Pongo Poetry Project
Pongo Poetry Project is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that uses its proprietary trauma-informed Pongo Method to teach poetry writing to systems-impacted youth in juvenile detention, psychiatric hospitals, and shelters, serving 150+ youth weekly.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Pongo Poetry Project does
Pongo Poetry Project is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 by Richard Gold that engages systems-impacted youth — primarily those in juvenile detention, residential psychiatric hospitals, foster care, homeless shelters, and LGBTQ centers — in writing poetry as a therapeutic intervention. The organization's core offering is the Pongo Method, an evidence-based, trauma-informed poetry facilitation technique developed in collaboration with child psychiatrists, expressive writing therapists, and academics; the method is documented in Gold's 2014 book "Writing with At-Risk Youth: The W.R.I.T.E. Expressive Writing Method." Pongo operates two primary delivery channels: direct on-site weekly programming at partner institutions (notably King County's Clark Children & Family Justice Center and the Child Study and Treatment Center) facilitated by trained volunteer Poetry Mentors, and Well-Versed, a free online poetry submission platform that publishes quarterly youth poetry collections.
The organization has published 17 youth poetry anthologies since inception and serves 150+ systems-impacted youth weekly in the Seattle area, with cumulative reach of 4,000+ teen writers since 2000. Revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit mix: individual donations and foundation grants (the primary funding stream), sales of poetry anthologies priced $15–$25, Ignite Pongo training workshops and certification fees (with $10 participant materials packets and $25 continuing education credits via NWCEAI), and ticketed fundraising events such as Speaking Volumes and Healing through Creativity ($45 advance / $50 at door). The organization maintains co-executive director leadership (Ashley Skartvedt) and a network of project leads at each partner site, with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or M&A activity.
Pongo Poetry Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pongo Poetry Project
- Legal name
- Pongo Poetry Project
- Website
- https://pongopoetryproject.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Pongo Poetry Project is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that uses its proprietary trauma-informed Pongo Method to teach poetry writing to systems-impacted youth in juvenile detention, psychiatric hospitals, and shelters, serving 150+ youth weekly.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pongo Poetry Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts-Based Youth Therapy Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Fine Arts Schools (61161)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Children’s & YA Writing Workshops (EDAMAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Writing Craft & Technique Workshops (Voice, Structure, Character, Style) (EDAMAMAH), Trauma-Informed & Resilience-Building Programs (Early Childhood) (EDACAOAD)
Keywords
Where Pongo Poetry Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pongo Poetry Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Pongo Poetry Project relies primarily on individual donations, foundation grants, and corporate sponsorships. The organization runs annual fundraising campaigns including GiveBIG and year-end campaigns.
- Book Sales: Sale of youth poetry anthologies including 'Where Hope Seems Impossible' ($20), 'The Story of My Heart' ($25), 'The Shadow Beside Me' ($20), and 'Above the Water of My Sorrows' ($15).
- Training and Certification: Revenue from Ignite Pongo training workshops, certification programs, and sale of participant materials packets ($10). Also continuing education credits offered in partnership with NWCEAI for $25.
- Event Revenue: Ticket sales for fundraising events such as Speaking Volumes and community events like Healing through Creativity ($45 advance, $50 at door).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Above the Water of My Sorrows anthology |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | The Shadow Beside Me anthology |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | The Story of My Heart anthology |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Where Hope Seems Impossible anthology |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Ignite Pongo Training |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Healing through Creativity Event |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Pongo Poetry Prize |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Pongo Poetry Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pongo Poetry Project engages systems-impacted youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. It delivers the proprietary Pongo Method, an evidence-based, trauma-informed poetry facilitation technique developed with child psychiatrists and expressive writing therapists, through direct weekly workshops at juvenile detention centers and psychiatric hospitals, online submissions via Well-Versed, training/certification programs, and published youth poetry anthologies.
Product overview
Pongo Poetry Project is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses personal poetry writing to heal youth who have experienced trauma. The organization's core offering is the Pongo Method, an evidence-based, trauma-informed poetry facilitation technique. Key programs include: Well-Versed (online poetry submission platform), Ignite Pongo Training (professional development for facilitators), the Pongo Poetry Prize (annual award program), and a Youth Poetry Library. The organization publishes youth poetry anthologies and provides resources for teachers and counselors. Programs serve youth in detention centers, residential psychiatric hospitals, and similar settings through partnerships with organizations like Hugo House and Golf Pencil Group.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Well-Versed: Online poetry submission program for youth
- Ignite Pongo
- Pongo Method
- Pongo Poetry Prize
- BIPOC Voices
- You Grow Girl!
Products and services
- Pongo Method Evidence-based, trauma-informed poetry facilitation methodology designed to help systems-impacted youth write about painful life experiences in a way that promotes insight and healing.
- Well-Versed (Pongo Poets Online) Free online poetry submission program that invites young people to submit original poems; quarterly online youth poetry collections are published.
- Ignite Pongo Training
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 4,000 teen writers engaged since 2000
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pongo Poetry Project
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Pongo Poetry Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Pongo Poetry Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.
- 4CulturecoreMajor cultural funding organization providing support that makes public programming possible. Sponsors events including Poetry in Motion, Words Beyond Walls, Landscapes of Healing, and Speaking Volumes.
- Hugo HousecoreCo-hosted Landscapes of Healing poetry reading with Hugo House as part of Seattle Reads program, partnering with Seattle Public Library Foundation and The Wallace Foundation.
- Northwest Creative and Expressive Arts Institute (NWCEAI)corePartnership for offering continuing education credits for Ignite Pongo training. Participants can earn 5 CE credits for attending trauma-informed poetry mentorship training.
- Golf Pencil GroupstrategicPartnership for Words Beyond Walls event. Golf Pencil Group offers creative writing classes for women at King County Correctional Facility; Pongo mentors wrote prose inspired by Golf Pencil Group writers.
- S.H.A.R.E. (Screenwriting for Healing, Self-Actualization, Redemption, and Empathy)strategicCo-hosted Poetry in Motion short film showcase featuring films and art created by incarcerated youth. Partnership highlighting arts-based programming for systems-impacted young people.
- The Seattle Public LibrarystrategicPartner in Seattle Reads program featuring Pongo at Landscapes of Healing event, along with multiple literary and arts organizations.
- Real Change NewsminorMonthly youth poetry column in Real Change News, a newspaper providing opportunity and voice to low-income and homeless people.
- South Seattle EmeraldminorWeekly youth poetry column in South Seattle Emerald featuring poems from youth at Clark Children & Family Justice Center.
- Creative JusticeminorArts-based, healing engaged space for youth impacted by systemic oppression. Panelist at Poetry in Motion event addressing issues facing systems-impacted youth.
- The Bridge Music ProjectminorThurston County nonprofit teaching youth how music and songwriting can be used to deal with life's challenges. Panelist at Poetry in Motion event.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Pongo Poetry Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Write Around Portland: Nonprofit running creative writing workshops in prisons, shelters, hospitals, and schools for underserved communities. Highly comparable to Pongo in mission, population served, and workshop-based delivery model.
- 826 National: Network of youth writing and tutoring centers supporting under-resourced students with creative writing, publishing, and mentoring. Comparable focus on youth voice and authorship in under-resourced communities, though at much larger scale.
- Books Behind Bars: Organization providing books and writing programming to incarcerated populations, including youth in detention. Directly comparable in target population (incarcerated youth) and writing-as-healing approach.
- Community Literacy Center: Organization using writing and publishing with at-risk youth in detention and community settings. Comparable in trauma-informed creative writing approach with incarcerated and court-involved youth.
Broad incumbents
- National Writing Project: Large-scale professional development network for teachers of writing across the U.S. Comparable in training-and-certification mechanism for writing pedagogy, but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
- The Loft Literary Center: One of the largest independent literary centers in the U.S., offering classes, workshops, and readings across genres. Comparable in workshop-based creative writing instruction, though broader in audience and not focused on trauma or systems-impacted youth.
Others
- Cave Canem Foundation: Literary organization supporting Black poets through retreats, workshops, and publications. Comparable in publishing-platform and workshop model serving underrepresented poets, though focused on adult Black poets rather than systems-impacted youth.
Regional players
- Split This Rock: Poetry organization using writing and poetry for social change, with programs serving youth and incarcerated populations. Comparable in mission to leverage poetry for healing and justice, primarily D.C.-based.
Emerging players
- YELL (Youth Expressive Literary Lab): Youth writing programs for court-involved youth combining expressive writing with mentorship. Closely comparable in target population (court-involved youth) and writing-as-healing methodology.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pongo Poetry Project social profiles
Digital presencePongo Poetry Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pongo Poetry Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Pongo Poetry Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pongo Poetry Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pongo Poetry Project
What does Pongo Poetry Project do?
Pongo Poetry Project engages systems-impacted youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. It delivers the proprietary Pongo Method, an evidence-based, trauma-informed poetry facilitation technique developed with child psychiatrists and expressive writing therapists, through direct weekly workshops at juvenile detention centers and psychiatric hospitals, online submissions via Well-Versed, training/certification programs, and published youth poetry anthologies.
Is Pongo Poetry Project a public or private company?
Pongo Poetry Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Pongo Poetry Project founded?
Pongo Poetry Project was founded in 1995. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Pongo Poetry Project based?
Pongo Poetry Project is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pongo Poetry Project make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are book Sales, training and Certification and event Revenue.
Who are Pongo Poetry Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Write Around Portland, 826 National, Books Behind Bars and Community Literacy Center. Broad incumbents are National Writing Project and The Loft Literary Center. Cave Canem Foundation is listed as an others. Split This Rock is listed as a regional player. YELL (Youth Expressive Literary Lab) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Pongo Poetry Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pongo Poetry Project.
What industry is Pongo Poetry Project in?
Pongo Poetry Project's product category is Arts-Based Youth Therapy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAMAF, Children’s & YA Writing Workshops, with a secondary code of EDAMAMAH, Writing Craft & Technique Workshops (Voice, Structure, Character, Style). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.