Support me through May 30/30 with Tupelo Press!

For the second year in a row, I’ll be writing poems during the month of May for Tupelo Press’s 30/30 challenge! My poems will be posted daily to help raise money to support Tupelo, a wonderful independent press and champion of poetry. Check out the May 30/30 poems here: https://www.tupelopress.org/the-may-2024-30-30-project-page/

Here’s the link for my donation page—please help me reach my goal! https://tupelopress.networkforgood.com/projects/192860-caroliena-cabada-s-fundraiser

Update 5/14: For the rest of the month I will be matching donations to my fundraiser up to my fundraising goal of $400 to help the Rabah family rebuild and relocate. I came across this fundraiser when a student group in my local area shared the fundraiser details. Any little bit helps; if you have the means to do so, please consider donating to both Tupelo and to the Rabah family. But in case you can’t donate twice, please consider making a donation my fundraiser for Tupelo and I will match it.

May 2023 was my first year completing the 30/30 challenge; I turned 31 during the month and made the decision that every year during my 30s (when possible) I’d like to dedicate my birthday month to writing poems and fundraising for Tupelo Press so that they can place more poems in gorgeous books. Help me to help this distinguished press!

Donation rewards: Shoutouts, poem prompts, and feedback

Any contribution you can make to this challenge will be greatly appreciated, and any amount will be a great motivator to help me through this challenge. But I have a few extra incentives at certain donation amounts, in case that entices you to donate a little bit more.

Please note that you should submit details for redeeming the various perks below through my website Contact page, and not on the donation page!

Social media and website shoutouts ・ $0, share my donation page

Times are always hard, so I completely understand if you can’t donate, or can only donate a little. However, I would greatly appreciate any word you can get out, so for any amount donated and/or proof of your sharing my fundraising page, I’ll give you a shoutout on my Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook pages!

If you share on social media and tag me (social links above), I’ll be able to see that you shared and can give a shoutout that way. If you share it in other ways (texts to friends, emails to colleagues, etc.), use the Contact form on my site to let me know how you shared the fundraiser, and an indication of how you’d like to be named in the shoutout!

Poem prompts ・ less than $15

A donation of $15 or lower will give you the chance to prompt one of my poems. Want me to try to use a particular word, or set of words, in a poem? Want me to write a sestina? Want me to write an ode to an egg sandwich? I can do that! (According to my discretion, of course, e.g., I will not deliberately use offensive or derogatory language if prompted.)

If you make a donation, use the Contact form on my site to submit the details of your donation: your name (and, if anonymous, the date and time of your donation), the amount, your email address, and your prompt. I’ll then let you know when the poem has been written and posted to Tupelo’s page.

Poem dedication ・ $15 to $25

A donation between $15 and $25 will give you the chance to have me write a poem in dedication to someone.

If you make a donation, use the Contact form on my site to submit the details of your donation: your name (and, if the donation was made anonymously, the date and time of your donation), the amount, your email address, and your prompt. I’ll then let you know when the poem has been written and posted to Tupelo’s page. I may ask for more details if you want me to write a poem about a person I do not know.

Poem feedback – $25 to $50

A donation of between $25 and $50 will give you the chance to get feedback on your writing. $25 will get you feedback on five poems; for each $5 beyond the minimum, I’ll give feedback on one more poem (i.e., feedback on up to 10 poems for the maximum donation amount).

If you make a donation and want to redeem this tier, use the Contact form on my site to submit the details of your donation: your name (and, if the donation was made anonymously, the date and time of your donation), the amount, and your email address so that I can reach out and receive the writing you’d like to have me read and give feedback.

Manuscript feedback – $50+

A donation of more than $50 will give you the chance to get feedback on a poetry manuscript, from chapbook (11 poems) to book (75 poems, 100 pages maximum) length.

If you make a donation and want to redeem this tier, use the Contact form on my site to submit the details of your donation: your name (and, if the donation was made anonymously, the date and time of your donation), the amount, and your email address so that I can reach out and receive the writing you’d like to have me read and give feedback.

Weekly blog posts about writing

Similar to posts I made last year about my writing process, I’ll be posting a weekly blog on Tuesdays with my reflections on the week’s writing. These will hopefully be quite evergreen and live beyond the time of this challenge: there’ll be a little bit of capturing the current moment, a little bit of context about my poems, and a little bit of poetry craft that can be carried onward.

I may post more rewards, incentives, and updates as the month goes on. But in the meantime, here’s to a poem-filled spring! Happy writing!