Charity of the week: Academy of American Poets

Since its founding in 1934, the Academy of American Poets (poets.org) has spent more than any other organization to foster poets at all stages of their careers, and to promote a broad appreciation of contemporary poetry. It administers an array of poetry awards, from the annual Wallace Stevens Award for lifetime poetic achievement—awarded last week to Philip Levine—to student prizes at more than 200 colleges and universities across the country. The Academy’s substantial online resources include free poetry lesson plans for high school teachers and an audio archive of live poetry readings and other events over the last 50 years. It sponsors National Poetry Month every April, and its award-winning website offers access to 2,500 poems, searchable by poet, occasion, and theme.

Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which rates not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their control of administrative and fundraising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest rating.

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