Reading Partners receives $20 Million donation from MacKenzie Scott

Reading Partners NYC has received an unrestricted $20 million donation from author MacKenzie Scott to support the nonprofit’s evidence based early literacy intervention program. 

Scott’s donation allows Reading Partners to continue its mission of helping underserved students achieve reading level, including through its Reading Partners Connects tutoring program. During the coronavirus pandemic, Reading Partners launched the interactive online platform and digital library to allow students to attend their weekly tutoring sessions and create reading accessibility. The donation also will cover the continued expansion of other programmatic operations. 

“We are incredibly inspired by this transformational gift to Reading Partners,” Primo Lasana, Executive Director of Reading Partners NYC, said in a statement. “MacKenzie Scott’s trust in our organization is a testament to the history of impact we’ve had over the last 20 years nationwide, and 10 years in NYC, and our vision for the next chapter of Reading Partners. As we grow to meet the demand of literacy needs locally in NYC, this gift provides the foundation for innovation and reimagined services.”

Reading Partners, operating in New York and 11 other regions across the U.S., is focused on tackling the nation’s literacy crisis by partnering with under-resourced schools and utilizing volunteers to work with students one-on-one to read at grade level by the fourth grade. The 20-year-old organization has so far mobilized over 70,000 community volunteers and served nearly 70,000 elementary school students in over 450 under-resourced schools across 11 regions. 

In addition to Scott’s donation, Reading Partners plans to raise $100 Million over three years to continue providing literacy support services to more students across the U.S.