2021
ANNUAL REPORT
October 2020 - September 2021
Message from the Board President
As we release The Cabin’s 2021 Annual Report, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the last year. At this point, we’re all too familiar with fact that the Covid-19 pandemic remains a large part of our daily lives. However, The Cabin and its board and staff have adapted incredibly well to this new reality. Because of that hard work, and with the help of our members and donors, we’ve been able to keep the organization strong. I’m very proud of how well everyone in the organization was able to innovate and adapt to allow The Cabin to continue to connect with the literary community. Settling into the “new normal” also allowed The Cabin to rethink our day-to-day operations and focus on our mission. With schools opening, Writers in the Schools re-started with great success. We were also able to complete some much-needed maintenance on The Cabin’s building and it now sparkles with a fresh coat (several actually!) of paint that will help maintain our beloved home well into the future. If you haven’t been by lately, please stop by and see for yourself. We’ve also refined our working structure - our board and staff have all become much more comfortable and efficient with a hybrid remote/office working environment. And, we had time to think strategically about organizational structure and to begin to reorganize the team and better position The Cabin for the future. As we’ve said many times before, regardless of how much change and disruption we might face, one thing remains certain—the support of The Cabin community. To all our donors, members, sponsors, grantors, and ticketholders who stuck with us this year, we owe you our gratitude and thanks. 2022 still holds challenges, but we came out of 2021 stronger than we were in 2020. If all of us continue to work together, we’ll be able to build an even stronger organization in the years ahead. Steve Frinsko, Cabin Board President
A Message from the Executive Director Members often ask me when I think programs will get back to the way they were in the past. 2021 certainly didn’t resemble previous years, but the staff and board were better prepared to deal with Covid’s surprises and bring back programs that had been put on hold the previous year. After a season of hibernation, The Cabin’s summer camps returned in a big way, with 26 weeklong programs full of eager young writers exploring both the city and new ways to express themselves. Even better, we partnered with the Boise School District summer school on a brand-new program, traveling to nine different classrooms to provide opportunities for students who typically don’t have access to arts education. Our Writers in the School program also grew, with new residencies across the Treasure Valley including our first ever program serving children at Interfaith Sanctuary. Although our 2021 Readings and Conversations events were entirely virtual, we were able to return to the theater this January for hometown literary hero Anthony Doerr. We are crossing our fingers that things stay on track and we can continue to provide safe in-person events in the upcoming year. Add to all this a new publication of Writers in the Attic, a full roster of adult writing workshops, another wild edition of our collaborative COIN fundraiser, and a return to our Ghost and Projectors series at this year’s Storyfort and I’d say that, although we might not be operating the way we were a few years ago, we’ve found our new rhythm. Thanks to all our members, ticketholders, and donors who stuck with us during the challenging year and thank you for supporting our mission of forging community through the voices of all readers, writers, and learners. Kurt Zwolfer, Cabin Executive Director