PLATINUM2023

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Art that sticks with you!

Joshua Tree, CA   |  https://www.chollaneedles.com

Mission

Cholla Needles publishes a monthly literary magazine and books by local and visiting writers who love the desert.

Cholla Needles hosts literary events, locally and elsewhere, by sponsoring and publicizing the works of local and visiting writers.

Cholla Needles offers mentoring, workshops, and publishing activities for aspiring writers of all ages and provide free public access to our poetry, prose, and art library by appointment.

Cholla Needles works with public, private, and municipal organizations to heighten awareness of the benefits provided by the arts in our daily lives.

Ruling year info

2018

Principal Officer

Richard Soos

Main address

6732 Conejo Ave

Joshua Tree, CA 92252 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

82-4844952

NTEE code info

Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose (A20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Literary arts are celebrated widely in our country with many small magazines publishing wonderful works by new writers. We would like to use our proximity to a National Park to provide residencies for writers and artists to have the solitude and quiet needed to come up with new work or direction.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Monthly Readings to Celebrate New Work!

On the first Sunday of each month we gather to celebrate new work by everyone. We also have a featured speaker each month. Watch the website each month because the times change according to the weather.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Artists and performers

A monthly literary magazine featuring the poetry and short story of ten different writers. This provides the readers wih an in-depth look at each writer.

Population(s) Served
Adults

A bi-yearly publication celebrating student work from our area. This is accompanied by a reading for the entire community to attend.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of books published for previously published writers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, Children, Artists and performers, Older adults, Young adults

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Total number of works in collection

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Older adults, Young adults, Adolescents, Children, Artists and performers

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of works published from new writers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Older adults, Young adults, Adolescents, Children, Artists and performers

Related Program

Cholla Needles Monthly Literary Magazine

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of books distributed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Older adults, Young adults, Adolescents, Children, Artists and performers

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of periodicals distributed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Older adults, Young adults, Adolescents, Children, Artists and performers

Related Program

Cholla Needles Monthly Literary Magazine

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our goals are

1) to give young writers a platform to share their writing publicly through our annual youth issues.
2) to give local and visiting writers a platform to share their writing and art through a monthly publication.
3) to supply writers and artists with monetary payment for their writing and art.
4) (long term) to purchase a property near the park which will provide solitude and quiet for writers and artists who are searching to expand their work into a new direction.

We publish a monthly magazine, and keep each issue in print. As of January 2023 we have published 720 authors within the magazine. We also publish books by authors who appear in the magazine who have not yet established a relationship with a publisher. By January 2023 we have published 140 books of art and poetry, and plan at least 12 new ones for 2023. The books and magazines stay in print and are distributed locally largely through donations from individuals who share the goals of supporting poets, short story writers, and artists.

We maintain a consistent publishing schedule, and also hold monthly readings where we share our goals with the community and ask for their support and creative input.

So far we have accomplished a steady publishing schedule; and hold a monthly community event celebrating our authors and artists. We have also stayed consistent on social media making sure the community is aware of all the literary and artistic events occurring in the area. We have partnered with the local Community College on holding a special reading for students, and over the past five years we have also partnered with Poets & Writers, The Joshua Tree Folk School, Space Cowboy Bookstore, Mojave Desert Land Trust and the annual NEA Big Read of the Morongo Basin.

Our next plans are to grow our contribution base, which will allow us to a) pay the authors & artists b) continue to give away magazines and books to people who cannot afford books in the local area, and c) establish a savings account to begin saving for a property to be utilized as a residency center for writers and artists.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Folks who attend our events, folks who write for our magazine, and folks who visit our web site and send emails. We utilize polls, as well as ask for written or verbal suggestions.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Suggestion box/email,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    This past year we have been able through a poll to fix our monthly date and time to meet the majority of those who wish to attend our events, and utilized written and verbal suggestions from the audience and writers to make our stage more accessible to those with special needs.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our board, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Asking for feedback has expanded our sense of community, and when folks see their advice being taken seriously they become even more supportive financially and verbally. They also participate more frequently in our events and bring new members of the audience with them to hear them speak their new work in public.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), 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, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Board of directors
as of 02/23/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Greg Gilbert

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Term: 2018 -


Board co-chair

Jean-Paul L. Garnier

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Term: 2017 -

Tobi Alfier

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Lisa Mednick Powell

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Rose Baldwin

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Bonnie Brady

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Kim Martin

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

John Sierpinski

Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/19/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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:

Race & ethnicity
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Male
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/22/2022

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • 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.