s commitment to honoring the legacy of past BIPOC poets, making space for living and future poets, and advancing equity within the field of poetry. The efforts started with Equity in Verse are being continued through the Sustainable Futures Grants, which provide multi-year operating support to a cohort of poetry-based Equity in Verse grantees.
Equity in Verse Recipients
Washington DC, $15,000.00
New York, $10,000.00
Massachusetts, $15,000.00
Maryland, $40,000.00
Illinois, $30,000.00
Illinois, $15,000.00
California, $10,000.00
Illinois, $40,000.00
Wisconsin
Michigan, $30,000.00
Florida, $40,000.00
Illinois, $50,000.00
Minnesota, $10,000.00
New Jersey, $40,000.00
North Carolina, $20,000.00
Washington DC, $40,000.00
Illinois, $25,000.00
Puerto Rico, $45,000.00
Illinois, $25,000.00
South Carolina, $25,000.00
California, $25,000.00
Washington DC, $15,000.00
Utah, $20,000.00
Hawaii, $35,000.00
Illinois, $25,000.00
Arizona, $20,000.00
Rhode Island, $40,000.00
New York, $55,000.00
California, $40,000.00
Virginia, $40,000.00
Tennessee, $15,000.00
Texas, $15,000.00
Illinois, $20,000.00
Illinois, $40,000.00
Indiana, $35,000.00
Illinois, $10,000.00
Florida, $25,000.00
Arizona, $40,000.00
New Mexico, $15,000.00
New York, $50,000.00
New Mexico, $15,000.00
Illinois, $35,000.00
New York
North Carolina, $30,000.00
Pennsylvania, $20,000.00
Illinois, $25,000.00
Texas, $40,000.00
Ohio, $20,000.00
Oklahoma, $35,000.00
Colorado, $20,000.00
Illinois, $45,000.00
California, $40,000.00
California, $15,000.00
California, $15,000.00
Hawaii, $25,000.00
Illinois, $25,000.00
Arizona, $25,000.00
New York, $65,000.00
Illinois, $40,000.00
Maryland, $35,000.00
Michigan, $50,000.00
California, $35,000.00
Illinois, $40,000.00
New York, $45,000.00
Pennsylvania, $35,000.00
Florida, $25,000.00
Arizona, $20,000.00
New Mexico, $15,000.00
Texas, $15,000.00
North Carolina, $20,000.00
Pennsylvania, $20,000.00
South Carolina, $25,000.00
Colorado, $45,000.00
Texas, $40,000.00
New York
Florida, $30,000.00
Illinois, $45,000.00
Illinois, $30,000.00
North Carolina, $30,000.00
Massachusetts, $20,000.00
Maryland, $40,000.00
California, $40,000.00
California, $15,000.00
Illinois, $30,000.00
Wisconsin, $50,000.00
Minnesota, $35,000.00
Illinois, $50,000.00
New Jersey, $50,000.00
Washington DC, $40,000.00
Illinois, $30,000.00
Louisiana, $20,000.00
Utah, $15,000.00
New York, $20,000.00
Maryland, $50,000.00
California, $50,000.00
Virginia, $50,000.00
West Virginia, $65,000.00
New York, $50,000.00
Indiana, $40,000.00
Minnesota, $35,000.00
Michigan, $20,000.00
Illinois, $50,000.00
New Mexico, $20,000.00
New York, $65,000.00
Illinois, $35,000.00
New York, $30,000.00
Michigan, $65,000.00
Illinois, $50,000.00
Ohio, $20,000.00
Guam, $65,000.00
Wisconsin, $25,000.00