Raising A Reader (RAR) is a national non-profit organization founded in 1999 focused on early child literacy and family engagement. Our mission is to engage caregivers in a routine of book sharing with their children from birth through age eight to foster healthy brain development, healthy relationships, a love of reading, and the literacy skills critical for school success. RAR was one of the nation’s earliest venture philanthropy enterprises and remains one of the few cost-effective and scalable nonprofit organizations with an earned revenue model that has sustained its operations for more than twenty years. Approximately 50% of our budget is through earned revenue and the other 50% comes from contributed revenue from individuals and institutions. RAR optimizes a train-the-trainer Affiliate model to maximize our impact. We equip local community-based organizations with tools, training, actionable steps and ongoing support to empower families and improve kids’ reading skills.

Thanks to the success of our Classic Red Book Bag Rotation model and the launch of new programs, Super Summer Learning Adventures and Family Shared Reading, our goal is to grow from serving 150,000 to 200,000 children by 2022. As a social enterprise, we are positioned to expand through increased sales among new and existing partners who may have access to new Federal and State funding. In addition, our new program models that are more easily implemented in hard to reach settings can help us target vulnerable and under-resourced communities through funding from foundations and individuals. These new markets include housing developments, pediatric clinics, migrant, tribal and rural communities. Our evidence-based programming is easy to implement and easy to scale while preparing children for kindergarten and reinforcing home shared reading routines that help children become readers and reach grade level by 3rd grade.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: Launch Raising A Reader's new pilot program enlisting pediatricians in reinforcing literacy routines through well-child visits by September 2022.

Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.

Goal Two: In 2019, Raising A Reader approved a three-year 2020-22 strategic plan that included a 15% growth goal to serve 200,000 children, families and caregivers by 2022. In 2021, we reaching 150,000.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Three: Implement our Race Equity Agenda to address the impact of racial injustice and inequities on the children and families we serve by ensuring and implementing best practices and policies.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Describe an investment in leadership

Raising A Reader is committed to recruiting, hiring and supporting a diverse staff that includes supporting a leadership team of six that is 50% people of color. We host biannual in-person leadership retreats that include all six members of our national team in addition to supporting staff at all levels in attending and presenting at national conferences.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Raising A Reader supports 285 Affiliates who administer our programming at nearly 3,000 implementation sites across 36 states, providing books, curriculum, training and ongoing support. We also collaborate with national partners like the Campaign for Grade Level Reading (CGLR), a collaboration of foundations, nonprofits, states, and communities focused on the No.1 predictor of school success: third grade reading. RAR President and CEO, Michelle Torgerson, was a featured panelist at an invite only CGLR launch session, “Assume Collaboration: A Consultative Conversation on Aggregating for Impact.” Torgerson is also partnering with leaders in the field to promote “Radical Collaboration” in the quest for early literacy for all. Guests have included President and CEO of Council for a Strong America, Brian Ford, Superbowl Champion and Literacy Advocate, Malcom Mitchell, and President and CEO of Strive Together, Jennifer Blatz who recently joined the Raising A Reader board of directors.

Raising A Reader's programming was greatly impacted by the pandemic which included school closures. Our Classic Red Book Bag rotation model includes weekly rotation of books throughout the school year and our trainings were mostly in-person prior to the pandemic. We adapted by providing training and ongoing support to our Affiliates virtually and launching two new programs suited to social distancing. These models, Super Summer Learning Adventures and Family Shared Reading Program, were based on our Classic Red Book Bag Rotation model but instead of rotating books weekly, these new models helped families build at home libraries. Children were allowed to keep the books, materials and bilingual curriculum which included weekly activities in English and Spanish. We plan to continue providing all three program models and virtual training opportunities.