Covey Foundation: Bookmobile Grant

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation offers the Bookmobile Grant to promote literacy among underserved children. Grants range from $500 to $3,000 specifically for purchasing books for youth from preschool to grade 8. Eligible organizations include 501(c)(3) nonprofits and public libraries that operate lending bookmobiles. The Foundation aims to ensure access to quality literature, fostering a love of reading in disadvantaged communities while addressing their limited book budgets.

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation
The purposes of The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation are to advance literacy and foster a love of reading among underserved and at-risk children and youth.
Lois Lenski, celebrated author and illustrator of over one hundred children's books and the 1946 Newbery medalist for Strawberry Girl, established the Foundation as a charitable institute 50 years ago. Since then the Foundation has assisted over 400 organizations in their efforts to nurture reading skills, gain access to books, and instill a love of reading.
Bookmobile Grant Program
Lois Lenski, children’s book author and 1946 Newbery medalist for Strawberry Girl, had a life-long concern that all children have access to good books. Toward that end, the Foundation provides grants to bookmobile programs that serve children from disadvantaged populations.
The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation awards grants to organizations that operate a lending bookmobile that travels into neighborhoods populated by underserved youth. The grants are for purchasing books published for young people preschool through grade 8. Bookmobiles operated by charitable [501(c)(3)] and other non-taxable agencies, including public libraries or schools, are eligible. The Foundation provides grants to organizations that serve economically or socially at-risk children, have limited book budgets, and demonstrate real need.
Grants range from $500 to $3000 and are specifically for book purchases, and cannot be used for administrative or operational uses.
Purpose of the Grants
The bookmobile grant program provides grants for purchasing children’s fiction or non-fiction books. The books are to be available for checkout by young people for pleasure reading or, perhaps, as a source of information for a school assignment.

Eligibility

The LLCF bookmobile grant program provides grants for the purchase of books for children preschool through grade 8 [Early Reader books through Young Adult and Hi-Lo books]. Only organizations within the United States, its territories, or commonwealths are eligible.

Ineligibility

The LLCF no longer provides grants to schools, public libraries, or other libraries for the purchase of children's books, with the exception of bookmobiles.The library grant program DOES NOT provide grants for book distribution programs (book gift programs), atlases, dictionaries, basal readers or similar texts, workbooks or similar instructional tools, magazine subscriptions, or for textbooks or encyclopedias.