First Book

Overview

Since 1992, First Book has distributed over 46 million new books to children in need. Studies reveal that the critical factor determining whether a child becomes a reader is access to reading materials--specifically, the presence of books at home. Yet in low-income neighborhoods, there is only one book for every 300 children, and 80% of preschool and after-school programs serving this population have no age-appropriate books at all.

Mission

To give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

Program

In the U.S., First Book reaches existing preschool and after-school programs through an innovative, powerfully designed, three-part network:

Local Advisory Boards – First Book’s central, community-based model that brings together diverse local leaders to mobilize communities and supply existing programs with new books for the children they serve.

First Book National Book Bank – the first-ever online centralized system that enables publishers to donate large quantities of new books to the nonprofit sector for distribution to children from low-income families.

First Book Marketplace – a web-based venture that offers high quality, award-winning books to community programs serving disadvantaged children at 50-85% below retail prices.

Impact

First Book has provided more than 46 million new books to children in need in thousands of communities nationwide. Significantly, more than 25 million of these books have been distributed in the last four years. First Book is building momentum for revolutionary change in the social sector. While innovative in its approach, First Book is conservative in its economic life; the organization’s financials reveal that over 97% of revenue is devoted to implementing its far-reaching programs.

Countries of Operation

United States, Canada