RedLine is a proud partner and administrator of the Arts in Society grant. Funded through a cohort of Colorado foundations and government agencies, This collaborative program provides grants to both individuals and organizations that use art as a vehicle to promote social justice and community welfare.
We love highlighting our Arts in Society (AiS) grant recipients and all the unique and impactful projects made possible by their grant. We’re excited continue this series by highlighting 2025 Arts in Society project Write to connect, through grantee Lighthouse Writers Workshop.
Learn more about Lighthouse Writers Workshop and how they help provide the highest caliber of artistic education, support, and community for writers and readers in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond.
Tell us about your organization
Lighthouse Writers Workshop is a literary arts nonprofit based in Denver, Colorado. Lighthouse’s mission is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education, support, and community for writers and readers in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond.
We strive to ensure that literature remains accessible and relevant in the culture, and that individuals achieve their fullest potential as artists and human beings. From brand new writers to published authors, the Lighthouse community exists to nourish the creative lives and connections of anyone wanting to express themselves through the literary arts.
Our organization runs programming for adults and youth, both in person and online. In an effort to support Lighthouse’s mission, we’ve offered free and low-cost Community Engagement workshops for over twenty years. Partnering with local community organizations has allowed us to serve various communities, including individuals experiencing homelessness, cancer patients and survivors, veterans, BIPOC+ and LGBTQIA+ writers, healthcare and social service workers, and more.
At the heart of our Community Engagement programs lies the idea best said by author Richard Rhodes: “writing is a form of making, and making humanizes the world”.
Tell us about your first project that will utilize your Arts in Society Colorado Arts Grant
Thanks to the Arts in Society grant, Lighthouse was able to expand and improve our writing workshop program, Write to Connect, for direct service social workers and organizations.
Originally born out of a partnership with Urban Peak staff in Denver in 2023, Write to Connect offers multi-week creative writing workshops for front-line staff, who are compensated to attend.
Led by Lighthouse faculty member Negean Mohi, participants learn how they can use writing as a form of self-care and a resource for processing complex work experiences.
Participants also get to connect and share their experiences with fellow front-line staff who may share a first-hand understanding of what they’re experiencing individually.
Without an Arts in Society Colorado arts grant, Lighthouse wouldn’t have been able to offer these workshops for free, let alone compensate participants for each workshop they attend. Because of this grant, we’ve been able to remind direct service social workers how essential it is to find a creative outlet like writing to support their work experiences and reduce feelings of vicarious trauma and burnout.
Arts in Society has also supported our instructor’s ability to develop a comprehensive curriculum for Write to Connect that is rooted in trauma-informed teaching, free expression, and community building.
The first two 8-week Write to Connect cohorts included participants working for organizations like The Blue Bench, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Colorado Village Collaborative, The Delores Project, The Gathering Place, Urban Peak, Volunteers of America Colorado, and more.
After attending Write to Connect this summer, one participant shared, “Negean's curriculum and facilitation really helped me think about processing my work in new ways. Our group bonded well and trusted one another, and I grew as a writer. I hadn't written for fun in years, and this was so tangible—I felt like I could write for enjoyment again, and it gave me new ideas of how to do that.”
Thanks to the dedication of our faculty, staff, and the Arts in Society funders, we know that Write to Connect has already had a positive impact on the creative and professional lives of over twenty front-line social service workers.
“Without an Arts in Society grant, Lighthouse wouldn’t have been able to offer these workshops for free, let alone compensate participants for each workshop they attend. Because of this grant, we’ve been able to remind direct service social workers how essential it is to find a creative outlet like writing to support their work experiences and reduce feelings of vicarious trauma and burnout. ”
What’s next in the pipeline for your organization? What other projects are you dreaming up for next year, and how will your Arts in Society grant help to support these efforts?
Our Arts in Society project will wrap up with two more 8-week cohorts in 2026 and a “Write to Connect Celebration” in early summer. This event will allow us to recognize the hard work and dedication of all Write to Connect participants.
We’ll celebrate all four cohorts with the release of an anthology that will feature writing submissions from Write to Connect participants. This anthology will be produced and printed by Lighthouse and distributed for free to Write to Connect participants, faculty, and Arts in Society funders.
Here’s a sneak peek of a poem that will be featured in the Write to Connect anthology:
For Healing
We all do this work
in hopes of healing
old scars of our own.
Impassioned hearts that
beat
to the
drum of rebellion
against apathy,
and deny that we
are really meant to
walk this life alone.
So, I write and hope.
For myself, for you.
While continuing our regular writing workshops for adults and youth in 2026, Lighthouse also plans to continue our advocacy for the positive impact that writing can have on an individual’s mental health and its ability to deepen community connections.
We have plans to bring a one-day version of Write to Connect to the staff at The Logan School in January of 2026 and hope to offer similar workshops for other high-demand workplaces.
Working on Write to Connect through the Arts in Society Colorado arts grant has reaffirmed for our staff that writing can have a positive effect on the health and well-being of individuals dealing with stressful experiences. We hope to one day bring multi-week Write to Connect cohorts to other front-line professionals like teachers, first responders, etc.
We will also be expanding our Writing for Wellness class offerings in 2026. Our Wellness Workshops focus on the relationship between the creative act of writing and wellbeing. While we may look at craft during these programs, our focus will be on writing that supports us as human beings.
“Working on Write to Connect through the Arts in Society Colorado arts grant has reaffirmed for our staff that writing can have a positive effect on the health and well-being of individuals dealing with stressful experiences.”
What was your experience like when applying for an Arts in Society grant? What tips would you share with artists looking to apply?
Applying for an Arts in Society grant was a really inspiring process. Our staff had to dig deep into formalizing the structure of Write to Connect since we’d only had the capacity in the past to offer the workshops to a handful of social service workers due to funding constraints.
The application process helped us envision a deeper and more full experience for Write to Connect since we had a year to complete the project. The overall application process was clear and manageable for our small Community Engagement team.
For other artists looking to apply for an AiS grant, we highly recommend relying on feedback from the community you’re hoping to serve. Developing relationships with social service organizations prior to submitting our Arts in Society application helped us get a solid understanding of how to structure the program and the importance of providing compensation for attendance.
We also recommend dreaming big. If you have a bold vision for your project and you believe in its impact, make sure your passion is clear in your application. An Arts in Society grant empowered us to think more long-term about Write to Connect, and we felt encouraged to share our vision with funders who share a passion for serving communities through the arts.
“Thanks to the dedication of our faculty, staff, and the Arts in Society funders, we know that Write to Connect has already had a positive impact on the creative and professional lives of over twenty front-line social service workers.”
Arts in Society Grantee Project Highlight: Globeville StoryWalk
Learn more about Sidewalk Poets and their Arts in Society project Globeville StoryWalk, a project that seeks to support residents in feeling seen and heard in their community, and to preserve the stories and authentic voice of a rapidly gentrifying area.
Administered by RedLine and funded through a cohort of Colorado foundations and government agencies, Arts in Society is a grant program supporting cross-sector work through the arts across Colorado.
