How much funding does Adult Literacy XPRIZE provide?

Adult Literacy XPRIZE provides $7,000,000 in funding.

When is the deadline for Adult Literacy XPRIZE?

This grant has a rolling deadline or the deadline has not been announced.

Adult Literacy XPRIZE

The Barbara Bush Foundation

Foundation One-time Literacy Grants

Funding Amount

$7,000,000

Deadline

Rolling / Open

Grant Type

foundation

Overview

Adult Literacy XPRIZE

Status: Competition concluded; grand prize winners announced in 2019

Geographic Scope: Worldwide competition

Focus Areas:

Development of mobile applications for adult learners

Increasing adult literacy skills through technology

Serving low-literate adults (reading at or below third grade level)

Age range: 18-64 years old

Background:
Launched in 2015 as a partnership between XPRIZE, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The competition challenged teams to develop mobile applications for existing smart devices that result in the greatest increase in literacy skills among participating adult learners.

Prize Structure:

Grand Prize: $3,000,000 - awarded to the team with best performance across all adult learners over 15-month, 12,000-person field test

Achievement Prizes: $1,000,000 each - awarded to two teams with best performance in key demographic groups (native English speakers and English language learners)

Finalist Awards: $100,000 to each of five finalist teams

Bonus Prizes: $500,000 each for two teams with best performance by demographic groups

Finalist Team Prize Pool: $1,000,000 for teams meeting minimum performance benchmark

Finalist Teams (5 selected from 109 original teams across 15 countries):
1. AmritaCREATE (Amrita University, Kerala, India) - personalized learning app with culturally appropriate e-content
2. AutoCognita (Hong Kong, China) - constructivist learning approach for basic literacy, numeracy, and life skills
3. Cell-Ed (Oakland, CA) - EdTech experience with on-demand essential skills and micro-lessons
4. Learning Upgrade (San Diego, CA) - English and math learning through songs, video, games and rewards
5. People ForWords (Dallas, TX) - mobile game based on archaeological adventure ("Codex: The Lost Words of Atlantis")

Grand Prize Winners (2019):

People ForWords (co-winner) - $2,500,000

Cell-Ed (co-winner) - $2,500,000

Eligibility:

Teams from educational institutions, nonprofits, companies, and individuals

Focus on adult learners with basic literacy challenges

Ability to develop mobile applications for smart devices

Contact:

Lauren Sproull, Vice President of Communications: 850.562.5300 or Lauren.Sproull@barbarabush.org

Katherine Schelbert / Eric Desatnik (XPRIZE): Katherine.schelbert@xprize.org / eric@xprize.org or 310-741-4880

Address: P.O. Box 14141, College Station, TX 77841-4141

Phone: (979) 862-2251

Email: bush.foundation@bush41.org

How to Apply

Application Process

Timeline:

Six-month registration period for initial competition

18-month development period for selected teams

12-month field testing phase with top 5 finalists (minimum 1,000 adult learners per app, 5,000 total)

Testing locations: Los Angeles, Dallas, and Philadelphia

Field testing concluded October 2018

Grand prize winners announced early 2019

Field Testing Requirements:

Minimum 1,000 adult learners per app

Ages 18-64

Reading at or below third-grade level

Pre- and post-test assessments

12-month evaluation period

Evaluation Criteria:

Greatest increase in adult literacy skills

Performance across all demographic groups

Specific performance achievements for native English speakers

Specific performance achievements for English language learners

App usability and engagement

Submit to:

XPRIZE portal at adultliteracy.xprize.org (for main competition)

Additional information available at xprize.org

Apply with Grantable Learn more

What The Barbara Bush Foundation actually gave

Source: IRS Form 990-PF, 2025

Grants in 2025: 5
Total given: $21.11M
Median grant: $10K
Range: $5,200–$21.07M

By dollars: Texas >99%, Florida <1%, Connecticut <1%. Top recipient cities: Ft Lauderdale, FL; College Station, TX; Miami, FL.
0% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.

Example grants

George & Barbara Bush Foundation · College Station, TX

Education and support

$21.07M
Broward Education Foundation · Ft Lauderdale, FL

Education

$18K
The School Board of Miami Dade · Miami, FL

Education

$10K
The City of Fort Lauderdale · Fort Lauderdale, FL

Education

$6,000
Bridgeport Public Schools · Bridgeport, CT

Education

$5,200