12/31/2017
An end-of-year letter from founding board member Francis Grunow ... we've raised another $1,000 just this month thanks to you all. There are just a few hours left to spread the word or put a few more dollars in! And thank you!
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Hello,
In these final days of 2017, I'm reaching out to ask for your support of Write A House, an organization I've been involved with since it was just an idea five years ago. It's a little nuts to think that Write A House made it this far.
In 2013, my friends Toby and Sarah concocted a brilliant, crazy idea: renovate vacant homes in Detroit and give them away to deserving writers. Beginning in 2014, we announced Write A House and received an incredible response from the media, public, and, most important, the literary community. We raised funds and were delighted to renovate three homes over three years, giving away them away to a poet and two journalists, after jurying hundreds of applications.
The first three awardees are new residents of Detroit, and all are helping tell new stories of the city. I've been so proud to count myself among those involved with Write A House since the beginning. Here's a nice little photo essay highlighting our second winner, Liana Agajanian, and her Banglatown house.
Last year, we announced another Write A House award, this time to a native Detroit poet. But soon we found ourselves struggling to raise money, even though we had started our fourth renovation. After being embraced by the public and funding community, our financial model was deemed unsustainable as a long term organizational strategy. Though a compelling idea, giving away homes outright did not allow Write A House to build up or leverage its assets.
Since that time, we have been working very hard to forge a new path forward. Over this past year, we've been meeting with advisors, funders, our writers, and supporters to craft an approach that works to improve the lives of Detroit writers. We are closer than ever to striking out again. . . in ways that would have us continue to support Detroit's literary community, including providing low cost housing for Detroit writers.
I am very excited about the new ideas the Write A House board are in the process of discussing, from moving forward with the renovation of a duplex in the North End, to creating a literary hub for writers, to building up the professional capacity of Detroit's writers. And I am hoping you would consider a year-end contribution to Write A House to help support this vision.
Any amount you can contribute to move us forward is truly appreciated— $15 or $1,500, and anything in between! Please donate today. I really appreciate your consideration. In the meantime, cheers to you and yours in 2018!
Thank You,
Francis
Write A House makes long-term housing affordable for emerging writers who struggle to keep up with rising rent and cannot qualify for mortgages. The unreliable income in the nature of the publishing world means annual income is uncertain but greater creative risks often involve periods of working on...
