[stylist] A New Member

Thu Dec 25 18:48:42 UTC 2008

John, Thanks for the grant info.  I already forwarded it to my supervisor. 
Hopefully we can pull it off.  The newly physically disabled are a forgotten 
group in this country.  Every year, due to accident or illness, thousands of 
people become disabled.  Their needs are different from those who have lived 
with a handicap from birth.  Happy holidays!  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 12:36 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member


> Judy:
>
> Hey, I would love to read your book!  I'm curious what you are thinking of
> as your options for publishing it.
>
> Yes, I read in Braille.  I learned Braille when I was seven.  Although I 
> was
> not even legally blind then and did not keep reading Braille on my own, 
> this
> early exposure must've made picking it up again at thirteen a most smooth
> experience for me.
>
> As for grants, what I was referring to are individual grant for artists 
> that
> arts organizations and state arts programs confer to the winners from a 
> pool
> of applicants in various categories.  Most often, the grants come with
> virtually no strings attached, and you can just say it helps you to take
> time off from work to focus on your project.  In other words, you can buy
> food with it, pay the rent, pay off debts, buy a nice winter coat to 
> replace
> your old rags, whatever.  Some use it for travel, to stay in a Spanish 
> villa
> for a month, or to pay for registration at a conference or workshop.  Some
> use the money to buy new computers and supplies.  Minnesota happens to be
> the state with the second highest number of grants and value in dollars 
> for
> individual artists.  The first is New York.  But most states should have 
> at
> least two grants you could apply for: The state's council, board, whatever
> for the arts and the local chapter of VSA arts.
>
> Fellowships are similar but tend to mean a lot more money.  Grants range
> from one to ten thousand dollars.  Fellowships are a full year's income,
> ranging from twenty five grand to two hundred fifty--the latter is at the
> very top, the MacArthur "Genius" fellowships that pay half a million 
> dollars
> for two-year fellowships.  Those are given to bestselling authors or 
> winners
> of the Pulitzer Prize.  Thus, grants are usually for what they call
> "emerging" writers, those who have published from zero to two books.  Then
> the lower rungs of the fellowship world are for those beginning to 
> establish
> their reputations after three books.
>
> Anyway, that's what I was talking about.  Now, for the type of grant you 
> are
> thinking about, I am no expert.  However, I've done work in nonprofit
> fundraising, and most healthy nonprofit organizations get eighty percent 
> of
> their raised funds from private donations, fifteen percent from grants, 
> and
> five from corporate donations or sponsorships.  You can tell right off 
> that
> an organization is misguided or in bad shape if most of its money are from
> grants.  So if you want to set up a new program, I would advise that you
> look into fundraising instead of grants.  Further, it would be wise to set
> up a foundation or trust account, so that the donations you get won't
> vaporize.  What's the point of working hard to get donations only to blow
> them away almost instantly?  The motto is also that you are not raising
> funds, but friends.  Make friends, maintain friendships above all, and the
> money will come naturally.  Send thank-you notes, add them on the mailing
> list for the newsletter, organize an annual event geared specifically for
> your cause's supporters and friends.  Contract with someone with a
> certificate from the Association of Professional Fundraisers.  Those 
> people
> know what they're doing.
>
> Just some thoughts!
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Judith Bron
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 9:57 AM
> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>
> Welcome John!  I'm assuming that you do most of your work in braille.  I 
> am
> getting ready to find a publisher for muy first book, "Lethal Disclosure".
> Lori is helping me in this pursuit.  I'm also working at our local
> Independent Living Center as a mentor.  My supervisor, Peter Groos and I 
> are
>
> also looking for grants to start a program for the newly physically
> handicapped.  Peter suffered irreversible spinal cord damage in an
> automobile accident and is paralyzed from the waist down.  You mentioned
> that you have a background in receiving grants for worthwhile projects. 
> Can
>
> you share your wisdom on getting grants?  Thanks and happy holidays! 
> Judith
>
> Bron
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 11:27 PM
> Subject: [stylist] A New Member
>
>
>> Hello!
>>
>> I recently subscribed to this list, on the suggestion of Lori Stayer.  I
>> would have liked to lurk for a while before introducing myself, but so 
>> far
>> the list has been awfully quiet, too quiet even for someone who is deaf.
>> So
>> I am going to dip my toes in here.
>>
>> To introduce myself briefly: My name is John Lee Clark, and I am a native
>> of
>> St. Paul, Minnesota.  I was born deaf to an all-deaf family and so
>> American
>> Sign Language is my first language.  I gradually became blind in early
>> adolescence, just as my father did and my younger brother did.  After
>> graduating from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf--on the other
>> bank
>> of a former river across from where the Minnesota State Academy for the
>> Blind is--I studied briefly at Gallaudet but jumped up in love, not fell,
>> with Adrean, a deaf girl from North Carolina.  We got married fast and
>> moved
>> to Minnesota.  We've been married for ten years now and have three sons.
>> Currently, I am the head of a new service that provides accommodations 
>> for
>> deafblind people using video relay service.
>>
>> As for my literary pursuits, my wife and I ran for six years a small 
>> press
>> devoted to signing community literature both in English and ASL.  But it
>> could not support our family, so we've had to turn to other sources of
>> income.  I've published many essays, but it's through my poetry that I've
>> won the most recognition--awards, grants, fellowships, all that.
>> Recently,
>> my chapbook of poems, Suddenly Slow, came out from Handtype Press.  I've
>> also done some independent scholarship on the literature of the deaf and
>> deafblind communities.  In March, Gallaudet University Press will come 
>> out
>> with Deaf American Poetry, which I edited and which is the first
>> definitive
>> text of its kind, covering nearly two centuries of poetry by Deaf
>> Americans.
>> I am nearly done with anther anthology, this time of writings by 
>> deafblind
>> people all over the world and since 1820.
>>
>> This should suffice for now!  I would love to learn about who's on this
>> list, so please do introduce yourself.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> No virus found in this outgoing message.
>> Checked by AVG.
>> Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.10.0/1863 - Release Date:
>> 12/24/2008
>> 11:49 AM
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Writers Division web site:
>> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org 
>> <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>>
>> stylist mailing list
>> stylist at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> stylist:
>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonline.n
> et
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/johnlee%40clarktouc
> h.com
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.10.0/1864 - Release Date: 
> 12/25/2008
> 9:40 AM
>
>
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.10.0/1864 - Release Date: 
> 12/25/2008
> 9:40 AM
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site:
> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> stylist:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/jbron%40optonline.net