Harlem Stage Saves Itself By Growing

“Artistic success has never been Harlem Stage’s problem. … But financially, the group, incorporated as a nonprofit in 1983, sometimes struggled. By the end of the 2009 season, its accumulated deficit stood at $737,000.” Rejecting advice to scale back, the organization’s director cut her budget but expanded programming, fundraising and artistic partnerships. It all worked.

Dave Eggers Exports His Radical Approach To Child Literacy

Named after its address in the Mission district of the city and guilefully hidden behind a Pirate Supply Store shopfront, “826 Valencia” helps students aged from eight to 18 to develop writing skills in informal workshops. By seducing young patrons with pirate parrots and peg legs, it removed the stigma associated with extra literacy lessons.