Since its founding in 1966, RIF has fostered local partnerships to bring books and literacy materials to children in under-resourced communities to create a culture of literacy and foster opportunities for children to read, learn, and grow. RIF is committed to providing high-quality, diverse books in print and digital formats that provide opportunities for children to see themselves represented in the books they read and extend their worldview through diverse characters and experiences. Its matching grant program enables local literacy partners to double their impact by partnering with RIF to drive reading outcomes for children in their community. Through its matching grant program, RIF matches 100% of local dollars to bring books and literacy resources to children that need them most. The matching grant program empowers local innovation and long-term sustainability to create collective impact centered on providing critical access to diverse books and literacy resources. All educational institutions and youth-serving organizations are eligible to apply.
RIF’s 2024 Matching Grant program will accept applications for three RIF programs: Books for Ownership, Read for Success, and Skybrary. To learn more about the program options, visit Our Solutions page.
Grant Details
RIF’s matching grant program maximizes your impact by doubling your dollars through RIF’s support. The grant program can benefit your organization from two different perspectives:
- The RIF grant award doubles the amount of money you have to purchase RIF programs for the children you serve with RIF’s match equal to your local investment.
OR
- The RIF grant award enables you to purchase high-quality RIF programs at just half the cost. For example, RIF books cost $4/book but with the matching funds, you’ll be able to obtain the books at just $2/book.
This year, applications will be accepted for any of RIF’s three programs: Books for Ownership, Read for Success, or Skybrary. You can only apply for funding to support one of the programs. Please contact [email protected] if you need help identifying the best program to fit your needs.
Books for Ownership
Books for Ownership, Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) flagship reading program, is grounded in choice, access, and engagement. It enables children to select new, age-appropriate books to take home and own and is supported by resources for educators, families, and volunteers to create a continuous focus on reading. The matching grant award provides grantees with books for them to distribute to the children they serve to take home and own, building home libraries and creating a culture of literacy.
Program Requirements
- Order all books from RIF’s online Bookstore where you can select from thousands of high-quality, diverse titles that children can see themselves in as well as books that provide a window into the world around them.
- Distribute the books to children during at least 1 book celebration event during the program period.
- Children must be able to choose the book(s) they take home and keep.
Read for Success
Read for Success is an interactive supplemental read-aloud program that uses high-quality, diverse, interdisciplinary books with evidence-based strategies and activities to engage children in the reading experience and encourage a passion for reading. Read for Success also provides books for students to build home libraries and is aligned with RIF’s philosophy that having access to books combined with an increased interest in reading can improve reading proficiency. When applying for the Read for Success grant, please note that a single Read for Success program provides resources to support up to 25 students with 6 books to take home and own, a student journal, and a tote bag. Program facilitators will also receive a collection of 15 read-aloud titles, a program guide with extension activities tied to the read-aloud books, and professional development resources.
Program Requirements
- Incorporate read-alouds from the collection books (set of 15 read-aloud titles) and extension activities from the facilitator’s guide into your program throughout the grant period.
- Engage families by utilizing the family resources found within the facilitator’s guide and aligned to support each read-aloud title.
- Order all student take-home books from RIF’s online Bookstore where you can select from thousands of high-quality, diverse titles that children can see themselves in as well as books that provide a window into the world around them.
- Distribute the books (6 per student) to children during at least 1 book celebration event during the program period.
Skybrary
Skybrary for schools is a web-based digital library for K-3 students featuring hundreds of eBooks across multiple subject areas, each with optional narration; real-world video field trips; standards-aligned lessons; and easy-to-use teacher management tools. It combines several key components that help children develop their literacy skills: high-interest books, read-to-me features, and encouragement for independent reading. When applying for the Skybrary grant, please note that a single Skybrary classroom subscription can provide access to the service for up to 35 students.
Program Requirements
- Students must have access to a school or home desktop or laptop to access the digital library.
- Fully activate the subscription for both an account administrator (such as a media specialist, reading specialist, classroom teacher, etc. – that act as the administrator for all users) and educator (will support and enable student access and use of Skybrary assigned to the classroom).
- Roster students within the service and ensure they have access to their login information for use in class and at home; ensure families are aware of the service for at-home use.
- Encourage and monitor the use of the service throughout the grant period.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants include school districts, individual schools, public libraries, community-based organizations, civic organizations, and other youth-serving entities that serve children in the United States from birth through grade 12.
For more information, visit https://www.rif.org/literacy-network/Matching-Grant.