Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries

Posted by on November 21, 2011

Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries Accepting Book Grant Applications From School Libraries
Deadline: December 31, 2011

The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, a fund of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, seeks to promote a love of reading by providing books and reading materials to the school libraries and students that most need them in the United States and its territories.

Only schools where a minimum of 50 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches are eligible to apply for LBF regular grants. Because research demonstrates a clear relationship between family income and a student’s access to books, the foundation gives selection preference to schools in which 90 percent or more of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches and are likely to have the fewest books at home.

Schools in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, all American territories, and Department of Defense schools in other countries are eligible to apply. This includes all public, private, parochial, charter, city, state, county, and reservation schools — including special schools, social services schools, and juvenile detention center schools in any of those jurisdictions — that serve any combination of pre-kindergarten through high school students.

The foundation makes grants of up to $6,000 to update, extend, and diversify libraries’ book collections. All LBF grants are made to individual schools rather than to school districts, county systems, private organizations, foundations, or other entities.

Funds are available only for library books and magazine/serial copies and subscriptions. The foundation is unable to honor requests for staffing, shelving, furniture, equipment, software, videos, classroom book sets, or any kind of book guides, tests, or exams.

Only one application per school is allowed per year.

Visit the Laura Bush Foundation Web site for complete program guidelines, the online application form, and an FAQ.

http://laurabushfoundation.unt.edu/