First Book

Education transforms lives. First Book is building a world where every child has access to a quality education. We work to remove barriers to education and level the playing field for kids in need. At the heart of our work are the 575,000 members of the First Book Network, the largest online community of individual educators, professionals and volunteers dedicated to supporting children in need across North America. This Network is the key to creating systemic change. Through our research arm, First Book Research & Insights, we conduct studies that aggregate their voices to identify barriers to equitable education and inform strategic solutions. To address their needs, we provide free and low-cost books, resources, and access to leading experts through the First Book Marketplace, which uses aggregated buying power to support this underserved community. Founded in Washington D.C. in 1992 as a nonprofit social enterprise, First Book is dedicated to eliminating barriers to learning and inspiring young minds. Learn more at firstbook.org and visit our award-winning eCommerce website at fbmarketplace.org.

Imagine a world where every child experiences the benefits of a quality education. We're on a mission to ensure that all children, regardless of their background or zip code, can succeed-- by removing barriers to equitable education.

Goal One: Build a community-driven movement to amplify the voices of those serving children living in poverty

Goal Two: Continue to build the First Book brand to amplify mission impact

Goal Three: Expand the scope and scale of the First Book Marketplace

First Book provides access to managerial and leadership training modules through a recognized online learning platform. Team leaders are encouraged to establish training recommendations and assign to the appropriate staff members.

External mobilization is a key driver of our business objectives and is central to collaborations with corporate sponsors, community building through our First Book Network (535,000+ member educators), and cross-sector partnerships with other nonprofit partners working in the lives of children in need.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only exacerbated the educational crisis for children in poverty, it also caused enormous hardship for millions more families. By amplifying the collective voice of more than half a million educators in the First Book Network and cross-sector partnerships, we enabled powerful, educator-driven responses to these challenges. By actively engaging educators, we piloted, tested, refined, and scaled innovative resources and new collaborations to support educational equity. After surveying educators, First Book enlisted an Activation Network of more than 7,500 educators who volunteered to distribute books and resources in their region – at food sites, outside their schools, delivering books to students’ front doors, even driving through neighborhoods to cheer on their students in person. Further, our publisher partners across the board immediately answered First Book's call to action, collectively donating an additional 8 million books to support our nation’s most disadvantaged students through the pandemic and beyond. Further, in large part due to the digital divide, the pandemic locked out millions of children from their right to an education, leaving them falling further behind without access to books or remote learning resources. First Book responded by launching a first-of-its-kind Creating Learning Connections Initiative. Through a new turnkey First Book grants model, school districts in select areas were invited to outline their need for resources to address the digital divide. The collaboration provided technology tools and resources across the country. Finally, the year was also punctuated by a dramatic increase in racist discourse and violence, impacting our communities, our educators, and the children they serve. In response, First Book launched Empowering Educators, an unprecedented set of free resources designed to help educators engage their students in effective, courageous conversations about race and social justice.