The Loft's Access Fund Pool is open for programming taking place in June 2025 - August 2026.  The Loft's Access Fund model allows you to submit a single online application to join the Pool and learn about Loft programs as they become available. The following programs are eligible for Loft Access Funds:

• Adult and youth education classes and workshops
• Year-Long Writing Project (separate application)

These opportunities are meant to reduce financial barriers to participation in Loft classes and are available to individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and to whom the cost of tuition is a barrier to participation. Once accepted, available seats are emailed out as they become available, about 1-2 times a month. These email alerts will give you access to a list of offerings that are access fund viable. If you are interested in any of these offerings, you will need to follow the given instructions to request a seat in the class. Seats for most offerings are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a seat is available, you will be given a promo code (applied during checkout) that will provide a 75% or 90% reduction in tuition for a class. The access fund recipient is responsible for the remaining 25% or 10% cost, which will vary depending on the regular price of the class. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. While Loft class access funds are focused on reducing financial barriers, we want to strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, as well as low income individuals.

It is not mandatory to provide proof of financial hardship, but if you would like to provide documentation**, please submit documentation that includes: 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application below.

More questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 

**Optional documentation, if provided, should include 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application. 

Examples of Accepted Public Assistance Programs:

• TANF
• MFIP
• General Assistance
• WIC
• Medicaid,  Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care
• SSI (Disability, Not Retirement)
• Food Stamps
• Unemployment
• Section 8 Housing
• Free or Reduced Price School Meals

Thanks for your interest in volunteering with the Loft! Volunteers work closely with staff, author/personalities, and the literary community to execute Loft programming and events. The Loft primarily seeks volunteers interested in helping with literary events and occasional administrative projects. Please complete this form to tell us about yourself and what activities you'd be most interested in supporting as a volunteer. 

Thank you for your interest in applying for an Access Fund spot in one of our Yearlong Writing Project cohorts! Please use the form below to complete the application. If you have questions or if this virtual form is a barrier for you, please contact education staff at 612-379-8999 or edu@loft.org for assistance. The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. We encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, low-income individuals, and people with disabilities. We anticipate far more applications from highly qualified candidates than we can possibly accept. Please know our scholarship committee reads every application we receive and evaluates them holistically based five central factors (in no particular order):

1. Describe your current writing project. What is your current writing project about and how can the Loft community help you achieve your goals? Why are you interested in working with this particular teaching artist? Why the Loft, why now?
2. Demonstrated interest in the art and craft of writing. What experience do you have with writing and writing workshops? How have you demonstrated a commitment to the craft, whether professionally or personally?
3. Desire for resources and community. What other resources or opportunities have you had (or not had) access to? Why do you seek the community a small, intensive cohort provides? 
4. Experienced financial and lived barriers to participation in artistic career development The Loft understands that financial barriers are not the only barriers to participation in writing development opportunities. Have other factors impacted your ability to participate in similar programs? Do you identify as part of a historically marginalized community? Please describe what factors impact your need for financial assistance. Are you enrolled in a public assistance program, such as TANF; MFIP; General Assistance; WIC; Medicaid, Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care; SSI (disability, not retirement); food stamps; Section 8 Housing? If not, what factors impact your need for financial assistance to take a Loft class?

Application Timeline

• March 3: Application opens 
• April 7 at 11:59 PM CST: Application closes
• April - May: Selection committee will review applications and Loft will reach out to Access Fund finalists to schedule interviews
• May 28, 2025: Finalists will be notified of their status no later than this date

Thank you for your interest in teaching with the Loft! This proposal form is accepting applications on a rolling basis while this project is live.

For top consideration for Summer 2026 classes, please submit by March 7, 2026. 

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting Education Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

• Reference Guide for Teaching Artists
• Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism
• Loft Code of Conduct
• Submittable Guide

We offer optional office hours for proposal-related questions or application feedback to answer any questions. RSVP here for an upcoming teaching artist information session. Email edu@loft.org with any questions about the proposal process.

Loft’s Mission & Vision

The Loft advances the power of writers and readers to craft and share stories, to create and celebrate connections, and to build just, life-sustaining communities.

We envision a world where the power of the word liberates minds, deepens relationships, and inspires movements for people and planet. As an antiracist organization, the Loft develops literary experiences for writers, readers, and storytellers because racism dehumanizes people, and poetry and stories deepen our connection to our shared humanity. Recognizing the relationship between race, power, and resources, we prioritize the engagement of BIPOC/marginalized  communities and work for the equitable distribution of our power and resources. The Loft is dedicated to offering classes that are imaginative, multicultural, and responsive. We seek reading lists, class content, and approaches to discussions on craft that are inclusive and diverse, as well as timely, contemporary and accessible (readily available online, not out of print).

Teaching Statement

You must include a strong, considered statement on how your class plan and teaching strategies will align with the Loft’s goal to be equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist in its classrooms and with its programming. Here are some suggested resources—especially if you need help leading and navigating classroom discussions of student work as they relate to these topics:

• How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• A Good Time for the Truth, edited by Sun Yung Shin
• Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
• Anti-Racism Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez
• Appropriate: A Provocation by Paisley Rekdal

Online Learning Resources:

For an idea of how the Loft continues to build knowledge and capacity on this, please visit Team Dynamics.com and IDIInventory.com National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) ASDICircle.org. These are just a few of the many resources available on creating an inclusive learning environment in your classroom; if you are unsure of how to do this, or don't understand how to articulate how your lesson plan and teaching strategies will create this kind of environment in your classroom, feel free to connect with the Loft's Education Manager before you propose your class - Marianne Manzler <mmanzler@loft.org>.

The Loft delivers classes in two formats:

• In-Person Classes take place at Open Book, in downtown Minneapolis, in a Loft classroom space.
• Online/Zoom Classes via Zoom. Multi-week Online/Zoom classes also come with the optional Google Classroom supplement to make materials available to students.

What We're Looking For

More long-term workshops; speculative nonfiction, children's literature and young adult, poetry, digital storytelling; youth classes

Classes that address the Loft Theme: TBD

Strong and flexible lesson plans. Loft classes give writers opportunities to engage with their teaching artist and one another, while also providing instruction on craft, engaging discussion, and in-class writing activities, as well as writing prompts students can work on between class meetings. Teaching artists are encouraged to give their students a syllabus or overview of the class on day one, as that gives them a sense of what to expect.

Single Session Classes. If this is your first time teaching a class with the Loft (or if you haven't taught a class with the Loft in the last five years), please only propose a single, 3-hour or 4-hour class. From there, we will gauge audience interest and can work together to see if a multi-week format is right for your class. Thank you!

Multi-week (4 week, 8 week, or 12 week) genre workshops that focus on craft and readings, generative writing exercises, community-building opportunities, and feedback-based workshops with written and verbal feedback and participation. Core values to emphasize: curiosity and creativity.

Please refer to the Loft’s Teacher Guide to see if your class might be a fit.   

What we are not looking for

We have not had success with classes that feel academic in nature (e.g., assigning academic writing texts, theoretical texts, reading lists that are too long, reading workshops built around classics) or are too niche (e.g., somatic writing, writing in translation). Please get to know our catalog and current offerings to see what we do at loft.org.

Fall Class Proposal Timeline

Fall class proposals accepted April - May.

June - July | Education team selects classes and selection notification begins

July | Fall Registration Opens Online

Early September  - mid December  | Fall Session   

Winter Proposal Timeline

Winter class proposals accepted June - August.

August-October | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

November | Winter registration opens online

Winter session: Late January 21 - mid April

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis   

Summer Proposal Timeline

Summer class proposals accepted Jan - March.

March - April | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

April | Summer registration opens online

Summer session: mid June - late August

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

The Loft’s Young Writers’ Program offers year-round, high-quality, enrichment-based creative writing instruction across genres, to all levels, for kids and teens ages 6-18. Many classes are taught by award-winning, published writers. Loft classes are process based, rather than product based, and seek to support children and teens as they become excited, engaged writers and readers.

The Loft's Young Writers' Program publishes an annual anthology of students' writing in the Loft Young Writers Anthology from youth participants in Loft education programs. Our goal is to provide a safe space for youth to express themselves, regardless of their experience, background, ethnicity, and/or identity, and elevate their voices and unique perspectives.

Eligible students may submit up to 3 double-spaced pages. Work must have been written, started, or revised in a Loft workshop or class between September 2025 to September 2026. Submissions close on September 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

Please note that we do not accept any submissions or publish work that contains hateful language, bigotry, homophobia, or violate the Loft's Code of Conduct policy or Strategic Framework. If your work contains any sensitive or difficult topics, please include a content warning with your submission.

This form is for a Youth Class for Fall 2026 and/or Winter Youth 2027. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis while this project is live. Want to get immediate feedback on your class proposal? Email edu@loft.org if you have any question about the proposal process.

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting Program Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

• Reference Guide for Teaching Artists 
• Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism
• Loft Code of Conduct
• Submittable Guide

The Loft is dedicated to offering classes that are imaginative, multicultural, and responsive. We seek reading lists, class content, and approaches to discussions on craft that are inclusive and diverse, as well as timely, contemporary and accessible (readily available online, not out of print). 

You must include a strong, considered statement on how your class plan and teaching strategies will align with the Loft’s goal to be equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist in its classrooms and with its programming. If you need time to understand what the Loft means by this, or are simply curious for more information, here are some suggested resources—especially if you need help leading and navigating classroom discussions of student work as they relate to these topics:

• How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi 
• A Good Time for the Truth, edited by Sun Yung Shin 
• Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses 
• Anti-Racism Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez
• Appropriate: A Provocation by Paisley Rekdal 

Online Learning Resources:

For an idea of how the Loft continues to build knowledge and capacity on this, please visit Team Dynamics.com and IDIInventory.com National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) and ASDICircle.org. These are just a few of the many resources available on creating an inclusive learning environment in your classroom; if you are unsure of how to do this, or don't understand how to articulate how your lesson plan and teaching strategies will create this kind of environment in your classroom, feel free to connect with the Loft's Program Manager before you propose your class.

In order to teach online, Loft teaching artists must have a reliable and high speed internet connection and a computer, as well as basic knowledge of computer use, Zoom and Google Classroom. The Loft can not provide you with a computer or internet access.  

What We're Looking For:

Reading lists and class content that are inclusive and diverse. Please ensure one perspective is not centered on a monolithic approach to experience and expression. 

Classes across genre. We will note though that as of late, classes in fiction and screenwriting fill quickest. According to our surveys of youth students, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi are our most requested subgenres. 

Strong and flexible lesson plans. Loft classes give young writers opportunities to engage with their teaching artist and one another, while also providing instruction on craft, engaging discussion, and in-class writing activities, as well as writing prompts students can work on between class meetings.  

Special Needs for Fall Youth 2026 and Winter Youth 2027:

Themed youth classes around holidays - Fall/nature writing, Halloween/writing scary stories, winter/snowflakes, etc.

Writing Groups/Creative Writing Workshop classes across age ranges - These classes are meant to build community, provide opportunities to meet and connect other writers, get feedback, get prompts, and share ideas. These are generic, multi-genre, and more “informal” classes with a main goal of connecting young writers with each other.

Saturday, single session programming in-person - This Fall we will be scheduling single session, three-hour classes on Saturdays. These classes will take place in-person at Open Book

Online academic support session and self-care for young writers (fall and winter options) - This hour-long, drop-in online support session is free for students and a place where students ages 7 and older can work with a trained teaching artist on homework, reading, and literacy skills, with a focus on creative writing. 

Fall Youth Timeline

• Proposal Period: April 1, 2026 - May 23, 2026
• Craft team reviews proposals and schedules classes with teaching artists: May 2026 - June 2026
• Fall Young Writers registration opens: Week of June 16, 2026
• Fall Young Writers season: September 15, 2026 - December 12, 2026
• Young Writers Anthology Release Party: December 3, 2026 in OBPH, 6-7:30 PM  

Winter Youth Timeline

• Proposal Period: August 25 - September 29, 2026: 
• Craft team proposal reviews proposals and schedules classes with teaching artists: October 2026
• Winter Young Writers registration opens: October 29, 2026
• Winter Young Writers season: January 2027 - April 2027  

Compensation 

You’ll be paid $7.00 per student per contact hour based on enrollment for your second class meeting (students may drop the class during the first week). For example, if you are teaching a 6-week class (meeting 2 hours per week for 6 weeks) with an enrollment of 14 students, your compensation will be $1,176. Youth classes are also paid on a flat-fee basis of $50/hr. Minimum enrollment is 4 students, maximum enrollment is 17 students (you are paid for a minimum of 7 students for enrollment-based classes). If this is a flat fee class, you are paid $50/hr.  

Please contact Program Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with any questions.