Literacy Mid-South

What Literacy Mid-South does

Literacy Mid-South is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1974 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that operates as a regional literacy intermediary serving learners across the lifespan in Memphis and Shelby County. The organization's core programs include Tutor901 (a high-impact, small-group tutoring program serving students in grades 2-5 with groups of 3 students meeting three times weekly for 45-minute in-school sessions), the Adult Learning Program (literacy and English language instruction for adults), LiteracyCorps (volunteer engagement), OBCARES (out-of-school time support), and Literacy Zones (place-based neighborhood initiatives). Tutor901 reaches approximately 4,000 students across 26 schools, and the organization distributes more than 125,000 culturally inclusive books annually (valued at approximately $1.8M).

The go-to-market is community-led: Literacy Mid-South recruits and trains volunteer tutors, partners directly with public school systems (notably Memphis-Shelby County Schools via an October 2024 MOU covering 23 schools, and Millington Municipal Schools via an Accelerate grant), and collaborates with healthcare institutions, community organizations, and corporate funders. All literacy services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries. Revenue is sourced from federal, state, and local government grants, private foundation grants (including a $2M Mackenzie Scott's Yield Giving award in 2024 and a $6M U.S. Department of Education award in January 2025), corporate giving, and individual donor fundraising events such as the annual Literatini event and Leading in Literacy Luncheon.

Literacy Mid-South has no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is direct and in-person, supplemented by physical book distribution. Program effectiveness for Tutor901 is independently evaluated by the University of Memphis Center for Research in Education Policy. Under recent leadership the organization scaled from 9 full-time employees to 21 full-time and 170 part-time team members. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and is currently led by Dr. Ameshica Linsey, who was appointed CEO in October 2025 following an interim period under John Nichols.

Name

Literacy Mid-South

Legal name

Literacy Mid-South

Website

https://literacymidsouth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Literacy Mid-South is a Memphis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1974 that provides high-impact literacy tutoring, adult education, and book distribution across the lifespan to learners in the Memphis and Shelby County region through community partnerships and grant-funded programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Literacy Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Reading & Literacy Centers (Phonics, Comprehension, Writing) (EDANAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Literacy & Reading Intervention (Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension) (EDAKADAA), K–12 Remedial Reading & Literacy Intervention (EDANAJAA), Foundational Reading & Writing Literacy (EDAAAAAA), Early Literacy & Phonics Programs (EDAMAJAA)

Keywords

• Adult literacy education
• Literacy tutoring services
• Community literacy programs
• Volunteer literacy training
• Literacy resource distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Tennessee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: Primary funding from federal grants (U.S. Department of Education), state grants (TN Department of Education), and local government sources to support tutoring programs and literacy initiatives.
2. Foundation & Corporate Giving: Funding from private foundations including Mackenzie Scott's Yield Giving ($2M), Accelerate ($250,000), Urban Child Institute, International Paper, AutoZone, Episcopal Diocese of West TN, and Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.
3. Individual Donations: Individual donor contributions and fundraising events including the annual Literatini event and Leading in Literacy Luncheon.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Literacy Mid-South is a nonprofit regional literacy intermediary that provides free literacy instruction, tutoring, and resource distribution to learners across the lifespan in the Memphis and Mid-South region. Its offerings span high-impact in-school tutoring for K-5 students (Tutor901), adult literacy and English language tutoring, volunteer engagement programs, and community-based literacy initiatives delivered through partnerships with schools, healthcare facilities, and community organizations.

Product overview

Literacy Mid-South offers a portfolio of interconnected literacy programs serving learners across the lifespan, from children in grades 1-8 through adults. The core offerings include Tutor901 (a high-impact K-12 tutoring program), the Adult Learning Program (adult literacy services), LiteracyCorps (volunteer engagement), OBCARES, Out-of-School Time Support, Collaborative Action, Community Impact, and Literacy Zones. The organization operates primarily in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, functioning as a regional literacy intermediary that combines tutoring services, resource distribution, capacity building, and collaborative action to advance 100% literacy in the Mid-South.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tutor901: A research-backed, high-impact tutoring program designed to help students reach critical literacy milestones. Provides small-group, in-person tutoring during the school day for students in grades 2-5, with proven success in accelerating learning.
• Adult Learning Program
• LiteracyCorps
• OBCARES
• Literacy Zones

Products and services

• Tutor901 A research-backed high-impact tutoring program designed to help students in grades 2-5 reach critical literacy milestones. Delivers small-group in-person tutoring during the school day with groups of 3 students meeting three times per week for 45-minute sessions. Currently serves approximately 4,000 students across 26 schools in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, with expansion to Millington Municipal Schools.
• Adult Learning Program An adult literacy program that empowers adults to gain basic literacy and language skills necessary to live their best lives. Recruits and trains volunteer tutors and offers Adult Learning Program Tutor Launch Sessions for prospective volunteers.
• LiteracyCorps A volunteer corps program that engages community members as literacy volunteers to support the organization's mission of promoting equitable access to literacy across the lifespan.
• OBCARES A program focused on providing literacy support and resources to the community.
• Out-of-School Time Support Program providing literacy support and resources to students outside of regular school hours.
• Collaborative Action An initiative that brings together community partners to advance literacy efforts through coalition-building and collective impact strategies.
• Community Impact Program focused on measuring and demonstrating the organization's impact on literacy outcomes across Memphis and Shelby County.
• Literacy Zones A place-based literacy initiative that provides targeted literacy resources and support to specific geographic areas in Memphis, including the LMS Literacy Zone Fund (Raleigh area).

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000 students reached through Tutor901 across 26 schools
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2024Memorandum of Understanding signed to expand Tutor901 program into 23 schools. The partnership enables in-school high-impact tutoring during the school day, book distribution, and family engagement activities including Family Literacy Nights.
• University of Memphis Center for Research in Education Policy (CREP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCREP conducts rigorous evaluation of Tutor901 program effectiveness, assessing impact on literacy outcomes and providing data to guide program improvements and expansions.
• Le Bonheur Children's HospitalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Literacy Day events at the hospital, distributing books to pediatric patients from children's classics to graphic novels and non-fiction.
• Playhouse on the SquaresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-location partner for LMS headquarters and Adult Learning Program at 66 Cooper Street, 4th Floor.
• Novel BookstoresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for annual Literatini fundraising event held at Novel Bookstore in Laurelwood Shopping Center.
• Memphis Botanic GardensupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for annual Donor & Partner Appreciation Celebration and Leading in Literacy Luncheon events.
• Millington Municipal SchoolssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpansion partner for Tutor901 program through Accelerate grant; students will participate in randomized control study.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reading Partners: National nonprofit providing volunteer-led, one-on-one and small-group literacy tutoring to K-5 students in low-income schools. Closely comparable operating model — volunteer tutors, school-day delivery, district partnerships, literacy outcome measurement — to Literacy Mid-South's Tutor901 program.
• Literacy Inc (LINC): NYC-based community literacy intermediary that coordinates cross-sector partners, recruits volunteers, and runs literacy intervention programs citywide. Highly comparable community-intermediary model to LMS, though geographically focused on NYC.
• ProLiteracy: National adult literacy nonprofit that supports a network of community-based adult literacy programs, teacher training, and resource distribution. Direct peer for LMS's Adult Learning Program offerings in adult basic literacy and ESL.
• Raising A Reader: National nonprofit focused on early literacy and family engagement through book rotation and parent education programming. Shares LMS's family-literacy angle and book-distribution model (125,000 books/year).
• Reading Is Fundamental (RIF): Children's literacy nonprofit distributing books and literacy resources to under-resourced schools and communities nationwide. Closely comparable book-distribution and K-12 resource-provision model to LMS's OBCARES and free resource distribution.
• Reach Out and Read: Pediatric literacy nonprofit partnering with hospitals/clinicians to distribute books to children at well-child visits. Comparable to LMS's Le Bonheur Children's Hospital partnership model for book giveaways and literacy day events.
• First Book: Nonprofit social enterprise providing low-cost, high-quality books and educational resources to programs serving children in low-income communities. Comparable to LMS's role as a regional distributor of culturally-inclusive books to schools and partner organizations.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Book gifting program that mails free, age-appropriate books monthly to children from birth to age 5. Broadly comparable large-scale book-distribution and early-literacy mission to LMS's early childhood work.

Regional players

• Seeding Success: Memphis-based education nonprofit focused on cradle-to-career outcomes including K-12 literacy. Highly comparable regional intermediary operating in the same Memphis-Shelby County geography and overlapping with LMS's Tutor901 stakeholder ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• United Way of Greater Memphis: Regional community-impact intermediary in the Memphis area funding and convening education and literacy initiatives. Provides comparable community-wide intermediary/coalition-building function to LMS's Collaborative Action and Literacy Zones programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/literacymidsouth
• Xx.com/literacymsouth
• Facebookfacebook.com/201505733226113

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Literacy Mid-South