Milkweed Editions Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO IDENTIFY, NURTURE AND PUBLISH TRANSFORMATIVE LITERATURE, AND BUILD AN ENGAGED COMMUNITY AROUND IT.
- Income
- $4.8 million
- Spending
- $4.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 18.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- other income, 67%
- Employees
- 24
- Volunteers
- 25
- Highest pay
- $248,716, publisher and ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 18.2 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 17% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 1% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 33 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 24 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $2.1 million spent. BOOK PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND PROMOTION:FOUNDED IN MINNEAPOLIS IN 1980, MILKWEED EDITIONS IS ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADING INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS OF LITERATURE. WE CURRENTLY PUBLISH SOME THIRTY TITLES EACH YEAR IN THE CATEGORIES OF POETRY, FICTION, AND NONFICTION, AND OUR LIST IS ACCLAIMED FOR ITS DISTINCTION AND VARIETY. WE RELEASE EVERY TITLE SIMULTANEOUSLY IN PRINT AND EBOOK EDITIONS, WE ENHANCE THE PUBLICATION OF ALL TITLES WITH ORIGINAL DIGITAL CONTENT, WE LICENSE PUBLICATION OF MANY TITLES WE ORIGINATE TO FOREIGN AND AUDIOBOOK PUBLISHERS, AND, SINCE 2018, WE PUBLISH SOME OF OUR TITLES AS AUDIOBOOKS. WE CURRENTLY HAVE MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED TITLES IN PRINT, NEARLY TWO HUNDRED TITLES AVAILABLE AS EBOOKS, AND NEARLY FIVE MILLION COPIES OF BOOKS WE PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN CIRCULATION AROUND THE WORLD.
- $1.1 million spent. OUTREACH: - GENERAL -MILKWEED IS MOTIVATED BY THE FACT THAT LITERATURE IS FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMATIVE. EVERY YEAR WE SELL HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BOOKS, MANY OF OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES RECEIVE AWARDS, AND MOST TITLES RECEIVE GLOWING REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN A WIDE RANGE OF MEDIA. THESE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS WE MEASURE SUCCESS, BUT IN ADDITION TO OUR PUBLISHING PROGRAM, WE ACTIVELY SEEK TO BUILD COMMUNITY AROUND LITERATURE AND TO SERVE AN EXPANDING, INCREASINGLY DIVERSE CONSTITUENCY OF WRITERS AND READERS. WE SERVE WRITERS BY PROVIDING FINANCIAL AND EDITORIAL SUPPORT AND BY BUILDING A BROAD AUDIENCE FOR THEIR WORK. WE SERVE READERS BY CONNECTING THEM TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS WE PUBLISH. - REACHING READERS -OUR GOAL TO BUILD COMMUNITY IS ULTIMATELY ACHIEVED BY SHARING OUR WORK WITH THE WIDEST RANGE OF PARTICIPANTS AND COMMUNICATING WHY IT IS RELEVANT AND HOW IT CAN BE TRANSFORMATIVE IN THEIR LIVES. WE WORK TO MAKE OUR BOOKS AVAILABLE IN A VARIETY OF FORMATS PRINT, EBOOK, AND INCREASINGLY AUDIOBOOK; WE HAVE A VARIETY OF DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS TO HELP BOOKS REACH AS MANY MARKETS AS POSSIBLE; WE ALSO CULTIVATE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH LIBRARIANS, ENSURING THAT MANY READERS BORROW OUR BOOKS; AND EACH YEAR WE DONATE SEVERAL THOUSAND BOOKS. - OPEN BOOK - AS ONE OF THREE FOUNDING TENANTS OF OPEN BOOK, THE NATION'S LARGEST LITERARY CENTER LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS, WE ACTIVELY SEEK TO BUILD COMMUNITY AROUND LITERATURE. IN THE YEARS SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 2000, OPEN BOOK IS NOW A NATIONAL SUCCESS STORY. THE CENTER ATTRACTS MORE THAN 175,000 VISITORS ANNUALLY, AND WE STRENGTHENED OUR COMMITMENT TO THIS REMARKABLE INSTITUTION BY OPENING A STREET-LEVEL BOOKSTORE IN THE BUILDING IN LATE 2016. MILKWEED BOOKS SERVES AS A VIBRANT COMMUNITY SPACE, A SITE WHERE READERS DISCOVER AND INTERACT WITH WRITERS, MANY OF WHOM ARE PUBLISHED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR FIELD. - FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM -THE MILKWEED FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, LAUNCHED IN 2019, IS GROUNDED IN THE BELIEF THAT BOOKS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE THE WORLD, AND THAT EQUITY IS ESSENTIAL TO A VIBRANT, DIVERSE, AND EMPOWERED LITERARY ECOSYSTEM. THIS PAID, ONE- TO TWO-YEAR IMMERSION PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO OFFER THE TOOLS, EXPERIENCE, AND EXPOSURE NECESSARY TO PURSUE A CAREER IN BOOK PUBLISHING. INTENDED TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO SUCCESS IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE THE PREREQUISITE TO AN ENTRY LEVEL POSITION IS TYPICALLY AN UNPAID INTERNSHIP, THIS LEARNING-ORIENTED POSITION SEEKS TO PROVIDE ENTRY TO THOSE HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED AMONG WORKERS IN BOOK PUBLISHING - INDIGENOUS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, LGBTQIA+, AND THOSE WITH DISABILITIES SO THEY MAY ADVANCE, DISCOVER, AND CHAMPION TRANSFORMATIVE LITERATURE FOR YEARS TO COME.
- $562,043 spent. EDITORIAL:WE MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF OUR PUBLISHING PROGRAM, HOW WELL WE ACHIEVE OUR MISSION, IN MANY WAYS, INCLUDING BOOK SALES THROUGH OUR DISTRIBUTOR, OUR WEBSITE, AND OUR BOOKSTORE. IN 2025, REVENUE GENERATED BY SALES OF OUR BOOKS GROSSED MORE THAN $5 MILLION. WE ALSO FACTOR IN AWARDS, REVIEWS, AND OTHER MEDIA ATTENTION GARNERED BY OUR TITLES, AUTHORS, AND ORGANIZATION. OUR BOOKS SAW REVIEWS AND MEDIA MENTIONS IN OUTLETS RANGING FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE GUARDIAN, AND THE NEW YORKER AND RECENT TITLES WERE FINALISTS FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE, THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD, PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD, THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE, AND THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD, AMONG NUMEROUS OTHER AWARDS AND PRIZES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 1980.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.