62% of third graders in Sacramento County cannot read at grade level.
If you CANNOT read, you CANNOT participate in our economy, democracy, and society.
At the Sacramento Literacy Foundation, we are committed to ensuring every child achieves grade-level reading proficiency. Serving as both a community convener and dedicated fundraising organization, we focus strategically on collaborative efforts to accelerate progress.
We urgently need your support to reach our goals:
Distributing culturally relevant, brand-new books directly into the hands and homes of children in Sacramento’s most underrepresented communities.
Increasing funding for summer reading initiatives and high-dosage after-school tutoring programs.
Advocating for evidence-based literacy instruction methods, including the Science of Reading.
Your support continues to bring us closer to our vision of having all of our children achieve grade-level reading. Clearly there is much to be done. With adequate resources from private and corporate philanthropy we can get there.
The Sacramento Literacy Foundation's mission is to help all children in our community -- through funding, advocacy, and collaboration -- read at grade-level.
Needs
Operations: Our operations manage a day-to-day fundraising operation, one major fundraising event per year: Authors on the Move, 2-3 smaller author events hosted in Sacramento, the California Literacy Map designed to report on Children's Literacy outcomes in California, and serve as the local convener for the National Campaign for Grade-level Reading. We host a monthly literacy check-in with literacy professionals in the region every first Wednesday of the month. Your support for our operations allows us to reach more kids, support summer reading, and advocate for more evidence-based instructions.
Endowments: We manage a Children's Literacy Endowment that makes distributions to summer reading programs that help advance grade-level reading for children. We also have an Operations Endowment, knowing that by 2025, 20% of our operational budget needs to be funded by endowment distributions. We are growing the corpus of both endowments which is paramount to the Literacy Foundation's long-term sustainability.
California Literacy Map: In its 6th year of reporting, the Foundation's California Literacy Map requires ongoing costs associated with gathering data and maintaining the GIS system underlying the map. You can learn more by going here: https://www.sacramentoliteracy.org/literacy-map/
Volunteers: Event volunteers are routinely needed for Authors on the Move, small author events, and the SHRA Promise Zone Book Giveaway.
Board Diversification: We are always focused on diversity and are always looking for community members with a passion for children's literacy who can bring resources to that goal.
Equity Statement
Reading is the top equity skill and those who struggle to read are often, low-income citizens from black and brown communities. Our work is committed to reaching Sacramento's highest need students first.