$2 million in grants awarded to drive change

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. —The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is marking its 30th anniversary with grants of more than $2 million to Learning Ally, Reading is Fundamental and The Barbara Bush Foundation.

“We are excited to extend our 30th anniversary celebration by announcing additional grants to nonprofit organizations empowering others through the power of literacy and basic education,” Denine Torr, the foundation’s executive director, said in announcing the grants. “Through these grants, we plan to increase access to books, empower teachers, engage families, and support collective impact initiatives to drive meaningful change. We look forward to additional anniversary celebrations in the coming months.”

Funding includes:

• Learning Ally: A donation of $1 million to support Learning Ally’s family literacy and teacher training enhancement, which equips educators with proven solutions that help emerging and struggling learners reach their full potential.

• Reading is Fundamental: The foundation recently awarded a donation of $570,000 to the oldest and largest non-profit children’s literacy organization in the United States for the organization’s Books for Ownership program, which provides three free books for each participating student.

• The Barbara Bush Foundation: A donation of $500,000 to the nonprofit earmarked for expanded access to literacy services for adults nationwide. Funding will support efforts to advance the National Action Plan for Adult Literacy, as well as aid the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN), which is a collective impact collaborative comprised of representatives from 14 national literacy organizations working to increase access to literacy services and enhance the quality of education.

These grants will support efforts to help transform adult and family literacy by investing in the collective action of expect stakeholders and their efforts to address systemic challenges.

Additionally, funding will provide professional development for teachers; family enrichment training; and free books for students to help build home libraries and reinforce literacy skills.

The Foundation’s work and impact continue to be significantly important as outlined in its “State of the American Literacy report,” which found more than 40 million American adults scored at or below the lowest levels of literacy and most high school graduates are not proficient readers.