Support families:  Parents have the greatest love and concern for their children.  They know the interests and individuality of their children, as well as their family's culture and values.  Our message will be directed primarily to them. We pursue leveraged ways to provide parents with the information and resources they need to raise a reader.  Activities and marketing that reach the most parents, with the fewest dollars, have priority. 

Involve broadly:  We encourage everyone to recognize and fulfill their important role in helping young readers, this includes local agencies and officials.  We facilitate partnerships within the community that support families, preschools and elementary schools.  Rather than having a few elegant, exclusive events put on by foundation staff, we find multiple pathways involving networks of people.   

Operate lean:  We are not a fundraising organization. We staff and maintain overhead at the lowest level necessary to provide effective leadership. Rather than spending much of our time fundraising, we spend most of our time facilitating the donations and efforts of others in dozens projects.  We do not duplicate, judge, or compete with services already being provided by schools, such as curriculum materials and reading programs. A local board of directors provides strategic leadership to leverage opportunities and target community needs.  

Stay focused:   We support only events that specifically address our narrow mission - encouraging parents, family members, and others to read to children every day.  We will check our effectiveness by asking ourselves, “Where today will our community hear the message to read with their child?”  We will measure our success by how many parents read to their children at least 20 minutes a day and by how many students read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. 

Thank you for your interest and vision for children's literacy!

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