Reading Is Fundamental Announces 2024 Matching Grant Recipients, Doubling Local Children’s Literacy Impact
Children’s Literacy Non-Profit to Provides Books and Reading Resources to support over 77,000 children in Communities Across the U.S.
(Washington, D.C.) – 5/23/2024 – Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s leading children’s literacy non-profit, announced the recipients of their annual Matching Grants program. This year, 63 schools and youth-serving organizations were chosen after a rigorous review process. Grant applicants could apply for one of three RIF program matching grants including Books for Ownership, Read for Success, and Skybrary. Each of the three programs is anchored on book access and choice. This year RIF grantees will support over 77,600 children in 27 states.
Annually, the RIF Matching Grant program enables selected applicants to double their impact. Each dollar allocated for one of the three RIF programs by the grantee is matched by RIF. “RIF is thrilled to help communities double their efforts to spread a joy of reading at a local level, and we look forward to seeing the positive effects those impacts will have,” said RIF President & CEO, Alicia Levi. “We know that we can’t combat the youth literacy crisis alone, and it is inspiring to see how eager others are to do their part to embolden children and create greater opportunity for them through reading.”
One recipient, the Gila River Tribal Education Department, from Sacaton, AZ, looks forward to magnifying the literacy impact in their tribe by using the funds they raise to ensure that children are able to read and select books that reflect their culture and heritage. “The Gila River Indian Community will benefit from books that reflect their culture and the diversity of their community,” said Anthony Gray, a representative from the Gila River Tribal Education Department. “We will also provide books that reflect other indigenous tribes. This will give our children the opportunity to learn about children just like themselves, while building self-affirmation and acceptance.”
Hamadeh Educational Services, located in Dearborn Heights, MI, plans to use their matched grant to lessen the disparity between the students with the highest and lowest academic achievement, while also enhancing their community. “There are a number of students in our district who are currently performing below grade level. Historically, this has been due primarily to two mitigating factors: reading comprehension and access to resources beyond the classroom,” said Helen Carisse, a representative of Hamadeh Educational Services, “The joy of reading in our community will be enhanced by grant support because students will be given the opportunity to select books for home that they can keep and use to build their own libraries. Further community enrichment will be achieved by involving parents and volunteers in the book distributions and literacy activities.”
In the U.S. over 25 million children can’t read proficiently, based on 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress data, with one in three children entering kindergarten lacking the basic skills needed to learn how to read, ultimately setting them up for difficulty in school and life beyond. Through the matching grants program, RIF is able to double a school or youth-serving organization’s budget to support getting books into the hands of their students who often do not have access to books and reading resources. All of RIF’s programs create an ongoing culture of literacy and inspire a joy of reading to drive more engaged and motivated young readers.
About Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is committed to creating a nation of lifelong readers by inspiring the joy of reading among all children, putting them on the path to becoming skilled readers. We provide free, high-quality content to engage children, educators, families, and literacy advocates in the solution to the U.S. literacy crisis—so that every child has the fundamentals for success. As the nation’s leading children’s literacy nonprofit, RIF has provided nearly 430 million books and reading resources to nearly 190 million children since 1966, impacting generations of children. Explore our results and learn more about partnering with us at www.RIF.org.
Contact: Jodi Rubin, Reading Is Fundamental, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Partnerships, JRubin@RIF.org