The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation

LITERACY PROGRAM GRANTS

Lois Lenski, children’s book author and 1946 Newbery medalist for Strawberry Girl, understood that childrens’ ability to read is imperative for their success and their ability to understand the world around them. Toward that end, the Foundation provides grants to innovative and effective literacy programs that serve children from disadvantaged populations in the following regions: 

• Greater Baltimore, 
• New York City, and the 
• Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas.

Literacy programs operated by charitable [501(c)(3)] and other non-taxable agencies, including public libraries and schools, are eligible. The Foundation provides grants to organizations that serve economically or socially at-risk children. New literacy programs are welcome to apply, as are those with a proven record of effectiveness.

Please note that funding is limited to the regions listed above and is not awarded outside of the United States.

Purpose and Amount of the Grants

We support programs that have repeated and regular interaction with youth by skilled staff or volunteers who provide stepped programming to advance reading/writing literacy among underserved youth. We also recognize the benefit of two-generation approaches to literacy advancement, wherein parents, other family members, or caregivers are educated in the importance and methods of exposing a child to books and reading.

Programs may introduce or assist pre-school children in the enjoyment of books, or increase school-age children's reading skills and engagement with books. Literacy activities can take a variety of forms in a range of settings, from in-school residencies and after-school programs to community centers to the home. Programs that demonstrate innovative, positive, or unique approaches are desired.

Grants from the Foundation may go to specific program expenses or to general program support. We will also consider funding for a specific purpose that might otherwise not receive attention from other funders. Literacy grants from the Foundation have ranged from $2,000 to $10,000. We are interested in partnering with grantees and thus applications for renewals will be considered.

Eligibility & Restrictions

Only charitable [501(c)3] and other tax-exempt programs in Greater Baltimore, New York City (five boroughs), Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area are eligible to apply. No geographic exceptions can be made.

Please note that we do not provide grants to: 

• programs that are exclusively or primarily book give-away programs; 
• libraries, schools, or classrooms for purchasing books or software;
• schools for paying reading specialists or intervention programs during the regular school day;
• programs consisting of once-only contact; 
• literacy software programs; 
• purchasing, promotion, or distribution of specific books; or
• programs focused primarily on competency or “literacy” in other subject areas. 
   

If you are uncertain about your eligibility, please email the trustee for your area listed below.

Applying for a Grant

We review literacy grant requests in two cycles annually: new requests in the spring, and renewal requests in the fall. Please note the following deadlines:

February 1 - Letters of Intent

Letters of Intent from potential new grantees will be received from November 1 through February 1. Kindly send LOIs only in this window.

**NOTE: Due to current funding commitments, we will not be accepting new LOIs for 2026. No LOIs will be accepted until November 1, 2026.**

October 1 - Renewal Requests

Renewal requests and reports from current grantees are due.

Potential applicants should contact the following Foundation trustee via email in the areas listed:

Baltimore – eleanor.landauer@loislenskicovey.org

New York City – kate.chisholm@loislenskicovey.org, libby.fearnley@loislenskicovey.org

Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area – michael.covey@loislenskicovey.org

When emailing a director, please attach a one-page Letter of Intent with a brief description of your literacy program that includes basic details about your program model, delivery, and the community served. If your literacy program is part of a larger array of services, please focus your LOI on the literacy program. Include telephone contact information and website URL (if available). 

If your program meets eligibility criteria and is aligned with our funding priorities, an informational phone call and/or site visit may follow. After that, if appropriate alignment of program design for the organization and the goals of the Foundation are established, a brief (2-4 page) grant proposal will be requested and reviewed by the Literacy Program Grant Committee. Award decision notifications will be made in May for new grantees and November for renewal requests.

Questions?

Questions regarding the Foundation's literacy program grants may be emailed to the trustee(s) responsible for their particular geographic area, listed above.

Kindly do not ask if we will fund programs outside our geographic funding areas; we cannot make exceptions.