Willamette Writers
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
AS A NON-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION, WILLAMETTE WRITERS IS COMMITTED TO HELPING WRITERS CONNECT WITH THEIR COMMUNITIES, DEVELOP THEIR CRAFT, AND EXPAND THEIR CAREER. WILLAMETTE WRITERS WAS FOUNDED IN 1965 BY KAY SNOW TO PROVIDE MEETING PLACES FOR THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION, AND PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO HELP WRITERS THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
- Income
- $222,756
- Spending
- $233,710
- Spent on programs
- 67%
- Reserves
- 4.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 63%
- Employees
- 4
- Volunteers
- 75
- Highest pay
- $67,094, executive director
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
Good: 78 out of 100.
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 5% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 22% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1567% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 13 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
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 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.
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, 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 (4)
- $81,184 spent. WILLAMETTE WRITERS CONFERENCE THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE BROUGHT IN AGENTS, EDITORS, PUBLISHERS, AUTHORS, AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS FOR WORKSHOPS, KEYNOTES, AND CRITIQUES IN-PERSON AND ONLINE. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF ATTENDEES, INCLUDING WRITERS, INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, STAFF, VOLUNTEERS, AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS. ADVANCE CRITIQUES, ON THE SPOT CRITIQUES, AND PITCHES WERE OFFERED AT THE CONFERENCE. WRITERS AND WRITING ORGANIZATIONS ALSO ATTENDED THE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WRITER'S FAIR AT THE CONFERENCE, WHERE THEY LEARNED ABOUT LOCAL WRITING ORGANIZATIONS AND MADE CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER WRITERS AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
- $45,828 spent. PROGRAMMING FOR WRITERS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WILLAMETTE WRITERS OFFERED MONTHLY CHAPTER MEETINGS ON-LINE AND IN-PERSON TO HELP WRITERS CONNECT WITH THEIR COMMUNITY, DEVELOP THEIR CRAFT, AND EXPAND THEIR CAREERS. WILLAMETTE WRITERS ALSO OFFERED REGULAR WEEKLY PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING WRITE-INS, ACCOUNTABILITY MEETINGS, BROWN BAG LUNCHES, AND DROP-IN CRITIQUES. THE ORGANIZATION SUPPORTED 37 ON-LINE CRITIQUE GROUPS.
- $8,822 spent. MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT SERVICES DURING THE YEAR, WE HAD OVER 1300 MEMBERS SUSTAINING THEIR MEMBERSHIP WITH WILLAMETTE WRITERS. THESE MEMBERS CAME TO WILLAMETTE WRITERS FOR SUPPORT WITH PUBLISHING BOOKS, SHARING ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND BUILDING THEIR CRAFT. THEY LOGGED ONTO OUR MEMBERSHIP DATA-BASE. THEY REQUESTED HELP FROM OUR OFFICE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, AND RECEIVED MEMBERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS, INCLUDING MEMBERS ONLY EMAILS AND COMMUNICATIONS. THE OFFICE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS SUPPORTED MEMBERS BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS, PROVIDING RESOURCES, AND MAKING CONNECTIONS. MEMBERSHIP CONTINUES TO BE A VITAL WAY THAT WRITERS SUPPORT THE WORK OF WILLAMETTE WRITERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
- $20,511 spent. YOUNG WILLAMETTE WRITERSYOUNG WILLAMETTE WRITERS WELCOMES ANY STUDENTS FROM 13 TO 18 YEARS OLD. YOUNG WILLAMETTE WRITERS CURRENTLY OFFERS PROGRAMMING IN PORTLAND AND ONLINE. MONTHLY MEETINGS ARE FREE OF CHARGE TO ANY STUDENT. MULTIPLE MONTHLY MEETINGS, INCLUDING WORKSHOPS WITH PUBLISHED AUTHORS AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, WERE OFFERED THIS YEAR. MEMBERS ALSO SUBMITTED TO OUR YOUNG WILLAMETTE WRITERS YEARLY JOURNAL AND ATTENDED THE WILLAMETTE WRITERS CONFERENCE.THE TIMBERLINE REVIEWTHE TIMBERLINE REVIEW IS AN ALL-VOLUNTEER LITERARY JOURNAL. THE ANNUAL JOURNAL PUBLISHES SELECTIONS FROM VARIOUS GENRES OF FICTION (FLASH FICTION, SHORT STORY, NOVELLA, AND NOVEL EXCERPT), POETRY, CREATIVENONFICTION, CRITICAL COMMENTARY (ANNOTATION, BOOK REVIEW, LITERARY ANALYSIS, AND CRAFT INSTRUCTION), VISUAL ART AND HYBRID PIECES. FREE SUBMISSIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK ON THE JOURNAL ARE MEMBER BENEFITS. THE TIMBERLINE REVIEW WAS AVAILABLE FOR SALE AT EVENTS AND IN BOOKSTORES, AND AUTHORS FEATURED IN THE JOURNAL, INCLUDING MEMBERS, WERE INVITED TO PRESENT AT PUBLIC READINGS.THE KAY SNOW WRITING CONTESTTHE KAY SNOW WRITING CONTEST HELPS WRITERS REACH THEIR PROFESSIONAL GOALS IN WRITING THROUGH A BROAD ARRAY OF CATEGORIES, INCLUDING FICTION, NON-FICTION, AND POETRY. THE CONTEST ALSO ENCOURAGES STUDENT WRITERS, WITH CATEGORIES FOR GRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. IN ADDITION TO CASH PRIZES, WINNERS ARE LISTED ON THE WILLAMETTE WRITERS WEBSITE AND HONORED AT A CEREMONY AT THE WILLAMETTE WRITERS CONFERENCE. THE DISPATCHWILLAMETTE WRITERS SENDS OUT A BI-WEEKLY DISPATCH TO OVER 6,000 WRITERS WITH HOW-TO ARTICLES, CURRENT EVENTS, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS AND MEMBERS. FILMLAB FILMLAB IS AN EXPERIMENTAL SCREENWRITING PROGRAM. IN 2024, WRITERS JOINED OUR WRITER'S ROOM, LED BY AN INDUSTRY SHOWRUNNER, AND THEN SAW THEIR COLLABORATIVE SCRIPT BROUGHT TO LIFE ON STAGE WITH SAG-AFTRA. IN 2024, WILLAMETTE WRITERS BEGAN PRODUCTION ON THE SCRIPT, HELPING WRITERS SEE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS.
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
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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 2026.
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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 1980.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 October 7, 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.