Literacy Grant Challenge begins October 1, 2023

Literacy changes, enriches, and transforms lives. The Literary Society's mission of promoting literacy philanthropy in Arizona goes beyond providing a child with a book; our funding supports programs where children and adults engage with the written word, authors, and other readers in everyday life.

Children who are not reading proficiently by fourth grade dramatically limit their education options, employment, and income potential, are at high risk for poverty and continue the cycle of illiteracy. Only 4 in 10 Arizona students are reading at grade level, less than half of all third-graders passed the 2021-2022 standardized AzMERIT reading test, with just 41% of 3rd grade students taking the test passing the English Language Arts portion.

We were inspired and hopeful we could expand our impact on community literacy. We introduced the Literacy Grant Challenge to double our literacy grants the 2022-2023 fiscal year from $25,000 to $50,000. With the help of our generous members and donors, we met our goal of $25,000 by December 31st. Thank you to every one who donated and helped us meet our goal. Through the Challenge, every member’s personal enrichment from reading and connection extends to enriching others.

General Operating Contributions are always needed and can be made using the following link if you would like to donate to the 2022-2023 season. While we encourage contributing to our literacy grantmaking efforts during our annual LIteracy Grant Challenge, donations can be restricted to the literacy grantmaking portion of our mission at any time. Please indicate when making your online donation.