11/30/2021
Starting January 1, 2022, the Dollar General Literacy
Foundation will be accepting applications for their Family Literacy Grants. To qualify, you must be a non-profit
organization supporting adult education instruction, children’s education, or
parent and child together time (PACT), and be located within 15 miles of a
Dollar General store or distribution center.
According to the US Department of Education, 54% of adults
between the ages of 16 and 74 do not read at or above a 6th-grade level, which
costs the US about $2.2 trillion annually. This lack of literacy causes long-term
issues with employment, health and more, including impacting the literacy of
children in their families. (Nietzel, 2020) Dollar General is
committed to fighting illiteracy and promoting education in the communities they
serve through this and other grants they offer throughout the year.
In 2021, they awarded 93 Family Literacy grants in 30
states. The maximum award for this grant is $10,000. If you qualify and wish to
apply, visit the Foundation’s grant page at https://www.dgliteracy.org/grant-programs/
on or after January 1. You can visit the site at any time to get information on this
and their other grant programs, which include grants to promote adult literacy,
summer reading, youth literacy, and restore libraries affected by a disaster. These grants' applications open at various times during the year. To date, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded over $203 million
in grants that promote literacy throughout the United States.
We salute Dollar General and the Dollar General Literacy
Foundation for their commitment to education and reading in the communities that
rely on them.
Nietzel, M. T. (2020, September 9). Low Literacy
Levels Among U.S. Adults Could Be Costing The Economy $2.2 Trillion A Year.
Retrieved from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/09/09/low-literacy-levels-among-us-adults-could-be-costing-the-economy-22-trillion-a-year/?sh=537fbaa14c90