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Lakeshore Literary Foundation has filed Form 1023-EZ for recognition of 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. It can take the IRS several months to review an application packet, so our non-profit determination status is pending until late autumn or early winter of 2023.

Board of Directors

As part of our stand-up effort, we welcome conversations with well-placed members of the community who may be interested in serving on our board of directors. Send an introductory email to hello@ to get the ball rolling.

The board has three main functions: to set the strategic plan of the organization, to approve the annual budget and deviations thereof, and to oversee the chief staff executive.

Our board is intended to be advisory, not working. This means that we expect to conduct meetings quarterly and for directors, that meeting will be their sole participation requirement. Officers of the board (president, president-elect, immediate past president, secretary, treasurer) may have additional duties as circumstances warrant and may serve as an executive committee attending to certain matters between board meetings. Terms of service run for three years (renewable), with the proviso that at the beginning, some of the directors may serve one- or two-year terms, to ensure continuity through annual turnover.

Foundation Staff

Until a formal governance structure is finalized, an interim executive director is caretaking the organization, recruiting board members, and shepherding the IRS-recognition process. Jason Gillikin, president of Lakeshore Literary, Inc., is serving in this part-time, uncompensated role.

Program Directors

A program director is responsible for a specific area of programming that the Foundation has agreed to support. PDs may be compensated or uncompensated depending on the specific terms of the program he or she superintends. They are part of the leadership team but not directly employed by the foundation — usually, they offer a few hours per week of time to administer their program.

Several programs already have an assigned program director:

  • Dawn E. Collett (Winnie_Bot)
  • Jason Gillikin (LitGR Social)
  • Kendra McNeil (Prose, the Podcast)
  • Lisa McNeilley, PhD (Great Lakes Book Awards)
  • Andrew Ronzino (Grand River Writing Tribe)
  • Brittany Wilson (Independent Creator Program)