CLiF awards $350,000 in literacy grants to 14 Vt. & N.H. schools
May 1, 2025 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Sunset Heights in NH is among the 14 schools receiving $25,000 worth of books from Children’s Literacy Foundation. Photo courtesy of CLif
The Children’s Literacy Foundation recently announced a total of $350,000 in grants to 14 schools in Vermont and New Hampshire in its Year of the Book literacy grant program for the 2025-2026 school year.
This is the largest grant award since the Waterbury-based nonprofit began the program in 2011.
“We had a notably large pool of Year of the Book applications this year, all from schools expressing compelling needs,” said CLiF Executive Director Laura Rice. “Upon review, we were moved to expand our programming to include two additional schools for the 2025-2026 academic year. We are very grateful for the support of the wonderful donors whose generosity makes this possible.”
Each school will receive $25,000 worth of new books along with in-person visits by authors and illustrators, and support for a variety of literacy activities, projects and events.
The funding with the awards stretches into the following school year as well in an effort to sustain the effort from the initial infusion of resources, explained CLiF Communications Manager Sarah Hall. That piece is called a Momentum Grant, which would assist schools in the 2026-27 school year with additional books, events and activities to continue engagement.
The Year of the Book program selects elementary and middle schools serving pre-K through sixth-grade students that have demonstrated a commitment to literacy and creative ideas for celebrating reading and writing, according to the CLiF announcement. The selected schools have a significant percentage of students below proficiency on reading and writing assessments, as well as students from under-resourced backgrounds.
The program is designed to encourage reading and writing, integrate literacy into various areas of the school’s curriculum, increase family engagement in literacy, and provide high-quality books to all students. During the school year, the program coordinates author and storyteller visits, literacy activities and family events, and ensures new books are added to classrooms, the school and local public libraries, along with having books for students to choose from to take home and keep.
“CLiF’s Year of the Book Grant program has a proven track record of creating a culture of literacy within a school community,” said CLiF Program Manager Cassie Willner. “The excitement that comes from new ideas, new books, and new connections makes this an invigorating grant for schools. Our ultimate goal here at CLiF and through this grant is to inspire kids to love reading and writing.”
The 2025-26 CLiF Year of the Book schools in Vermont are: Alburgh Community Education Center, Bristol Elementary School, Central Elementary School in Bellows Falls, JFK Elementary School in Winooski, Johnson Elementary School, Newbury Elementary School, Oak Grove Elementary School in Brattleboro, and Poultney Elementary School.
The New Hampshire schools chosen for the program are: Berlin Elementary School, Boscawen Elementary School, Edward Fenn Elementary School in Gorham, Mill Brook School in Concord, Richards Elementary School in Newport, and Webster Elementary School in Manchester.
More information online at clifonline.org.