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Writers Grotto

EIN 84-3889127 · San Francisco, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair54 out of 100GovernanceFair64 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

Points to look into

  • It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.

These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.

What it says it does

THE WRITERS GROTTO IS A COMMUNITY OF WRITERS AND NARRATIVE ARTISTS WHO CONNECT IN PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL SPACE, POOLING OUR TALENTS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, MENTOR AND TEACH OTHERS, AND ENGAGE THE WIDER WORLD.

Income
$279,372
Spending
$266,679
Spent on programs
76%
Reserves
0.5 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 75%
Employees
0

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 54 out of 100. Higher than 22% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.5 months of spending.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 67% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 42% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    76% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 25 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Fair: 64 out of 100. Higher than 37% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    6 of 6 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    0 of 10

    Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (5)
  1. $176,840 spent. THE WRITERS GROTTO RUNS A ROBUST PROGRAM OF CLASSES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, TAUGHT BY WRITERS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE GENRES THEY TEACH, AND PROUD TO MENTOR OTHERS IN THE WRITING LIFE. STUDENTS COME TO GROTTO CLASSES WHEN THEY ARE READY TO TAKE THEIR CRAFT AND WRITING CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL. OUR GROWING COMMUNITY OF MORE THAN 30 TEACHERS PUTS ON ROUGHLY 100 CLASSES A YEAR, AND INCLUDE MEMOIRISTS, NOVELISTS, SCREENWRITERS, JOURNALISTS, POETS, AND NARRATIVE ARTISTS IN A RANGE OF OTHER GENRES, MANY OF THEM AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS WITH DEEP EXPERIENCE TO SHARE.
  2. $25,385 spent. ROOTED & WRITTEN IS THE WRITERS GROTTO'S TUITION-FREE WRITING CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO WRITERS OF COLOR. THE PROGRAM HELPS EMERGING WRITERS OF COLOR HONE THEIR CRAFT WITH GUIDANCE FROM ESTABLISHED WRITERS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. IT ALSO FACILITATES CONNECTIONS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY. ROOTED & WRITTEN EMPOWERS MARGINALIZED WRITERS TO CREATE AND SHARE WORK FOR BROADER AUDIENCES OR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THE PROGRAM COLLABORATES WITH ARTISTS FROM THE BAY AREA TO CREATE ART THAT REPRESENTS HISTORICALLY UNDER- REPRESENTED OR EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES. ROOTED & WRITTEN BENEFITS PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED WRITERS, CONCLUDING WITH A PUBLIC EVENT WHERE PARTICIPANTS SHARE THEIR WORK. ROOTED AND WRITTEN ATTRACTS DOZENS OF EMERGING WRITERS. THE 2024 CONFERENCE HOSTED 40 WRITERS AND REACHED AN EVEN WIDER AUDIENCE.
  3. THROUGH OUR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM, THE WRITERS GROTTO PROVIDES PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL WORKSPACES AND OTHER AMENITIES TO THE COMMUNITY OF NARRATIVE ARTISTS WHO ARE OUR MEMBERS, ALLOWING THEM TO WORK IN A QUIET, SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDED BY THEIR PEERS. IN 2024, WE ADDED 61 NEW MEMBERS, OUR BIGGEST JUMP EVER, BRINGING OUR MEMBERSHIP TO AROUND 175. OUR MEMBERS PUBLISHED MORE THAN 20 BOOKS, INCLUDING VOLUMES OF POETRY, SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS, NOVELS, BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, AND A VARIETY OF NONFICTION. THEY ALSO PUBLISHED COUNTLESS SHORTER WORKS, INCLUDING ARTICLES, SHORT STORIES, PERSONAL ESSAYS, POEMS, AND MORE, IN VENUES RANGING FROM THE MOST NOTABLE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS TO SMALL INDEPENDENT PRESSES.
  4. OUR FREE PUBLIC EVENTS IN 2024 INCLUDED PUBLIC READINGS AT SALESFORCE PARK, READING + MEETING (OUR MONTHLY FRIDAY LECTURE SERIES,, AND GROTTO NIGHTS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY. WE RELAUNCHED OUR GROTTOPOD PODCAST WITH A NEW HOST, AND A ROTATING TEAM OF CO-HOSTS.
  5. OUR FREE PUBLIC EVENTS IN 2024 INCLUDED PUBLIC READINGS AT SALESFORCE PARK, READING + MEETING (OUR MONTHLY FRIDAY LECTURE SERIES,, AND GROTTO NIGHTS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY. WE RELAUNCHED OUR GROTTOPOD PODCAST WITH A NEW HOST, AND A ROTATING TEAM OF CO-HOSTS.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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 October 13, 2026.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since May 2021.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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 October 21, 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.