Giving Back

Writers Series

The RMWF experience is all year long! The Rancho Mirage Writers Series is sponsored by Jordan Schnitzer with a generous donation funded by the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. The series presents world-class authors, notable leaders and celebrated speakers to the public free of charge.

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Two women sitting on green armchairs on stage, one holding a microphone and smiling, the other gesturing with her hands, with a colorful backdrop and a table with books and water bottles between them.

2026 Student Scholars

Thanks to Event Sponsors Brandon Boswell and Efren Sanchez, Jacquie and Michael Casey and the Dorothy and George Goldstein Family, two students and one teacher from 17 local high schools have been invited for each day of the Festival.

Judith and Dan Miglio’s sponsorship is giving nine students and their teachers from the SMART College & Career Readiness program the opportunity to participate.

Gwen Ramras has generously sponsored three students and one teacher from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to fly in and attend the entire Festival. Please give them all a warm welcome.

Three young adults, two women and one man, standing together in front of a blue event schedule poster, smiling at the camera, wearing conference badges.

Western Wind Writing Contest

The Rancho Mirage Writers Festival cosponsors The Western Wind Writing Contest with the Western Wind Foundation. The contest gives seventh grade students from the five PSUSD middle schools the chance to express themselves through essays about overcoming adversity. Some of the first and second place winners from each school are invited to read their work at our Writers Series events. These budding writers could well be bestselling authors in the future. 

Group of students and adults in front of military helicopter illustrations at an educational event.

Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory

The Rancho Mirage Writers Festival Foundation is committed to giving back to the community. A portion of our proceeds go to supporting programs and improvements for our partner, the award-winning Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory. The Foundation gave $60,000 toward the cost of the beautiful glass façade that encloses the Children’s Room, which is the Disney Room during the Festival.

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Modern building with a curved reddish-brown wall, featuring a logo with a stylized animal head, surrounded by desert landscaping and yellow flowers, with a mountain in the background under a clear blue sky.

Short Story Dispensers

The Foundation purchased two short story dispensers for $24,000 for the Eisenhower Health ER and the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory. These innovative machines dispense delightful stories or poems for free on demand.

short story dispenser