Charlotte Lit has Found a Permanent Home!

Lit friends, you’ve been asking, we’ve been searching, and we’ve finally found it.

It’s been two years since the closing of the late great Midwood International & Cultural Center, where Charlotte Lit got its start and found its groove, and we’ve been looking for a permanent home ever since—and you can help us make this a room of Lit’s own, for all of us.

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we’ll be moving this spring into the Ascend Nonprofit Center on the edge of Uptown. You can find the details below!

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to Help it Happen

  • Donate by credit card at our GiveLively campaign page.
  • Send a check to PO Box 18607, Charlotte 28218
  • Donate stocks or mutual funds — a win-win: no taxes on any capital gains and tax deductibility on the entire amount. Our securities donation form is here.
  • Contribute from your Donor Advised Fund.

We’ll keep you posted on our fund progress and on our moving plans. Thank you for all your support of Charlotte Lit and the literary arts in our community!

Ascend Nonprofit Center

Ascend Nonprofit Center

601 E. 5th Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

Some Details About Our New Home

  • Central to the entire Charlotte Mecklenburg area—and very easy to get in and out.
  • 1200 square feet on the ground floor, large enough for our office and most classes and events.
  • Nine shared breakout and meeting rooms to accommodate our Labs and other multi-space events.
  • Plenty of free parking—more than 90 spaces—or just a short walk from the light rail and streetcar.
  • A 10-year lease … renewable!
  • $37,000 in up-fit allowance … a giant head start toward making the space beautiful and multi-purpose.

Thanks to wonderful Charlotte Lit supporters Anne and Steve Schmitt, we’re fortunate to be working with Merriman Schmitt Architects. We’ll have renderings soon, but picture a warm, inviting space that’s cool and a little funky, that shifts as needed for classes, lit arts events, and open-studio writing sessions. We’re also excited to announce that our new space will include…

  • The Dannye Romine Powell Poetry Place. Thanks to the many generous contributions from her friends, we’re creating a cozy space for reading and writing in Dannye’s honor inside our new studio.

We’re anticipating $100,000 in expenses to realize this vision. Including all donations to date plus the up-fit allowance, we’re already more than halfway there—and with your help we’ll realize our goal of creating an amazing home for readers and writers in Charlotte. Learn more about gift options below.

Thank you for supporting the literary arts in Charlotte. We’re here for you, and couldn’t do our work without you.

Where Your Contribution Goes

We’re creating a beautiful, secure, permanent space for learning, conversation, and community—and this will require a few more dollars than we usually ask for. Here’s where your capital contributions will go:

  • Infrastructure: remove and refinish walls; paint and carpet
  • Classroom Seating: comfortable chairs and modular tables
  • Event Seating: stackable (yet still comfortable) chairs
  • Audio/Visual: large display screen; microphones, stands, speakers; recording equipment
  • Dannye Powell Poetry Place: reading lights and chairs; bookshelves