Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. is the oldest and largest nonprofit literacy

Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...

 organization

Organization

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founded in 1966, it is based in Washington, D. C.. RIF's community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory provide 4.5 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. RIF's priority is impoverished children from birth to age 8 years.

All RIF programs combine three essential elements to foster children's literacy: reading motivation, family and community involvement, and the excitement of choosing free books to keep. RIF's accomplishments are due in part to the generous financial assistance by the U.S. Department of Education, corporations, foundations, community organizations, and thousands of individuals.

RIF's History

In 1966, former teacher Margaret McNamara

Margaret McNamara

Margaret Craig McNamara was the founder of the nonprofit children's literacy organization Reading is Fundamental....

 brought a bag of used books to four boys in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, whom she tutored in reading. When she told the children they could each select a book to keep, their astonishment and delight led her to discover that these children, and many of their classmates, had never owned any books. By that summer, McNamara had gathered a group of school volunteers, and on November 3, 1966, they launched the book distribution and reading motivation program they called Reading Is Fundamental. From November 1966 through the early 1970s, RIF expanded from a pilot project at three elementary schools in Washington, D.C., to a program reaching children in 60 of the city's public schools. Its well-known slogan during those times was "Reading is FUNdamental".

In 1975, the U.S. Congress created the Inexpensive Book Distribution Program (IBDP) which provides federal matching funds to sites that qualify for RIF's national book program. Today, through its contract with the United States Department of Education

United States Department of Education

The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...

 to operate the IBDP, now supplemented with private funds, RIF programs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. RIF is also affiliated with programs in Argentina and the United Kingdom.

In 2004, Kappa Kappa Gamma

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...

, a national women's fraternity, selected RIF as its national philanthropy. Together, Kappa and RIF have developed the "Reading Is Key" program, through which children are exposed to new books.

RIF Leadership

In November 2001, Carol Hampton Rasco was named president and chief executive officer of Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. Throughout her life, Rasco has been an advocate for children, youth, and families, as a professional and as a volunteer. Before this position, Rasco was the executive director for government relations at the College Board. From 1997 through 2000, she served as the senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley, and as director of the America Reads Challenge, a four-year national campaign to promote the importance of all children reading well and independently by the end of the third grade. Previously, Rasco worked for four years in the White House as domestic policy adviser to the president and directed the Domestic Policy Council.

RIF Programs

RIF's flagship service is Books for Ownership (formerly known as the National Book Program), which also supplies children with free paperback books. RIF also offers several special literacy services which, in addition to supplying the services of the Books for Ownership program, target their efforts to specific age groups or populations. RIF serves children at a wide range of venues, including schools, libraries, childcare centers, Head Start programs, parks, community centers, health clinics, migrant camps, and domestic shelters.