Funding to support Community-based Projects that Improve Early Literacy in Arkansas

Arkansas Community Foundation is seeking applications for its Early Literacy Grants to support community-based projects that improve early literacy.

Donor Name: Arkansas Community Foundation

State: Arkansas

Counties: Carroll County (AR), Clark County (AR), Cleburne County (AR), Columbia County (AR), Conway County (AR), Craighead County (AR), Cross County (AR), Faulkner County (AR), Greene County (AR), Johnson County
(AR), Lee County (AR), Mississippi County (AR), Monroe County (AR), Phillips County (AR), Pope County (AR), St. Francis County (AR), Sharp County (AR), White County (AR)

Cities: Hot Springs Area, Texarkana

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/15/2022

Details:

Grant opportunities focused on early literacy may be available in your area, but it is important for potential grantees to contact their local affiliate office to learn more about their local grant process and if early literacy grants will be available during their grant cycle.

Focus Areas

Grant proposals should support access to food for Arkansans by addressing one or more focus areas below:

Parent and Community Engagement
- Parents and caregivers are a child’s first teachers and most important advocates. Research tells us that schools with strong engagement from parents and caregivers exhibit better academic performance and higher school attendance.
Early Childhood/School Readiness
- In Arkansas, only about half of kindergarten students are considered ready for school when they arrive in the classroom, which makes them less likely to read on grade level by the end of third grade. Supports for youth and families ages 0-5 such as home visiting, Pre-K programs, and other efforts to strengthen early learning, boost brain development and improve children’s literacy skills, pay major dividends down the road.
Classroom Instruction
- A child spends six to seven hours each day in the classroom during the academic year. The skills a teacher brings to the classroom are based on a range of factors that include teacher preparation programs, ongoing professional development, coaching and support from school administrators, and years of experience. Elementary teachers must have deep knowledge of evidence-based strategies for teaching reading, as well as the skills and supplies to implement them so they can prepare students to read on grade level.
Attendance
- When children attend school regularly in the early grades, they are more likely to read proficiently by the end of third grade and less prone to dropping out of high school. In Arkansas, more than one in 10 students in kindergartners through third grade are chronically absent, which is defined as missing ten percent of the school year. In Arkansas, that equals 18 days of school, or just two days a month.
Summer learning Loss
- For some children, summer vacation means camp, family trips and visits to museums, parks, and libraries. Other children may find that when schools close, healthy meals and engaging learning activities are out of reach. Many kids, particularly children from low-income backgrounds, lose as much as two to three months of reading skills each summer. Known as the “summer slide,” that learning loss can add up, leaving some children 2.5 to three years behind their peers by fifth grade.
Whole-child supports
- There are many family and community factors that influence a child’s ability to learn and grow to achieve their full potential. When communities fully support and meet the needs of youth and families, children are better able to engage in their education.

Eligibility Criteria

501c3 nonprofit organizations, schools and government entities are eligible to apply. Other community organizations may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Applicant organizations must be based in, or provide direct services in, one of the counties served by their 29 affiliate offices Carroll County, Clark County, Cleburne County, Columbia County, Conway County, Craighead County, Cross County, Delta Area, Faulkner County, Fayetteville Area, Greene County, Hot Springs Area, Hot Springs Village, Johnson County, Lee County, Mississippi County, Monroe County, North Delta, Ouachita Valley, Phillips County, Pine Bluff Area, Pope County, Sharp County, Southeast Arkansas, St. Francis County, Texarkana Area, Twin Lakes, Western Arkansas, White County.

Who’s not Eligible

Each request is considered on its own merit. However, the following types of requests generally are not considered: