Literacy Funding/Grants

          Most libraries have budgets to maintain which may or may not have provision for much cultural literacy programming.  Hiring guest speakers for a program can cost anywhere from $50 to more than $300, depending on the subject.

Efforts to provide cultural literacy opportunities in a community benefit from the financial support of foundations.  Most federal, state and local sources make monies available through grants applied for by public institutions, such as libraries.  Grant monies are used to fund new or expanded existing programs, new technology equipment or software, and cultural enrichment activities such as visiting authors, field trips, and specialized programming with guest speakers.

A sample of foundations making grant monies available includes the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, and The Dollar General Literacy Foundation.