About First Book

Leveling the Educational Playing Field

First Book is dedicated to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background or zip code, can succeed and reach their full potential. We reach 6.5 million kids each year in low-income communities across North America, providing books and resources through a powerful network of more than 600,000 individual educators, professionals and volunteers specifically serving children in need. This is the largest online community of its kind. By infusing high-quality resources into classrooms and programs nationwide, we level the playing field so that kids are ready to learn — because education transforms lives.

Our Core Values

Champion of Educators

We are passionate supporters of the educators, professionals and volunteers who serve kids in need. Our First Book Network, a community of more than 600,000 individual educators and professionals who serve kids in low-income communities, has unparalleled knowledge into the educational barriers that confront their students. By researching their needs and challenges, First Book then provides books, resources, and programs that are directly informed by their feedback. In this way, they help shape our resources, partnerships, and strategic solutions. We facilitate the sharing of best practices and expand access to affordable tools and resources. The result is that our Network is supported to better serve their students and communities.

Social Innovation

We pride ourselves on having business minds and non-profit hearts. Using proven private-sector approaches, we design sustainable strategies that drive measurable results for low-income communities.

Eliminating Barriers

First Book is dedicated to increasing access to proven best practices, books, and resources in low-income communities. 

Purposeful Collaboration

First Book is a bridge-builder, collaborating with public and private partners, translating best-in-class expertise into educational resources to support learning for kids in need. We partner with field experts, publishers, corporations, foundations, fellow nonprofits, leading academics, and individual donors to address the critical needs expressed by educators. These alliances enable us to expedite resources to those who need them the most. Our collaborative approach results in tangible impact, changing the lives of children in need for generations to come.

Our Model of Change

First Book Network

Comprises North America’s largest online community of individual educators, professionals and volunteers working on the frontlines with children in need at schools and programs across the U.S.

First Book Marketplace

Provides the First Book Network with 24-hour, year-round access to an award-winning repository of affordable and new books, educational resources, and basic necessities curated for kids in need ages 0-18.

First Book Research & Insights

Advances education and poverty research by generating original data that amplifies educators’ voices, drives First Book’s models, and informs content on the First Book Marketplace.

First Book Accelerator

Turns current research and evidence-based strategies from leading experts into actionable tools that are shared with our Network — so educators don’t have to wait months or years to use innovative best practices in their classrooms and programs.

Contact Us

Join Our Network

Educators can join First Book’s Network — the largest and fastest-growing community of individual educators and practitioners working with children in need at schools and programs across the U.S and Canada — to bring titles and resources to your classroom or organization.

Other Ways to Connect

1. Email us at help@firstbook.org
2. Call First Book’s National Office at (202) 393-1222
3. Call our Support Team at (866) READ-NOW or (866) 732-3669 (available 9am – 5pm EST)
4. Mail us at First Book, 1319 F St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004