Support

Sustain the future of poetry in Chicago. Your support, whether a donation, a purchase, or your time, fuels our mission to connect people and poetry across the city. Find the way to contribute that resonates most with you.

A young boy in a blue striped polo shirt speaks confidently into a handheld microphone at a poetry reading, with other children and an adult waiting nearby.

Donate

Your tax-deductible donation funds poetry programs for Chicago students and supports the teaching artists who inspire them

 A wall collage of vintage Poetry Center event posters featuring readings by poets including Denise Levertov, Dennis Brutus, Bill Knott, Galway Kinnell, Margaret Atwood, James Laughlin, Mark Strand, Maxine Kumin, Faye Kicknosway, Naomi Lazard, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Shop

Proceeds from our specialty tees and merch, rare broadsides, and vintage posters from our archive directly support poetry programs across Chicago

 A student signs a sponsor recognition poster for the Winter 2024 All Schools Reading, presented by the Ralla Klepak Foundation, joining other handwritten signatures on the board.

Funders

Meet the foundations and partners whose strategic investment makes our citywide poetry programs possible

 View from the back of an audience watching a young student perform at a microphone during an All Schools Reading, with the Chicago Poetry Center logo displayed on a screen and natural light streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Residency Sponsors

Meet the individual and group donors whose support connects students with transformative poetry residencies

 Two women share a laugh at an outdoor poetry event reception, one holding a drink, with other attendees mingling in the sunlit background.

Partner with CPC

Learn about ways to partner with and support CPC

 Overhead view of Chicago Poetry Center staff members gathered around a table with poetry books and materials in a museum gallery, with a large black-and-white artwork on the wall behind them.

Volunteer

Lend your time and talent to support our public poetry events and help build Chicago’s literary community