The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a collaborative effort to increase grade-level reading proficiency among children in low-income families, today announced that it has received a $250,000 grant from Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). This new commitment is in addition to a $250,000 grant that Wells Fargo awarded the Campaign in 2013. This investment will enable the Campaign to capitalize on progress to date and strengthen the guidance, tools and resources provided to its extensive network of communities.

“Wells Fargo recognizes the fundamental importance of early literacy in providing all children a gateway to success in school and life,” said Mike Rizer, executive vice president and head of Community Relations for Wells Fargo. “For children in low-income families, the stakes are even higher and the challenges much greater. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading takes a two-generation approach by supporting students and parents. Wells Fargo’s contribution to this program helps give families access to the tools and opportunities they need to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. We are proud to partner with the Campaign and help accelerate their progress toward accomplishing this vital mission.” 

Reading proficiency by the end of third grade is a critical milestone on a child’s path to high school graduation and success later in life because it marks the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Students who have not mastered reading by that time are more likely to drop out of high school and struggle throughout their lives. National tests show that two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders (four-fifths of whom are from low-income families) are not reading proficiently. By 2020, the Campaign aims to increase by at least 100 percent the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently at the end of third grade in a dozen or more states.

Since its launch in 2010, the Campaign has grown to include more than 240 communities, representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 2,100 local organizations working together to mobilize action toward ensuring that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career, and active citizenship. 

“We are grateful to Wells Fargo for their renewed commitment to helping us sustain a focus across the nation on grade-level reading from now through 2020 and beyond,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. “To move the needle, we are helping communities to double down on solutions that are working and find the resources to scale those solutions to achieve even greater impact.”

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About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Launched in May 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, the campaign has grown to include more than 240 communities, representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 2,100 local organizations (including 130 United Ways and 250 state and local funders). To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow us on Twitter @readingby3rd.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.

Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Launched in May 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, the campaign as grown to more than 240 communities, representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 2,100 local organizations (including 130 United Ways and 250 state and local funders).

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