July, 2015 

A Message from Executive Director Brian Gallagher...


 

Dear Colleagues,


 

For several weeks now, we have been working with an interim Development Director, Laura Ewing-Mahoney, to help guide the development of fundraising programs for Reach Out and Read.  One of our goals for this fiscal year is to hire a full-time Development Director, but in the meantime, Laura is working with me, our Board, and the development team  to expand our donor pipeline, refine our annual giving and grants program, and develop a major gifts program.  Overall, we have many strengths on which to build:  our unique program, strong partnerships, dedicated and hard-working staff, successful grants program, engaged Board of Directors, solid development operations, untapped donor prospects, and increased philanthropic giving. 

 

Integral to the overall success of any organization is a strong brand identity, and as you know, we have begun to refine our messaging so that we communicate clearly and consistently across the network.  As we look to strengthen our outreach to current and prospective donors, we must also be sure that our messaging will resonate with target audiences, while staying true to who we are and what we do.  To that end, we will be conducting some market research with our current donors over the next few weeks.  We'll start with a small number of qualitative interviews, the results from which will inform the questions in an online survey that we'll send to our donors.  Once we have the link, we will send it to you, so that you can share it with your donor network.  We want to ensure that we cast a wide net, so that we have real data to inform our strategy. 

 

It's been a good start to the fiscal year.   Our move into the new office went smoothly (including transition to a new and efficient server...), and we are pleased to be in our new space.  We are thrilled with the recent state awards to Reach Out and Read: South Carolina has awarded the largest state grant ever for our program (read more below)!; Washington State doubled the amount of its award to the program (to $300,000) and the award for Massachusetts, now in its 15th consecutive year of state funding, was restored to its former peak amount of $1 million.  And we have welcomed Reach Out and Read Oklahoma and Reach Out and Read Oregon as part of the National Center's infrastructure, effective July 1.  Looking forward to a productive year ahead...

 

With appreciation,

Brian  

  
Start-Up Timeline

Applications/Letters of Support/Disbursements due: 8/10
Application review: 8/12
Coalitions notified of Approved needs training/Approved wait-listed sites: 8/13
Scholastic account request sent for active sites: 8/13
Coalitions notified of active sites: 8/20

National Center and Coalition Fundraising

Please review this updated

 list before approaching a new funder. The list includes all proposals for $10K+ in the last 5 years. Contact Maddy if you have questions!

 

Reach Out and Read in the news

Reach Out and Read press coverage in June/July 2015.
Prescription for Success Toolkit



We are pleased to announce the launch of our Prescription for Success Toolkit designed to support collaborations between libraries, museums and Reach Out and Read program sites.

 

In January 2015, we embarked on a yearlong project, Prescription for Success, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This was aimed at bringing together Reach Out and Read, libraries and museums, natural partners that have a collective impact on the lives of young children.


The toolkit encourages local libraries, museums and Reach Out and Read sites to open conversations with one another, to explore common interests, learn about one another and build trust and community. It suggests ways in which they can support one another, provides links to materials and resources to help with collaborations, and examples of successful established partnerships. Please take a look!

 

Please call Katie if you would like more information about this.

Coalition Corner

$1.5 Million State Funding for Reach Out and Read Carolinas


Reach Out and Read Carolinas will receive $1.5 million in public funding from the State of South Carolina Education Improvement Act funds - $500,000 as a one-time award and $1million that is renewable in subsequent years. This is the most generous investment in Reach Out and Read by any state, and demonstrates an increased focus on reading achievement by the end of 3rd grade.

 

Callee Boulware, Director of Reach Out and Read Carolinas says "While expanding the breadth of Reach Out and Read's impact in every county in South Carolina, this investment also provides opportunities to further connect families with additional, local community resources in order to help families more deeply integrate books and reading into their lives."

 

Reach Out and Read
89 South St, Suite 201, Boston 02111
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