Windy City Story Slam Needs Your Help

[Nicolette Opal]

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Well-Wishers,

As you may know, Windy City Story Slam’s third year is off to a fantastic start. We had strong showing at our 2009 All-City Championships in February. We’ve so far featured readings from John Patrick Hemingway, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Gint Aras, and Jim Goad, as well as numerous local writers and storytellers. We are planning not one, not two, but three tours with our ensemble team: Europe, the American East and the American West. And we’re very excited to announce that in June, Windy City Story Slam will host the first ever National Story Slam Competition, bringing in city representatives from other independent story slam events from across the country.

But our biggest news is this: As of February 2010, we are a 501©(3) tax exempt organization.

Like many arts programs, Windy City Story Slam is funded by donations and selling tickets to our events. But the lion’s share of our budget still comes directly from the wallets of our Officers and very small volunteer staff. While we’ve managed to operate at a loss for these two-and-a-half years, as we grow our resources shrink, and our dollars don’t stretch as far as they used to.

The continued success of Windy City Story Slam depends on the support of our friends. The cost of admission will never cover our needs, and grant application cycles and wait times leave large gaps in many arts programs’ budgets. Your tax exempt donations would be a great relief to the Slam—and maybe a helpful maneuver come tax season.

For more information, please contact the Windy Story Slam staff via the contact form on our website, www.windycitystoryslam.com, or speak with one of us at an event.

Thankfully,

William J. Hillmann, Founder and Executive Producer

Nicolette Kittinger, Assistant Producer