Literacy in Community
Literacy in Community (LINC) is a NYC-based nonprofit that delivers free early childhood literacy programs for families with children birth to age 5 in eight underserved neighborhoods, coordinating a 17-organization citywide coalition funded by the NYC Council.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Literacy in Community does
Literacy in Community (LINC) is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1996 that delivers early childhood literacy programs for families with children from birth to age 5, with particular focus on eight underserved neighborhoods across all five NYC boroughs. Its core offerings consist of free community reading events, family workshops, caregiver education programs, and book distributions built on the science of reading, supplemented by a bilingual (English/Spanish) mobile application on iOS and Android that supports event discovery, attendance tracking, and rewards. LINC operates three notable sub-brands: City's First Readers, a coalition of 17 nonprofit organizations funded by the NYC Council that LINC has coordinated since 2014; Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC), a multi-sector collective impact initiative with NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center; and the LINCubator, a fee-for-service professional development model for educators and community organizations. The organization also runs the Very Involved Parent (VIP) Academy, which trains parent volunteers to lead neighborhood literacy programs.
LINC's revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit funding stack: individual donations (one-time, recurring, planned giving, stock, DAF, IRA), corporate partnerships (Deloitte, Iovino Enterprises, Blacks@Microsoft, Fidelis Care, Tiffany & Co.), government grants led by NYC Council funding for City's First Readers, and the LINCubator fee-for-service revenue. Programming is delivered free of charge to families, eliminating financial barriers in the target neighborhoods where approximately 50% of children enter kindergarten behind in literacy. Distribution flows through 200+ community partner locations (libraries, hospitals, daycares, parks, cultural institutions), neighborhood manager field staff, virtual programming, and the mobile app. The organization holds a 4-star Charity Navigator rating and a Candid Platinum Seal, indicating strong accountability and transparency signals.
The organization is led by Executive Director Shari Levine, with a leadership team including a Deputy Executive Director, Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Chief Program Officer, Chief of Advocacy & Community Mobilization, Senior Director of Early Literacy, and Director of Strategic Initiatives, plus neighborhood-level contacts for each of the eight target communities. LINC's go-to-market combines community-led engagement, event-driven advocacy (City Hall rallies, City's First Readers Month), channel partner distribution through libraries and hospitals, and direct sales of LINCubator services to schools and community organizations.
Literacy in Community firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Literacy in Community
- Legal name
- Literacy, Inc.
- Website
- https://lincnyc.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Literacy in Community (LINC) is a NYC-based nonprofit that delivers free early childhood literacy programs for families with children birth to age 5 in eight underserved neighborhoods, coordinating a 17-organization citywide coalition funded by the NYC Council.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Literacy in Community industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early Childhood Literacy Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Child and Youth Services (62411)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Family Literacy & Early Language Development Programs (EDACALAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Early Literacy & Pre-Reading (Phonics, Letter Knowledge) (EDAGACAA), Early Literacy & Phonics Programs (EDAMAJAA), Foundational Literacy & Early Reading Apps (EDACANAA), Early Literacy & Pre-Reading Learning Tools (EDAFAOAO), Early Literacy & Reading Intervention Programs (EDAGAAAD)
Keywords
Where Literacy in Community is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Literacy in Community business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: LINC relies heavily on individual donations, with various giving options including one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations, stock or wire transfers, Donor-Advised Fund contributions, IRA charitable deductions, tribute gifts, and bequests. Tax ID: 13-3911331.
- Corporate Partnerships: Financial support from corporate partners including employee engagement programs, event sponsorship, program sponsorship, and publishing/author partnerships. Partners include Deloitte, Iovino Enterprises, Blacks@Microsoft, and Fidelis Care.
- LINCubator Fee-for-Service: Paid professional development and caregiver workshop programs offered to schools, libraries, and community organizations seeking to strengthen early literacy practices. This scalable model embeds early literacy into daily operations of early care providers.
- Government Grants and Contracts: Citys First Readers initiative funded by NYC Council since 2014, with 17 nonprofit partner organizations coordinated by LINC. Additional government funding from regional and local officials for programming in target neighborhoods.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free programs for families |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | LINCubator paid professional development |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Literacy in Community product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LINC delivers free early childhood literacy programs for families with children from birth to age 5 across New York City's five boroughs. The organization runs community reading events, family workshops, caregiver education programs, and book distributions through 200+ community partner sites in 8 target neighborhoods, supported by a bilingual mobile app. It also coordinates the 17-organization City's First Readers coalition funded by NYC Council, the NYC Reads initiative, the Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC) collective impact hub, and the fee-for-service LINCubator professional development model.
Product overview
Literacy in Community (LINC) offers a unified portfolio of early childhood literacy programs centered on its core in-person and virtual community reading events, caregiver workshops, and family engagement programming for children 0–5. The core offering is the LINC Literacy Programs, which include Reading Discoveries, Reading Celebrations, Reading Everywheres, Community Celebrations, Diversity Through Literacy events, and the Very Involved Parent (VIP) Academy. This is supported by the LINC Mobile App for iOS and Android, which enables families to find events, track attendance, and register for programs. LINC also coordinates two major sub-brand initiatives: City's First Readers (CFR), a 17-organization NYC Council initiative, and NYC Reads, a birth-to-fifth-grade continuum in select neighborhoods. LINC further operates Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC), a collective impact hub, and the LINCubator, a fee-for-service professional development model for educators and community partners. All programs are grounded in the science of reading and designed for families in high-need NYC neighborhoods.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- City's First Readers (CFR): A New York City Council initiative coordinated by LINC, consisting of 17 nonprofit organizations united to develop and deliver effective early childhood literacy programs in NYC.
- Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC)
- The LINCubator
Products and services
- LINC Literacy Programs A suite of free community reading events, family workshops, and caregiver education programs for families with children ages 0–5, grounded in the science of reading. Programs are delivered in-person across eight neighborhoods in all five NYC boroughs with virtual offerings, including Reading Discoveries, Reading Celebrations, Reading Everywheres, and Community Celebrations.
- LINC Mobile App A bilingual (English/Spanish) caregiver mobile application available on iOS and Android that helps families find nearby LINC events in their preferred language, track attendance and earn rewards, discover age-appropriate storytimes and workshops, register for programs, and receive event reminders.
- City's First Readers (CFR) A New York City Council–funded initiative coordinated by LINC bringing together 17 nonprofit organizations and libraries to deliver free early childhood literacy programs across all five boroughs for children from birth to age 5, including community reading events, caregiver workshops, hospital outreach, and the annual CFR Month celebrations.
- NYC Reads An initiative providing continuous literacy support for children from birth through fifth grade in the neighborhoods of East Harlem, East New York, and South Jamaica. Families receive integrated services including after-school literacy programming, library partnerships, and home-based literacy support, with demonstrated improvements in third-grade ELA test scores.
- Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC)
Quantifiable outcome
- 96% of caregivers read five or more days a week to their child
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Literacy in Community
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Literacy in Community technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature3 records
Literacy in Community partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Bellevue HospitalcoreLaunched Hospital Baby Campaign in December 2025 as part of Citys First Readers initiative, connecting new parents to early literacy resources.
- Brooklyn Public LibrarycoreCitys First Readers coalition partner providing literacy programming and book distributions to families across Brooklyn.
- New York Public LibrarycoreMajor Citys First Readers partner providing literacy programs and book distributions at NYPL branches citywide.
- Queens LibrarycoreCitys First Readers coalition partner delivering literacy programs in Queens.
- Reach Out & ReadcoreCitys First Readers partner integrating early literacy into pediatric healthcare settings.
- JumpstartcoreCitys First Readers coalition partner focused on early literacy programming.
- Committee for Hispanic Children & FamiliescoreCitys First Readers coalition partner serving Hispanic and Latino families.
- Jewish Child Care AssociationcoreCitys First Readers coalition partner.
- Video Interaction ProjectcoreCitys First Readers partner providing video-based early literacy interventions.
- Hunts Point Alliance for ChildrencoreCitys First Readers coalition partner serving Hunts Point community.
- New Alternatives for ChildrencoreCitys First Readers coalition partner supporting children with special needs.
- City YearcoreNYC Reads Initiative partner supporting literacy development in East Harlem, East New York, and South Jamaica.
- Reading PartnerscoreNYC Reads Initiative partner providing volunteer reading support.
- Springboard CollaborativecoreNYC Reads Initiative partner focused on literacy improvement.
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical CentercoreFoundation partner in Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC) collective impact initiative, integrating healthcare and early literacy services in Upper Manhattan.
- Fidelis CareflagshipSix-year collaboration on Diversity Through Literacy campaign celebrating diverse representation in childrens literature. Annual campaign hosts events across NYC boroughs.
- DeloittecoreCorporate supporter providing audit and assurance services and past project collaboration with LINC on literacy initiatives.
- Iovino EnterprisescoreCorporate partner supporting LINC mission through general counsel representation and community engagement.
- Blacks@Microsoft (BAM)coreMicrosofts Black employee network collaborated with LINC on diversity initiatives in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
- Tiffany & Co.coreHosted LINC Reading Buddy teddy bear decorating station at annual Bring Your Child to Work Day, with bears distributed to LINC families.
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)corePartner hosting literacy events at Bronx Zoo and other WCS venues, connecting families to wildlife experiences and early literacy.
- Lincoln HospitalcoreCitys First Readers Hospital Baby Campaign participant in The Bronx.
Scale indicators9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Literacy in Community competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Large-scale book-gifting program mailing free age-appropriate books monthly to children from birth to age 5. Comparable to LINC as a broad incumbent in early-childhood book distribution; LINC's free book-distribution model across its 35 Literacy Zones operates against this national benchmark.
- Reading Is Fundamental: Long-established national literacy nonprofit focused on book ownership and reading engagement for children, including early childhood. Comparable to LINC as an incumbent in the early-literacy and book-distribution category where LINC competes for philanthropic attention and serves overlapping school-age populations.
- Parents as Teachers: National nonprofit providing parent-education home-visiting programs to support early childhood development from birth through kindergarten. Comparable to LINC as a much larger, established national player in the parent-education and family-literacy space; LINC's VIP Academy echoes Parents as Teachers' parent-coaching model.
Emerging players
- City Year New York: AmeriCorps-affiliated nonprofit placing near-peer mentors in public schools to improve attendance, social-emotional learning, and literacy outcomes. Comparable to LINC as an NYC literacy-adjacent partner in East Harlem, East New York, and South Jamaica; though broader in scope, it competes for the same school-based literacy funding and volunteer attention.
Direct peers
- Jumpstart: National nonprofit focused on early literacy outcomes for preschool-age children in underserved communities through one-on-one mentoring and curriculum. Directly comparable to LINC — Jumpstart is a fellow Citys First Readers coalition partner serving overlapping NYC families with parallel literacy programming.
- Reading Partners: Nonprofit mobilizing community volunteers to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to K-5 students in under-resourced schools. Directly comparable to LINC — Reading Partners is an NYC Reads initiative partner working in the same East Harlem, East New York, and South Jamaica neighborhoods LINC prioritizes.
- Committee for Hispanic Children & Families: NYC-based nonprofit serving Hispanic and Latino families with early childhood, family-engagement, and education programs. Directly comparable to LINC — CHCF is a Citys First Readers coalition partner serving the same immigrant families in the same NYC neighborhoods.
- Springboard Collaborative: Nonprofit operating family-literacy and early-reading summer programs in low-income urban neighborhoods. Directly comparable to LINC — Springboard is a fellow NYC Reads partner delivering literacy programming in overlapping communities with similar family-engagement methodology.
- Reach Out and Read: National nonprofit that integrates early literacy into pediatric care, distributing books and guidance at well-child visits. Directly comparable to LINC because LINC is itself a Reach Out & Read coalition partner and shares the same hospital-anchored early-literacy model across the same NYC families.
Regional players
- New York-Presbyterian Hospital (community health programs): Major NYC hospital system running community health and early-childhood initiatives including the UMECC partnership with LINC. Comparable as a healthcare-system actor embedding literacy into clinical workflows, but as a much larger, non-literacy-specialized institution it competes with LINC for the same hospital-anchored distribution slots.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Literacy in Community social profiles
Digital presenceLiteracy in Community financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Literacy in Community leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Literacy in Community funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Literacy in Community M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Literacy in Community
What does Literacy in Community do?
LINC delivers free early childhood literacy programs for families with children from birth to age 5 across New York City's five boroughs. The organization runs community reading events, family workshops, caregiver education programs, and book distributions through 200+ community partner sites in 8 target neighborhoods, supported by a bilingual mobile app. It also coordinates the 17-organization City's First Readers coalition funded by NYC Council, the NYC Reads initiative, the Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect (UMECC) collective impact hub, and the fee-for-service LINCubator professional development model.
Is Literacy in Community a public or private company?
Literacy in Community is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Literacy in Community founded?
Literacy in Community was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Literacy in Community based?
Literacy in Community is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Literacy in Community make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, LINCubator Fee-for-Service and government Grants and Contracts.
Who are Literacy in Community's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Reading Is Fundamental and Parents as Teachers. City Year New York is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Jumpstart, Reading Partners, Committee for Hispanic Children & Families, Springboard Collaborative and Reach Out and Read. New York-Presbyterian Hospital (community health programs) is listed as a regional player.
Does Literacy in Community have an API?
No public API is recorded for Literacy in Community.
What industry is Literacy in Community in?
Literacy in Community's product category is Early Childhood Literacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDACALAE, Family Literacy & Early Language Development Programs, with a secondary code of EDAGACAA, Early Literacy & Pre-Reading (Phonics, Letter Knowledge). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.