Believe in Reading will consider funding programs that serve any age or aspect of supporting reading and literacy, including adult literacy or English as a second language projects. The funder's favorite thing to help applicants purchase are books and materials, especially for the building of libraries or to give away to readers (e.g. using grant funds to stock a book vending machine but not purchasing the machine itself).
Believe in Reading Funding Priorities
Previously funded projects can be seen at https://www.believeinreading.org/projects-2/.
Believe in Reading will not award grants for
Believe in Reading awards grants to existing and provably successful literacy programs. Believe in Reading awards grants only to organizations that have been designated as having tax exempt status according to the IRS Code Section 501(c)(3), or its equivalent for educational institutions, including public libraries. (A pending status does not fulfill this requirement.)
Applications are accepted throughout the year starting in February and reviewed in the order they are received. Interested applicants should first submit a letter of inquiry with a summary of your proposed project. LOI submissions will be acknowledged by staff within 1 or 2 months. Qualified applicants will later be invited to submit an application.
Award amounts vary. Awards range from $1,000 to $10,000. The funder rarely makes a grant more than $3,000 to a first-time applicants, although, if the project is successful more could be requested in the subsequent two years. Believe in Reading currently funds up to three years for any one organization, but the grant must be requested each year.