The Year of the Book is CLiF’s flagship grant program designed to support literacy at schools across Vermont and New Hampshire.
Donor Name: Children’s Literacy Foundation
State: New Hampshire, Vermont
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/15/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
CLiF’s Year of the Book provides $25,000 worth of literacy programs, support, and new children’s books over one school year to help build a culture of literacy in elementary schools. This program targets schools that have a high percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch and students scoring below proficient in literacy assessments.
Goals of Year of the Book
- Supplement elementary schools’ existing efforts to create a pro-literacy culture in the school community
- Encourage enthusiasm for books among students from preschool to grade 6
- Inspire students to read and write for pleasure
- Support educators’ literacy curricula and creative integration of literacy into all areas of study
- Ensure all children have a collection of high-quality books of their own at home
- Get parents/caregivers more involved in their children’s literacy activities and encourage more reading at home
Activities and Support
Each sponsored school receives:
- Up to $25,000 worth of literacy programming and books
- A wide variety of literacy-related programs that will take place during the school year, and several other forms of support
- New, high-quality children’s books for each student to keep and to select from hundreds of inspiring titles
- A follow-up “Momentum Grant” for 2027-28
Eligibility Criteria
Public schools located in New Hampshire or Vermont with:
- At least 35% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch.
- At least 30% of students scoring below proficient on reading and writing assessments.
- Students in grades preK-6
- Middle schools can apply for grades 5-6
- An enthusiastic and organized school-based individual to serve as the grant coordinator (or co-coordinators) and to collaborate with CLiF on planning, organizing, and scheduling Year of the Book events. CLiF will offer the coordinator a stipend of $800 for the year for their efforts (co-coordinators will split it).
- CLiF Year of the Book programming has the greatest positive impact when it serves no more than 300 students. CLiF will ask schools with over 300 students in grades preK-6 to select which grades they will choose to serve.
- CLiF offers a “small school grant” to schools with 100 or fewer students (preK-6). This grant provides the same supports but with a few elements scaled to reflect the smaller size. You still need to fill out this application to be considered.
For more information, visit CLiF.
