Brilliant Flash Fiction
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
A writer’s personal and financial success depends on being published and winning writing contest prizes. Since 2014, we have published hundreds of stories in a high-quality online journal of flash fiction (stories told in 1,000 words or less), and offered contests with cash prizes that garnered over 3,000 entries. We never charge entry fees for our contests, nor do we ask writers to pay a fee of any kind.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Brilliant Flash Fiction quarterly online journal (BFF)
BFF publishes between 10 to 20 photo-illustrated flash fiction stories on the last day of January, March, June and September. The all-volunteer editorial staff evaluate between approximately 300-400 story submissions per quarter. The journal reaches up to 10,000 readers per quarter. Although BFF became a 501(c)(3) organization on October 21, 2018, the online journal actually began publication in March 2014 as a private not-for-profit endeavor. There is no cost to publish this online journal. WordPress fees are donated by staff. Like most online journals, we do not pay authors for their work besides the acknowledgment of having their photo and short biography appear in our journal. We have never asked writers to pay reading fees. We have nominated two Write Well Silver Pen award-winning stories published in our journal.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Best Small Fictions 2023
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission is to ensure that hard-working talented writers are treated with respect and given the recognition they deserve. Our all-volunteer staff and board of directors include a professor emeritus with over 40 years’ experience teaching creative writing; journalists; and published authors.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Through this organization, we hope to:
Publish one of the top circulation online flash fiction journals (in order to give our writers better visibility and to reach more readers).
Publish printed flash fiction anthologies.
Pay our authors valuable prize incentives for writing contests.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our all-volunteer staff has over 100 years' combined experience in editing and publishing. Our organizational structure is tight and caring. We answer every email within 48 hours and submission rejection letters include links to other venues.
Our online journal offers stunning photography to illustrate each story, attracting readers to our website.
We have the longevity of existing online for five years. Most online journals expire within two years.
We are in the process of completing our first print anthology, and plan to do more in the future as we now have a viable strategy.
Writing contest prizes have always been offered without asking any fees from writers. We will continue to do this with public support.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The number of visits to our website have regularly increased, with the publication of our last online journal receiving 530 visitors in one day, and monthly visits increasing to approximately 3,000 per month.
Testimonials have been gratifying:
"You should know that my first flash piece accepted by your publication encouraged me at a time when I doubted whether I should continue writing & your kind comments kept me going forward " — Anne A.
"Dear Dawn Lowe: You get the award for most gracious editor of short shorts. Being turned down is never easy, but you make it almost gracious. Thanks." — Rochelle D.
"This is my first published story. This will always be very special for me. Thanks so much for the vote of confidence." —Barry Y.
On Facebook, which has the best outreach of all social media (2.1 billion), we currently have 592 Page Followers. (On Twitter we have 2,818 followers.)
We have nominated two Write Well award winners who were published in our online journal.
We are in the process of publishing our first print anthology, produced in collaboration with two nonprofit organizations in our city: FoCo Book Fest and Wolverine Farms Publick House. The launch of our anthology will be our first event, and many of our authors will travel to attend.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Brilliant Flash Fiction
Board of directorsas of 06/07/2023
Laurie Scavo
Anne Macdonald
Jerre Stewart
Ed Higgins
Laurie Scavo
Dawn Lowe
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/07/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.