What KUNDIMAN does

Kundiman is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York (with its annual Retreat held at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn) that is dedicated to nurturing generations of writers and readers of Asian American literature. Its primary beneficiaries are self-identified Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) writers aged 18 and older, with secondary reach to all writers of color through its online programming. The organization delivers a multi-program portfolio: an annual six-day, five-night Retreat at Pratt Institute featuring craft classes, mentorship meetings, and readings; a network of 10 Regional Groups across the U.S. and internationally that hosted 38+ events in 2025; Online Classes (four-week workshops at $300 and one-day craft classes at $50); a Mentorship Lab; an annual Poetry Prize; an Oral History Project; and periodic galas. Technology is limited to commodity tools — Zoom for online instruction, Submittable for Retreat applications, and the kundiman.org website for program information and donations.

Kundiman is governed by a Board of Trustees (Executive Board President Rana Tahir, with members Noah Arhm Choi, Kavita Das, Andy Chen, and Ching-In Chen) and operates with a small staff of 1–10 employees led by Executive Director Cathy Linh Che and Programs Director Gina Chung, supplemented by the Mellon-funded Poetry Coalition Fellow (Rishona Michael for 2025-2026). The organization has a three-Retreat "graduation" model designed to deepen engagement and create a Fellow-to-Alumni-to-governance pipeline.

Revenue is generated through a mix of heavily subsidized program fees (the $375 Retreat tuition is subsidized from a $2,500 cost per Fellow), individual donations across multiple tiers (Giver, Lover, Angel, Patron), and grants from institutional funders including the Mellon Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Academy of American Poets, Amazon Literary Partnership, Poetry Coalition, and Poetry Foundation. The May 2026 Kundiman Forever campaign raised approximately $25,000 from roughly 100 donors to fund scholarships. The organization earned a 2025 Candid GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. No formal annual revenue is disclosed.

Name

KUNDIMAN

Legal name

Kundiman

Website

https://kundiman.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kundiman is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization founded in 2004 that supports Asian American and Pacific Islander writers through an annual Retreat at Pratt Institute, 10 Regional Groups across the U.S. and internationally, online classes, a Poetry Prize, and a Mentorship Lab.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Arts Nonprofit / Writing Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online & Hybrid Creative Writing Workshops (EDAMAMAL)

Keywords

• Asian American literature
• Creative writing retreats
• Literary arts nonprofit
• Writer mentorship programs
• AAPI literary community

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Kundiman raises funds from individual donors at various levels (Giver, Lover, Angel, Patron) through one-time and recurring monthly donation options. The Kundiman Forever campaign raised over $25,000 in May 2026.
2. Program Fees: Modest program fees support operations: $375 Retreat tuition (heavily subsidized from $2,500 market rate), $25 application fee, $300 for four-week workshops, $50 for one-day craft classes. Room and board provided free to Retreat Fellows.
3. Foundation and Government Grants: Supported by Mellon Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Academy of American Poets, Amazon Literary Partnership, Poetry Coalition, and Poetry Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kundiman is a nonprofit literary organization that nurtures Asian American writers through its annual six-day Retreat at Pratt Institute, regional chapters in 10 U.S. regions and international locations, online workshops and craft classes, mentorship pairings, an annual poetry prize, public readings, and an oral history project. Programs are heavily subsidized through donations and foundation grants, with retreat tuition set at $375 against an actual $2,500 per-Fellow cost.

Product overview

Kundiman is a nonprofit literary organization offering a portfolio of programs for Asian American writers. Its core offerings include the annual Kundiman Retreat (a six-day residential program at Pratt Institute), Online Classes (virtual workshops and craft classes), Regional Groups (a national network of regional chapters), the Mentorship Lab, Poetry Prize, Readings and Workshops, Oral History Project, and Gala events. The Poetry Coalition Fellowship is a funded position supporting organizational development. These programs provide community building, craft development, mentorship, and publishing support for emerging AAPI writers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kundiman Retreat Annual six-day, five-night in-person creative writing retreat offering craft classes, mentorship meetings, readings, and community building for AAPI writers. Fellows apply via Submittable, pay $375 subsidized tuition (against $2,500 actual cost), and receive free room and board; each Fellow may attend up to three Retreats culminating in graduation.
• Online Classes Virtual workshops and craft classes delivered via Zoom, including four-week workshops ($300) and one-day craft classes ($50), open to all writers of color with scholarships and pay-what-you-can options available.
• Regional Groups A national network of 10 regional groups (Northeast, Midwest, South, Mountain West, Southwest, Northern California, Southern California, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and International) that host salons, readings, workshops, book clubs, and community events for AAPI writers.
• Mentorship Lab Mentorship program connecting emerging AAPI writers with established writers for guidance on craft, career, and the writing life.
• Poetry Prize Annual poetry prize recognizing outstanding poetry by Asian American writers.
• Oral History Project Initiative to document and preserve the history of Asian American literature and writers.
• Readings and Workshops Public literary events featuring readings, workshops, and discussions by Kundiman Fellows and faculty, including co-presented series with partners such as NYU Creative Writing Program and AWP.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 years of operation nurturing AAPI writers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Fine Arts Work Center Online (FAWC)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 20 October 2025Partnership to co-present online classes. Kundiman instructors teach multi-genre craft classes through the FAWC Online platform, expanding reach to a broader audience of writers.
• Poetry CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2025Kundiman is a founding member of the Poetry Coalition. The Poetry Coalition Fellowship position is funded by the Mellon Foundation and supports Kundiman's development and fundraising efforts.
• Pratt InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKundiman's annual Retreat is held at Pratt Institute's Brooklyn Campus. The partnership provides the venue for the six-day, five-night Retreat that serves as Kundiman's flagship program, hosting Fellows, Faculty, and staff.
• NYU Creative Writing ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presents the New Books Reading series, an annual event celebrating recent publications from the Kundiman community. Kundiman and NYU partner to showcase writers and foster literary community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Poetry Foundation: Major poetry nonprofit publisher of Poetry magazine and major funder of poetry programming — provides grant funding to Kundiman and operates broadly in the same literary ecosystem.
• AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs): Largest professional organization for writers and writing programs, hosting the annual AWP Conference where Kundiman maintains a booth — adjacent infrastructure provider serving a comparable creator community.
• Academy of American Poets: Large established poetry organization that funds, publishes, and promotes poets broadly — a major incumbent funder and ecosystem partner (it funds Kundiman) with overlapping prize and educational programming.

Direct peers

• Cave Canem: Black literary nonprofit offering an annual retreat, workshops, fellowships, and prizes for African American poets — the closest structural analog to Kundiman, with a parallel retreat-based, community-of-color model for a different racial/ethnic literary community.
• Hurston/Wright Foundation: Literary nonprofit supporting Black writers through workshops, writing programs, and legacy preservation — a community-of-color literary-arts organization with comparable programmatic structure to Kundiman.
• The Watering Hole: Nonprofit dedicated to nurturing Black poets through retreats, fellowship, and community — directly analogous to Kundiman's AAPI poetry-focused retreat model.
• Lambda Literary: LGBTQ literary nonprofit that nurtures LGBTQ writers via workshops, mentorship, prizes, and community programming — a parallel identity-based literary organization with similar retreats, prizes, and emerging-writer focus.
• VONA/Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation: Nonprofit offering workshops and writing retreats for writers of color — directly comparable in mission and workshop-based delivery model, though broader than AAPI-only.
• Macondo Foundation: Nonprofit supporting socially engaged writers through workshops, residencies, and community — comparable mission-driven, identity-rooted literary-arts programming.

Emerging players

• Sundress Publications: Small independent literary publisher and workshop organizer focused on diverse and emerging writers — adjacent, smaller-scale player with overlapping online workshop and community programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kundiman-inc-

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 KUNDIMAN