The Loft Inc

“Process the organization uses to review the 990 an initial draft of the 990 is reviewed in detail by the finance committee of the board. After changes or corrections, if needed, the near final draft of the 990 is distributed to the full board in pre-read material prior to the first board meeting after finance committee review. The treasurer/finance committee chair reviews the document for the board with assistance of representatives from the independent auditors, if needed. Board members are invited to ask questions and submit any further corrections. The treasurer recommends approval of the 990 (with changes, as needed) and a full vote of the board is called. The board must approve the 990 before it is submitted.”

“Conflict of interest policy each year, typically at the first meeting of the fiscal year as a 'standing adgenda item,' all board members are asked to review the conflict of interest policy for the purpose of stating and/or updating their disclosures, and to sign and date the form.”

“Procedure to make decisions regarding executive and staff compensation relying in substantial part on the bi-annual survey of non-profit salaries conducted and published by the minnesota council of non-profits, the board of directors' executive committee establishes the salary for the executive director, within the limits established by the board of directors in approving the organization's budget. The executive director in turn, uses the same procedure for establishing salaries for all other staff, including the managing director.”

“Governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements the organization makes its financial statements and 990 available to the public on its website. The governing documents and conflict of interest policy are held at the organization's offices and are available upon request.”

“The loft advances the artistic development of writers, fosters a thriving literary community, and inspires a passion for literature. As an intergenerational, multicultural literary arts center, the loft operates as an artist service organization, a gathering place for readers and writers, a community school for the arts, and a presenting organization. Each year the loft nurtures hundreds of novelists, poets, spoken word artists, and writers in every genre and style, and connects readers and audiences in the twin cities and across the u.s. With contemporary literature.”

“On march 11, the loft made the decision to shift all loft activities to online formats. Planned and in-progress onsite classes and events moved to virtual space, with many participants adapting well. Because it was the middle of a term, anyone who was uncomfortable with or unable to make the change to online learning was allowed to drop out of current classes. As a result, the loft issued thousands of dollars in refunds to students who were hesitant to embrace the new format, who didn't have adequate technology, whose teachers were unable to adapt, and to those who were simply dealing with their own economic struggles during this time. Many families with prior registrations for the summer youth program dropped out and new registrations dropped well below previous years' enrollment. At the same time, loft staff took on coaching those who wished to continue in a virtual format so they were comfortable with the new systems and processes. In addition, during the first few months online, the loft required a staff member (in addition to the contract teaching artist) to be in attendance at every virtual class meeting. Staff from across the organization had to be redeployed to these efforts. Moving wordplay 2020, the loft's annual indoor/outdoor festival, to a virtual format had the most significant financial impact and program delivery change. Many literary festivals across the country were being canceled or postponed; the loft recognized that this left authors and new books without the kind of exposure to readers they count on. Rather than cancel, the loft reimagined the planned in-person wordplay festival originally scheduled for may 9, and presented a combination of livestreams, contests, and videos on the organization's own and in partnership with other artists and book festivals over five weeks. Unfortunately, there was insufficient time or money to quickly deploy systems that would allow the loft to charge for admission to the online events. The organization lost all of the anticipated ticket, exhibitor, and sales revenue, and many sponsors dropped out or declined pending proposals due to their own fears about the pandemic's financial impact. Programmatic earned revenue showed a 52% decrease in march-august over the same period in 2019 (not including $100,000 in lost sponsorships). A ppp loan, now forgiven, helped the loft make it through the toughest period. Nonetheless, after the ppp period, the organization made the difficult decision to put half the staff on partial furloughs, working 20-32 hours per week. Participation in minnesota's shared work program has made it possible for staff members to recover a higher portion of lost wages and retain full benefits from the loft. The loft ended the fiscal year with a second-ever operating budget deficit in 45 years.”

“Learning for writers and readers - the loft offered a variety of learning opportunities for writers and readers during fiscal year 2020. Classes during fiscal year 2020 took place at open book, at libraries and community sites throughout the greater twin cities area and, beginning in mid-march, completely online. Adults and youth (ages 6-90+) at all levels of artistic development furthered their skills in classes focused on fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screen/playwriting, children's literature, graphic novel, and other literary forms; learned more about developing a writing practice and career; and explored literature as readers. All classes were taught by accomplished writers and literary professionals. This year, the organization served 2,555 adults and 886 youth in 396 classes and workshops, schools and community programs. To mitigate financial barriers to participation in creative writing classes, the organization provided 400 low income discounts and 229 scholarships, plus a work-study program, and 105 free writing classes in partnership with eight regional library systems across the greater twin cities.”

“Services for writers and the literary community - in fiscal year 2020, the organization provided a wide range of services designed to support writers and the broader literary community. Loft.org, the organization's website, provided regular articles and fostered discussions about the writers' life and craft through its daily blog, the writers' block. There, writers found writing exercises, literary reviews, commentary, news, and discussion. The site also included interviews, a calendar of readings and events, an online catalog of classes, and resources including information about writing groups, competitions, grants, awards, publishers, and agents. Visitors perused current and back issues of literary magazines as well as books published by minnesota presses, books by regional writers including the organization's instructors, members, and students, and writers' reference books from the rachel anne gaschott ritchie small press library. Forty-three writers made use of the organization's writers' studios, four organization-sponsored culturally distinct writing groups met regularly at open book, and 16 literary groups used the book club room this year. The loft also co-sponsored regular meetings of the picture book salon. In addition, the organization provided several competitive opportunities that assisted writers in advancing their artistic and professional development: the mentor series fellowship in poetry and creative prose offered twelve emerging minnesota writers the opportunity to work intensively with six nationally acclaimed writers in poetry and prose. Four writers in each genre (poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction) were selected for the program by the mentors. Mentors and fellows spend time working in groups and one-on-one and fellows receive a $500 grant. Fellows and mentors present their work in public readings throughout the year. Mcknight artist fellowships for writers provided five minnesota writers of demonstrated ability with grants of $28,000, buying them time to concentrate on their craft. The writers were competitively selected for awards in poetry, spoken word, and children's picture book writing. The mirrors and windows fellowship gave twelve emerging artists of color and indigenous artists coaching, encouragement, and connections to help them write books for children and young adults. The program aims to address the critical issue of underrepresentation in the children's and young adult literary ecosystem. The artists received a grant of $500 each.”

“Events for readers -authors' book launch readings and spoken word performances helped develop audiences for literature while promoting and advancing the work of individual writers. Big ideas discussions featured writers and thought leaders using literature to spur conversations on topical issues, and curated literary events engaged audience members in exploration of thought-provoking themes. Twenty of these events featured 108 writers for a combined audience of 1169. In may of 2020, the loft presented the second annual wordplay literary festival, and the first of its kind to be presented completely online. Over five weeks, the loft showcased writers in all genres and engaged audiences in discussions of timely topics with authors and experts spurred by newly published work. By the close of the organization's fiscal year, these events had been viewed more than 75,000 times in total. They remain available online and continue to draw audiences from throughout the world. With this new - now annual - festival, the loft is putting literature at the center of civic life, engaging participants in important, timely, and challenging conversations inspired by books, while also celebrating the joy, empathy-building, and transformative power of reading and writing.”