NEHS is proud to provide financial support to nonprofit and community organizations dedicated to advancing literacy among children and young people. These grants empower organizations to enhance literacy programming that can span literature, language, writing, and media, thereby enriching educational opportunities for youth.
Currently, NEHS offers grants to organizations in or near the Annual Convention city. Beyond financial aid, NEHS promotes active student involvement, encouraging local chapters and schools to engage directly in supporting these initiatives.
We invite nominations and applications for our Literacy Initiative Grants, which should demonstrate how NEHS student members and/or local high school students can contribute meaningfully to the organization’s literacy efforts. For more details on eligibility or to nominate a deserving organization in your community, please reach out to Christopher Lockwood, NEHS Director.
Awards
Awards are made from a fund of $2,000.
Eligibility
Applicant nonprofits and community organizations may only contend for this award once every two years and can only win the award once.
Organizations must be literacy-focused nonprofit/community organizations working with children and young people based within, or near, the city hosting the Annual Convention (in 2026: New Orleans, LA).
Application Requirements
All applicants must include a brief overview of the mission vision of the applicant organization.
All applicants must submit a written narrative of no more than 750 words, in PDF (.pdf) format, which contains:
- details of the organization’s registration as a nonprofit or charitable enterprise;
- contextual information about the area/location in which the organization works;
- details of offerings/programming provided by the applicant organization within the last two years;
- details of the current programs offered by the applicant organization, including the measurable impact they have had on local communities;
- the plan for how NEHS funding would be used, where, and when;
- information about how the local community will be affected by the funding in the short-, medium- and long-term; and
- details of how (if possible) the organization will involve local NEHS members (Chapter Directory) or local high school students in its community work efforts.
All applicants must upload a PDF (.pdf) budget clearly detailing how any funding would be allocated to current or new programs.
The application process will require applicants to provide the name and email address of a local authority figure who can vouch for the organization’s legitimacy and impact. This person will then be contacted to submit a recommendation letter including the following information:
- confirmation of demographic and geographic information about the area in which the organization works;
- endorsement of the previous community work undertaken by the organization;
- endorsement of plans for using the requested funding; and
- the writer’s mailing address, email address, and phone number.
Application Process
- All submissions must be made via the NEHS AwardSpring platform during the Fall Awards Cycle.
- An individual representative of the applicant organization must upload a PDF file (.pdf) of the 750-word (max.) written narrative and a PDF file (.pdf) of the detailed budget.
- Applicants must complete demographic data questions prior to submitting their documentation.
- Applicants must provide the full name and email address of a local authority figure who can submit a letter of recommendation endorsing the work of the organization.
- Applicants must agree that they are willing to provide a written report and photos detailing the impact the award has had on them, which can be used by NEHS to promote this and other opportunities in future years should they win an award.
Evaluation Process
All applications will be evaluated by at least three members of the NEHS evaluation team.
All applications will be evaluated against a rubric containing (but not limited to) the following categories:
- Quality and success of previous community work undertaken
- Clarity of the request
- Evidence of need within the community
- Intended impact on community
- Opportunities for NEHS student member/local high school student engagement
- Literacy skills development among intended audience
- Innovation and creativity
