Read to a Child

What Read to a Child does

Read to a Child is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1998 in Greater Hartford and incorporated as Read to a Child, Inc. in Massachusetts, that delivers a one-on-one Read Aloud Mentoring Program (RAMP) pairing adult volunteer mentors with elementary school students at under-resourced Title I schools. Volunteers, recruited primarily through more than 150 corporate partner employee programs and individual community sign-ups, read aloud to the same student weekly during the lunch period, often continuing the relationship across multiple school years. The program operates in four metropolitan areas (Greater Boston, Metro Detroit, Greater Hartford, and Greater Los Angeles) and serves more than 1,000 at-risk students currently, with cumulative reach of 30,000+ students across 35+ schools in 18 districts.

The organization supplements RAMP with a Remote Read Aloud Program delivered via Zoom and a YouTube library of celebrity and athlete read-aloud recordings, plus a Read Aloud Resources hub for families. The technology stack is intentionally non-proprietary: standard video conferencing (Zoom), donation processing (Classy), employer matching tools (Double the Donation, DAF Direct), and email marketing (Constant Contact). There is no API, no custom platform, and no disclosed AI or automation.

Revenue is generated through diversified fundraising streams: individual donations, corporate partnership contributions at multiple sponsorship tiers, foundation grants (Guru Krupa, Skillman, Gawlicki, Holley, and others), and event-based campaigns such as the annual 'Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader' effort and Storybook Soiree. The program is delivered at no cost to partner schools and students. The organization is governed by a national board with regional advisory boards in each metro, holds a Charity Navigator 4-star, 100% rating (October 2023), and reports a 99% student improvement rate across at least one measured literacy or socio-emotional area for the 2024-2025 school year.

Name

Read to a Child

Legal name

Read to a Child, Inc.

Website

https://readtoachild.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Read to a Child is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that pairs adult volunteer mentors one-on-one with elementary students at under-resourced Title I schools for weekly read-aloud sessions. Operating in Boston, Detroit, Hartford, and Los Angeles, it serves 1,000+ students and partners with 150+ corporations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literacy Mentoring Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Remedial Reading & Literacy Intervention (EDANAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Reading Comprehension & Close Reading Enrichment (EDAMAJAB)

Keywords

• Child literacy programs
• Reading mentor volunteers
• Nonprofit education services
• Title I school partnerships
• Corporate volunteer programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellesley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to support the Read Aloud Mentoring Program. The organization accepts donations through its website, donor-advised funds, and matching gift programs through employer partnerships.
2. Corporate Partnership Contributions: Over 150 corporate partners provide financial support and employee volunteers. Corporate partnerships include annual financial contributions at various sponsorship levels.
3. Foundation Grants: Foundation supporters including Guru Krupa Foundation, Skillman Foundation, Gawlicki Foundation, Holley Foundation, and others provide grant funding.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual campaigns such as 'Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader' and events like Storybook Soiree and Trivia Nights generate fundraising revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Read to a Child is a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit that pairs adult volunteer mentors one-on-one with elementary school students (primarily grades 1-3) at Title I schools for weekly 20-30 minute read aloud sessions during students' lunch period. The program operates in four metropolitan regions (Greater Boston, Metro Detroit, Greater Hartford, Greater Los Angeles), is provided at no cost to schools and students, and is supported by a network of 150+ corporate partners. The organization supplements its in-person program with a Remote Read Aloud Program delivering recorded and live read-aloud content via Zoom featuring authors, celebrities, and athletes.

Product overview

Read to a Child operates as a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit with a primary offering called the Read Aloud Mentoring Program (RAMP), where adult volunteers are paired one-on-one with elementary students at Title I schools for weekly read aloud sessions. The organization supplements this core program with a Remote Read Aloud Program featuring video content from celebrity and author readers, a Read Aloud Resources section providing educational materials for families, a Corporate Partner Program enabling businesses to support and volunteer for the program, and an Individual Volunteer Reading Mentor Program recruiting and managing community volunteers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Read Aloud Mentoring Program (RAMP): Core program pairing adult volunteer mentors one-on-one with elementary students for weekly read aloud sessions during lunch period

Products and services

• Read Aloud Mentoring Program (RAMP) The core program where adult volunteers are partnered one-on-one with elementary school students for weekly read aloud sessions during lunchtime at Title I schools. Volunteers commit to the school year and often continue through fourth grade, providing literacy support and sustained mentoring relationships.
• Remote Read Aloud Program A video-based program featuring notable authors, celebrities, athletes, and guest readers reading aloud to groups of children via Zoom. Content includes Q&A sessions with students and centers on themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Sessions are recorded and produced into a YouTube library.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of students improved in at least one area during the program (2024-2025 school year)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

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

• ArcLight Capital PartnersflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-term corporate partner (10+ years) providing financial support and employee volunteers. Partner Mark Tarini serves as co-head of Portfolio Management & Investor Relations. ArcLight is a visionary sponsor of the annual 'Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader' campaign.
• Capital GroupflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor corporate partner providing employee volunteers and financial support. Visionary sponsor of annual fundraising campaigns.
• TravelersflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner through Travelers Foundation. Sr. Director of Community Relations Erin Haberman serves as corporate partner representative. Long-term supporter with employees dedicated as reading mentors.
• EY (Ernst & Young)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional services firm providing employee volunteers and Champion sponsor of annual campaign. Detroit board member Kristin Schleicher serves as Board Vice Chair representing EY.
• Winston & Strawn LLPcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm supporting the Remote Read Aloud Program as sponsor. Employee Eva Davis serves on the Greater Los Angeles Regional Board. Board member Shawn Obi also affiliated with Winston & Strawn.
• Detroit Pistons / Jaden IveyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNBA player Jaden Ivey read aloud to nearly 200 students at Whitman Elementary School in Pontiac, MI during National Reading Month 2024, sponsored by The Skillman Foundation.
• Detroit Lions / Amon-Ra St. BrownminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNFL player Amon-Ra St. Brown read aloud at Esperanza Elementary in Los Angeles, covered by ABC7 Eyewitness News in April 2026.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Raising A Reader: National nonprofit focused on early literacy and parent-child book-sharing routines in under-resourced communities. Directly comparable target population (Title I early elementary), partner schools, and parent/adult engagement model.
• Reading Is Fundamental (RIF): National literacy nonprofit providing books and reading resources to under-resourced children. Both organizations target elementary literacy gaps in Title I schools through volunteer engagement and corporate partnerships, with overlapping funder and school district relationships.
• Literacy Inc (LINC): Literacy nonprofit working with under-resourced communities to create literacy-rich environments for children. Operates in similar Title I school channels with community and corporate volunteer engagement, particularly in the New York metro area.
• Reach Out and Read: National nonprofit leveraging pediatric care to promote childhood literacy. Comparable as a literacy-focused nonprofit serving under-resourced families through institutional partnerships and trained adult-child reading interactions, with similar funder and outcome measurement approaches.
• First Book: Nonprofit social enterprise providing books and educational resources to Title I schools and programs serving children in need. Comparable as a literacy nonprofit with corporate partner-driven funding model and Title I school channel partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Global nonprofit focused on literacy and gender equality in education. Comparable mission of improving childhood literacy outcomes through structured programs, though operates internationally with school library and publishing components.
• 826 National: Network of youth writing and tutoring centers supporting under-resourced students. Comparable as a literacy/education nonprofit with volunteer-driven programming for elementary-aged children, though focused more on writing than read-aloud mentoring.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Globally scaled early literacy program mailing free books to children from birth to age 5. Comparable in literacy mission and corporate/foundation funding model, but operates at vastly larger scale through a different delivery mechanism (book mailing vs. volunteer mentoring).

Emerging players

• ParentChild+: National nonprofit providing early literacy and school readiness through home visits with under-resourced families. Comparable in serving at-risk early elementary children through structured adult-child reading interactions, but uses paid home visitors rather than volunteer mentors.
• BookSpring: Texas-based literacy nonprofit building reading habits and home literacy environments for under-resourced children. Comparable target population and Title I school partnerships, but operates regionally with smaller scale than Read to a Child's four-metro footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/readtoachild
• Facebookfacebook.com/readtoachild.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/read-to-a-child
• Instagraminstagram.com/readtoachild
• Xx.com/readtoachild

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 Read to a Child