Fwd: Gratitude America - 110,000

who should the check for 110k be made to .

is verse a 501c3

i will need the irs approval form

the supporter is me .so no name necessary, the check will come from Gratitude America, ! my private foundation. based on the philosophy that too many people complain about the country rather than expressing the thanks it deserves.

I will use it well and will keep you posted on developments, Jeffrey. Leah says we'll hear in March or April. We'll send you the IRS form when we get it.
very gratefully,

Lisa

Wow! this is wonderful, Jeffrey, Thank you so much.

If the donor does not need/want Harvard credit, the the check should be written to Verse Video Education, my non-profit, and he/she will be listed among supporters of the full range of our projects.

Check in that case should be sent to

Verse Video Education
2 Avon Street #5
Cambridge, MA 02138

If the donor wants Harvard credit and or wants the funds devoted solely to Harvard related projects, like Poetry of Art, Sport and Play, it should be to Poetry in America, and I can send you the address of the development person who manages and keeps track of Harvard/FAS donations.

You are really helping me, Jeffrey. I'm grateful and very touched.

Yes. We have just incorporated and submitted all our paperwork.

okay. let me ask Leah, when she thinks that will come through.

No content available.

can we touch base on monday regarding your 501(c)3 status and grant

agreement that will be needed

please advise

thank you

Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022

Dear Richard,

Thanks very much for getting in touch. I am copying the associate director of Verse Video Education, Leah Reis Dennis. Leah is managing the 501c3 process. She can work with you on executing the grant agreement and can notify you as we receive word from the IRS with our tax number Thank you very much.

Lisa New

Dear Richard,

I'd be happy to touch base on Monday to discuss our 501c3 and the grant agreement. I'm free most of the afternoon-- let me know what time might work.

Best, Leah

Sorry we did not connect yesterday I am free this today from 9am-12pm and from 4-6pm Please advise what time may work for you Thank you

Richard

Dear Richard,

It was a pleasure to speak with you this morning.

I've attached our IRS application for your records (the 1023 form, as well as the corresponding exhibits), and will let you know as soon as we are approved. In the meantime, you can send the check to our mailing address:

Verse Video Education
c/o Leah Reis-Dennis
2 Avon St. #5
Cambridge, MA 02138

I've also copied below the mission statement of Verse Video Education, as well as a brief description of the Poetry in America project.

Finally, I've copied below a prospectus for the Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play, the project that this gift will make a reality. We are really delighted!

Thank you very much, again.

Best,
Leah Reis-Dennis

Verse Video Education Mission Statement:

Verse Video Education is a not-for-profit organization that produces the highest quality educational media across disciplines.

Driven by the goals and values of its flagship project, Poetry in America, Verse Video Education develops video and accompanying curricular materials in the arts and humanities and beyond, creating a body of educational content capable of reaching a very broad community of learners: formal and informal, online and thoughtfully-constructed residential, young and thought-provoking and old, American multimedia and international. content for By producing other organizations, our own projects we aim and to enhance creating educational experiences, both within and outside of the classroom.

Poetry in America:

The Poetry in America initiative aims to bring poetry into the mainstream, and especially, into English Language Arts classrooms in the United States and around the world. Created by Harvard Professor Elisa New and her non-profit media company, Verse Video Education, the initiative includes a WGBH public television series, PBS LearningMedia segments for the classroom, a free online course on American poetry, and a series of online courses and resources for ELA Middle and High School teachers and for their students.

To date we have taped discussions of poems with dozens of Americans including Al Gore, Nas, Herbie Hancock, Tony Kushner, Andrea Mitchell, Frank Gehry, Elena Kagan, John McCain, Katie Couric, Billy Collins, and Shane Battier, as well as discussions with teachers, school kids, and ordinary citizens.

Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play

In collaboration with Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and WGBH Boston, Poetry in America's next project is Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play, a multiplatform educational initiative designed by Elisa New for K-12 English language arts, drama, and music teachers. Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play will produce classroom-ready video content and rich grade-appropriate curricula designed to engage and educate. Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play will provide teachers with the confidence and tools needed to explore the intersections of literature and other kinds of creativity-- whether artistic or athletic-- and to help their students read poems with an eye toward fostering play, fun, and creativity. Ultimately, this project will help teachers and students understand how poetry is connected to the things we most enjoy hearing, seeing, and doing in our everyday lives. Aligned with Common Core standards and designed to meet the needs of teachers, this course offers intensive content-area and pedagogical training, as well as graduate credit or Professional Development Points. A special Classroom Pack will allow teachers to take this material into their classrooms.

Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play will take teachers and their students from backstage at the opera to the top of the Empire State Building, and it will equip them to engage with poems about basketball and ballet, about fashion and football, about coding and collage-making, and about singing and sewing. Dazzling footage shot on location in diverse locales; dynamic animation and kinetic typography; visits to ateliers and arenas; and conversations with poets, artists, athletes, and educators will enrich our study of poems by WHITMAN, DICKINSON, FROST, MELVILLE, MILLAY, WILLIAMS, STEVENS, WRIGHT, SANDBERG, PINSKY, HIRSCH, RICH, ROETHKE, SEUSS, SILVERSTEIN, and SENDAK.

Participants in the Poetry of Art, Sport, and Play include:

NBA players Jason Collins and Shane Battier; the Harvard Men's Basketball team; NFL player and inspirational speaker Maurice Clarett; cyclist Greg LeMond; runners at the 2013 Boston marathon; actress Kate Burton, architect Frank Gehry; hip-hop artist Nas; director Woody Allen; jazz musician Herbie Hancock; playwright Tony Kushner; poet Billy Collins; poet Edward Hirsch; director Diane Paulus; actor John Lithgow; dancer Lil Buck Riley; ballet dancer Damian Woetzel; opera singer Davone Tines; furniture designer Rosanne Somerson; actress and playwright Eve Ensler; singer-songwriters Natalia Zukerman and Alicia Jo Rabins; author Kelly Corrigan; game-maker Jane McGonigal; President of the College Board David Coleman; former New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein; and Microsoft Director of Search Stefan Weitz.

Dear Richard,

I wanted to check in to see if you have everything you need to make the grant from Gratitude America to Verse Video Education. Obviously, we will wait to deposit the check until we have received our IRS letter and have shared that information with you.

Let me know where this stands-- and thank you, again!

Best, Leah

Dear Richard,

I am pleased to report that we received our letter of approval from the IRS. I will put a signed copy of the grant agreement in the mail today.

Do we have the go-ahead to cash the check? I will wait for your approval.

Best, Leah

Yes- I've attached the IRS approval that was sent to our lawyers. If you need the letter with our official address on it, as well, I can send later this week.

Let me know if this suffices, or not.

Thank you,
Leah

Lisa New's charity has just received IRS approval which is attached please advise if ok for them to cash $10,000 check from Gratitude America thank you

Richard Kahn
HBRK Associates Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022