March 2012 -President Obama released his FY2013 budget proposal in February and funding was not included for the new national literacy grant competition nor for RIF. Now, as Congress begins to work on the FY2013 budget, we are urging lawmakers to reinstate funding for the national literacy grant competition. ACT NOW – tell Congress to support funding for children’s literacy in the FY2013 budget!
January 2012 - In light of the recent congressional action to fund a new competitive grant program for children’s literacy, we hope you’ll join us in sending a big ‘Thank You’ to Congress! We are still closely monitoring developments related to federal funding and are eagerly anticipating the Department of Education's grant competition guidance.
Congress Restores Funding for Literacy Programs - Competitive Grant Program Aimed to Serve Students in Need Nationwide
December 16, 2011—Funding for national literacy programs was included in the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012, which will be signed into law by President Obama later today. The $28 million will be awarded to literacy organizations and libraries through a competitive grant process.
“RIF is grateful for Congress’ hard work in restoring funding for books and literacy resources for children in need. With only 1 in 300 children in poor neighborhoods owning a book and reading levels among young children stagnant and declining, access to print is more critical than ever,” said Carol Rasco, President and CEO of Reading is Fundamental. “We look forward to working with the Department of Education as details of the competition are finalized.”
Reading Is Fundamental for America, but Millions of children are living in the U.S. without access to books.
Preparing and motivating children to read begins with having a book. RIF provides an effective book distribution program serving 4 million children in 17,000 locations across every U.S. state and territory annually with the help of more than 400,000 volunteers.
In March, Congress eliminated RIF’s federal funding at a time when we know many families need us the most. Without this federal funding, RIF will not be able to serve America’s children most at-risk for academic failure. To continue this critical work, we are pursuing opportunities to compete for federal funds approved in the 2012 budget. We need your help reaching out to Congress.
