Bookmark Reading Charity

Name

Bookmark Reading Charity

Legal name

Bookmark Reading Charity

Website

https://bookmarkreading.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Literacy Education Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy & Reading Intervention (Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension) (EDAKADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Library, Reading Motivation & Independent Reading Programs (EDAMAJAO), Early Literacy & Reading Intervention Programs (EDAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Children literacy programmes
• Reading volunteer services
• Primary school literacy support
• School reading partnerships
• Book distribution charity

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individual Donors: Individual donations from supporters who want to support children's literacy
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsors including listed supporters (Literacy Capital, Barings, DHL Foundation, The Barratt Foundation, The Symondson Foundation)
3. Philanthropy, Trusts & Foundations: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations
4. Charitable Activities: Total income of £4.1m with expenditure of £4.2m for the 2024/25 academic year, reflecting charitable operations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bookmark Reading Charity is a UK-registered literacy charity that delivers volunteer-led one-to-one reading programmes and whole-school literacy support to primary schools in disadvantaged communities across England. It pairs volunteer reading mentors with individual children for twice-weekly 30-minute sessions (online or in-person), and supplements this with printed resources including The Story Corner magazine, book packs, and targeted funding through the Literacy Partner Programme.

Product overview

Bookmark Reading Charity is a UK-based literacy charity operating a portfolio of volunteer-led reading programmes and educational resources for primary schools. The core offering is the One-to-one Reading Programme, which matches volunteer reading mentors with individual children for twice-weekly sessions. This is complemented by The Story Corner termly magazine distributed to children without books at home, the Literacy Partner Programme providing whole-school support and funding to disadvantaged schools, the Story Starter Programme for early years families, and two book club initiatives (Comic Book Club using graphic novels/The Phoenix, and Fact Finding Club using non-fiction texts/First News). Additional resources include Rocket Packs and Roots to Reading book distributions. The charity also recruits and trains reading volunteers through corporate and individual schemes, with programme delivery supported by a Salesforce-based volunteer portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• One-to-one Reading Programme: Volunteer-led individual reading support programme for children in Years 1-6
• The Story Corner Magazine
• Literacy Partner Programme
• Story Starter Programme
• Comic Book Club
• Fact Finding Club

Products and services

• One-to-one Reading Programme Volunteer-led reading support programme pairing dedicated adult volunteers with individual children for 30-minute twice-weekly sessions, either online or in-person at partner schools, designed to build reading skills, confidence, and enjoyment for primary school children in disadvantaged communities.
• The Story Corner Magazine Termly magazine distributed to children who may not own books at home, packed with stories, activities, and diverse content to spark joy of reading and prevent learning loss outside school settings. Over 1.5 million copies distributed between 2020-2025, with 563,256 copies delivered in 2024/25 and a target of 2 million copies by end of 2027.
• Literacy Partner Programme Whole-school reading culture development programme offering tailored literacy consultancy, bespoke action plans, and funding worth up to £10,000 per school for eligible primary schools with less than 500 pupils, Pupil Premium and IDACI above national average, and KS2 reading attainment below national average. Includes book bundles, audiobooks, The Story Corner magazine, teaching CPD, and volunteer-led reading sessions.
• Story Starter Programme Early years provision providing resource packs with books, magazine, stationery, and storytelling materials for children aged four to five and their families to spark joy of reading before school starts and support school readiness. 3,970 packs were delivered in 2024/25.
• Comic Book Club Reading club launched Spring 2023 using graphic novels and The Phoenix comic magazine subscription to engage reluctant readers in primary schools, with teaching booklets, session plans, and resources provided to partner schools.
• Fact Finding Club Reading club launched Spring 2025 using non-fiction texts and First News newspaper subscription to build book engagement and cater to different reading interests in primary schools, with non-fiction texts, display books, resources, a teaching booklet with session plans, and a weekly First News subscription.
• Rocket Packs Book pack resources provided to schools containing diverse, high-quality books to support children's literacy development in disadvantaged primary schools.
• Roots to Reading Programme Programme providing books and reading resources to schools to develop whole-school reading cultures and support children in disadvantaged communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of teachers noticed increase in reading confidence among children in One-to-one Reading Programme
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Royal Voluntary ServiceflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Bookmark was invited to Clarence House by Royal Voluntary Service to celebrate launch of GoVo.org volunteering platform. Two Bookmark volunteers met Her Majesty The Queen. Joint event promoting volunteering opportunities.
• Chapter OnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for children's literacy impact workshop. Worked with Bookmark and Dr Yaspia Salema to design child-friendly research methodology capturing children's experiences in One-to-one Reading Programme.
• Dr Yaspia SalemacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner who collaborated with Bookmark and Chapter One on children's voices research methodology.
• The Phoenix ComiccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeekly comic magazine subscription provided to schools as part of Comic Book Club programme. Supports engagement of reluctant readers through graphic novels and comics.
• First NewscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeekly newspaper subscription provided to schools as part of Fact Finding Club programme. Supports engagement through modern, non-fiction texts.
• MetaMetrics / Dr Neena SahaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Dr Neena Saha, Research Advisor at MetaMetrics. Monthly Reading Research Recap series exploring research on reading and children's wellbeing.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Beanstalk: UK literacy charity that recruits, trains and matches reading helpers with primary school children for one-to-one support. Directly competes for the same volunteer pool, school partnerships, and corporate CSR funding as Bookmark.
• BookTrust: UK charity that gives free books to children and families, including school-based book gifting programmes. Directly comparable on the book-distribution and reading-for-pleasure mission that underpins The Story Corner magazine.
• Chapter One: UK/US charity providing one-to-one online reading support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Operates an almost identical model (volunteers paired with individual children for regular reading sessions) and is even a research partner of Bookmark, making it the closest direct comparator.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Global book-gifting charity that mails free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five. Operates a comparable free book-distribution model to The Story Corner, although scaled globally and US-headquartered.
• Coram Beanstalk (merged entity): Note: Beanstalk merged with Coram's literacy programmes; the combined entity is a direct peer competing in the same UK school-based one-to-one reading volunteer space.

Broad incumbents

• National Literacy Trust: The UK's largest dedicated literacy charity, running national campaigns (including co-leading National Year of Reading 2026), research, and school programmes. A much broader incumbent that overlaps with Bookmark on policy advocacy, school resources, and corporate partner relationships.
• The Reading Agency: UK charity running national reading programmes (e.g., Summer Reading Challenge, Reading Well). Overlaps with Bookmark on promoting reading for pleasure in children and works with similar schools, libraries, and corporate partners.

Regional players

• Into Film: UK-wide education charity using film and media to improve literacy and engagement among young people. Comparable in mission (literacy enrichment in schools) and target audience, though using different content formats.

Others

• Teach First: UK education charity tackling educational disadvantage, including through literacy outcomes. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but operates with the same disadvantaged-school cohort and competes for similar corporate partnerships and foundation grants.

Emerging players

• Achievement for All: UK education charity focused on raising outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, including literacy. Targets a similar cohort of primary schools (Pupil Premium, disadvantaged communities) with whole-school support, partially overlapping with the Literacy Partner Programme.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BookmarkCharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bookmark-reading-charity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Bookmark Reading Charity