Southern Word, Inc.

Name

Southern Word, Inc.

Legal name

Southern Word, Inc.

Website

https://southernword.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Arts Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Poetry Workshops (EDAMAMAB), Spoken-Word Poetry Slams (MPAGACAF), Writing Critique Groups & Peer Workshops (EDAMAMAJ), Genre Writing Workshops (Sci‑Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror) (EDAMAMAG), Writing Retreats & Intensive Bootcamps (EDAMAMAK), Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Youth arts education
• Spoken word poetry
• Music production programs
• Creative writing workshops
• Nonprofit youth development

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Gifts of Stock: Donors can give appreciated stocks and bonds, receiving full income tax deduction and avoiding capital gains tax on appreciation.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of limited edition merchandise (tote bags designed by Tucker-Bloom at $75 each). Proceeds fully support Southern Word programs.
3. Corporate Team Building Workshops: 'Remixing Community Through Pictures and Poetry' program brings community-building strategies to workplaces for team dynamics, communication, and creative thinking. Custom programs designed around specific business needs and budgets.
4. Foundation & Government Grants: Programs funded through grants from foundations including Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Public Library Foundation, Metro Arts, NEA Art Works, and others. Major supporters listed include regional foundations and government arts agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Southern Word provides spoken word poetry, creative writing, and music production programs for youth through school residencies, after-school workshops, library-based sessions, and community events. Programs are delivered by professional poet mentors, music mentors, and studio experience staff at schools, Nashville Public Library branches, colleges, and community organizations across Tennessee. The organization also runs corporate team building workshops and an annual showcase called State of the Word.

Product overview

Southern Word, Inc. is a nonprofit youth development organization offering a portfolio of creative arts programs focused on spoken word poetry, music production, and creative writing. The organization operates as a unified service provider with programs delivered through school residencies, after-school workshops, summer programs, and community events. The core programs include Spoken Word Residencies, Music Production and Songwriting, Writers in Schools, College Programs, Youth Poet Laureate Program, Write with Pride, Community Performances, Business Team Building, and Studio Experience. Additional recurring programs include Summer Studio, Live Beats Lab, Moving Music Forward, Power of the Pen, Fiction Workshop, Teen Open Mic, and Youth Summer Employment. These programs serve youth across Tennessee through partnerships with schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Write with Pride: A program that cultivates brave and barrier-breaking spaces for LGBT+ youth to build community and provide resources that foster well-being.

Products and services

• Spoken Word Residencies and After School Workshops School-based spoken word poetry residencies and workshops where professional poet mentors teach writing and performance skills in classrooms and community organizations, culminating in open mics or poetry slams. Delivered to K-12 schools, libraries, and community organizations.
• Music Production and Songwriting Programs Music production and songwriting residencies and workshops providing mentors to schools during the school day and after school at Nashville Public Library's Studio NPL, using mobile studios for branch libraries and community organizations.
• Writers in Schools
• College Programs Spoken word groups and classroom residencies at Tennessee colleges (APSU, TSU, MTSU, Nashville State, Belmont, Vanderbilt, Fisk, Lipscomb) supporting underrepresented and first-generation students, including the annual State of the Word showcase with 400+ attendees.
• Youth Poet Laureate Program Joint program with Nashville Public Library, Metro Human Relations Commission, and Urban Word to identify young writers committed to civic engagement, culminating in the Nashville Youth Poet Laureate and Tennessee Youth Poet Laureate titles.
• Write with Pride Program creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in Middle Tennessee to write, share, process experiences, shape identity, and build community through out-of-school writing workshops and an annual Art Exchange in Davidson and Rutherford Counties.
• Studio Experience Music production program for justice-impacted youth teaching beat production, recording, songwriting, audio engineering, and collaborative music creation in a supportive professional environment.
• Business Team Building Workshops Corporate team building program under 'Remixing Community Through Pictures and Poetry' using Southern Word's community-building strategies to improve team dynamics, communication, and creative problem-solving. Custom programs designed around specific business needs and budgets.
• Community Performances and Feature Events Feature events including State of the Word (December showcase), Black History House (February), Tennessee Grand Slam Finals (April), and curated poetry performances for community partners such as TEDxNashville, LEAD Conference, Leadership Nashville, City Council, and State Legislature.
• Summer Studio Annual summer program where teen writers, singers, musicians, and producers collaborate with mentors to produce tracks at Nashville Public Library's Studio NPL, culminating in a showcase. Free with advance registration.
• Live Beats Lab Adult-focused music production workshops integrating live instrumentation with digital audio workstations, featuring sessions on music production, vocals, piano, percussion, and beat production using Soundtrap DAW.
• Youth Summer Employment Program Paid 7-week summer employment program (June through July) for youth ages 14-18 to create and distribute art alongside working artists and mentors, in partnership with POWER Youth.

Quantifiable outcome

• Greater student engagement, greater perceived emotional safety, strengthened writing and speaking skills, active social and emotional learning, and improved classroom climate as reported by teachers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Nashville Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor strategic partnership providing Studio NPL location for music production programs. Library hosts multiple branch locations for Southern Word programming including Main Branch (Studio NPL), Madison Branch, East Branch, Southeast Branch, MLK Branch, Bellevue Branch, Easley Branch, and Watkins Branch.
• Metro Nashville Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary educational partner providing school residencies at 40+ schools. Supports programming through district partnerships and teacher professional development.
• Urban WordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership for Youth Poet Laureate programs. Urban Word is the national partner for Nashville Youth Poet Laureate and Tennessee Youth Poet Laureate programs.
• Metro Human Relations CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint program partner for Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program alongside Nashville Public Library and Southern Word.
• Office of Mayor Freddie O'ConnellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity government partner for Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program partnership.
• PEN Center USAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting partner for Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program providing prestige and credibility.
• Academy of American PoetssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting partner for Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program providing literary arts prestige.
• Vanderbilt UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for program assessment (Vanderbilt University independent assessment), college programs at Vanderbilt, and advisory board representation from Vanderbilt University.
• Brave New VoicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational spoken word leadership organization. Southern Word selected as 1 of 16 organizations in national leadership cohort. Southern Word teams compete in Brave New Voices international poetry slam.
• POWER YouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummer employment partnership creating paid opportunities for young people to create and distribute art. Youth Summer Employment program runs 7 weeks from June through July.
• MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Write with Pride LGBTQ+ youth conference. MTSU campus hosts annual LGBT+ College Conference component.
• TPACsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTennessee Performing Arts Center partnership for arts programming and youth engagement.
• Frist Center for Visual ArtssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrist Foundation/Arts Center partnership for visual and performing arts programming.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Get Lit: Los Angeles-based youth spoken word and literary arts nonprofit combining performance poetry with literacy curriculum. Comparable peer given focus on youth spoken word, school partnerships, and published anthologies similar to Southern Word's Raw Fragments and Embrace the Rain.
• Community Word Project: NYC-based arts education nonprofit placing teaching artists in schools for poetry, spoken word, and multimedia residencies. Direct peer given school-residency model, teaching-artist workforce, and creative writing/performance focus mirroring Southern Word's spoken word residencies.
• Youth Speaks: San Francisco-based national leader in youth spoken word education, creator of the Brave New Voices festival itself. Direct peer given shared spoken word pedagogy, school residency model, and national reach; comparable in mission and program structure to Southern Word.
• Louder Than a Bomb / Chicago Poetry Center: Chicago-based spoken word youth organization running the largest youth poetry slam in the world and school-based programs. Direct peer in spoken word youth development and Brave New Voices competition circuit.
• MassLEAP: Massachusetts Literary Education and Performance collective running youth poetry slams and school-based spoken word programs. Strongly comparable as a regional spoken word youth development nonprofit serving schools with similar residency and competition model.
• Split This Rock: DC-based poetry nonprofit running youth programs, poetry slams, and literary events. Comparable peer in spoken word literary arts programming with overlap in Brave New Voices network and school-based workshop delivery.
• Urban Word NYC: New York-based youth spoken word and literary arts nonprofit running school residencies, the NYC Youth Poet Laureate program, and Brave New Voices participation. Most direct functional peer to Southern Word - both operate spoken word youth development with national cohort and Youth Poet Laureate infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• National Writing Project: National network of university-based writing teacher training and youth writing programs. Broader incumbent in the youth writing/education space with comparable teacher professional development and school partnership footprint.
• 826 National: National network of youth writing and tutoring nonprofits (826NYC, 826LA, etc.) focused on creative writing, literacy, and publication. Broader incumbent in youth literary arts education with franchise model and publishing output comparable to Southern Word's anthology work.

Emerging players

• Power Poetry: Digital-first youth spoken word platform combining online publishing with school programming. Emerging peer intersecting with Southern Word's mission around amplifying youth literary voice, with partial overlap via school partnerships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SouthernWord
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/southernword/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernWord
• Instagraminstagram.com/southern_word
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-word

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Word, Inc.