Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards more than $4.1 million in youth literacy grants to schools, libraries and nonprofits
The foundation named its 2026 recipients on Sept. 10: more than 850 organizations near Dollar General stores, with grants of up to $5,000 for programs that help K-12 students who read below grade level. The next round opens in spring 2027.
Goodlettsville. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation said on Sept. 10 that it had awarded more than $4.1 million in youth literacy grants to more than 850 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations across the country. It expects the grants to reach about 545,000 students.
The grants go to programs for students from kindergarten through 12th grade and are awarded near the start of each school year, the foundation said. The money can pay for new or expanded literacy programs, for technology or equipment, and for books, materials or software.
Where the money went
The foundation's list of this year's recipients has 889 names in 48 states, by the Herald's count. Tennessee, where the foundation is based, has the most, with 90, followed by Texas with 66, Pennsylvania with 44, North Carolina with 41 and Florida with 40.
More than half of the names are schools, school districts or libraries. The nonprofits range from literacy councils and Boys & Girls Clubs to groups whose main work lies elsewhere, such as Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Literacy Connects in Tucson, Ariz., and 916 Ink in Sacramento, Calif., are also on the list.
Who can apply, and when
Under the foundation's rules, an applicant must be a nonprofit recognized by the IRS, a public library, a school or a college that provides literacy services directly, in a state where Dollar General operates, with an address within 15 miles of a Dollar General store. Youth grants are for organizations that help K-12 students who are below grade level or have trouble reading.
The largest youth literacy grant is $5,000, and the foundation says that applying for that amount does not guarantee it. An organization that receives a youth grant two years in a row cannot receive one in the third year. Recipients are to get follow-up information within 10 days of the announcement and must file an acknowledgment form and a year-end report.
This year's round opened on March 5 and closed on April 2. The foundation says the next round of youth literacy applications will open in spring 2027, and its adult, family and summer reading grants will open again in January 2027. In May it announced nearly $16 million in grants, which it called its largest one-day announcement.
The foundation was started in 1993 by Cal Turner Jr., a former chief executive of Dollar General, in honor of his grandfather J.L. Turner, a co-founder of the company who was functionally illiterate. It says it has awarded nearly $297 million to literacy programs since then.
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