First Book Annual Report 2019
Championing Equal Access to Quality Education for Kids in Need
From Our CEO
Kyle Zimmer
President, CEO, Co-founder
‘‘...education rewrites the future for entire families and the generations that follow.’’
My dad was born to a poor family in Columbus, Ohio. His father was disabled. His mother supported the family as a cleaning lady and a short order cook. I remember the house they lived in — it was Pepto-Bismol pink and had what amounted to an open sewer running along the back of the lot. It was a tough life. Everyone was struggling.
But after serving in World War II, the G.I. Bill gave my dad something he didn’t have before — access to education. He went to college and everything changed for him, and in turn, for me and for all my brothers and sisters, and for our children. These breakthrough moments are the times when education rewrites the future for entire families and the generations that follow.
Read More ...That’s why at First Book, we fiercely champion abundant access to quality education. Every child should be able to get a good education, no matter how much money their family has or where they grow up. And stories like my dad’s keep us hopeful. Education changes lives, and every year, we continue getting books and resources to kids who need them, and producing research and insights that advance the field. In the sections that follow, you’ll read about the milestones we’ve reached with our comprehensive approach to break down all the barriers standing between kids in need and a quality education.
Educational inequity is a complex problem, but addressing it is not impossible — not with an amazing group of partners and supporters, and nearly half a million educators committed to making sure their students reach their fullest potential. We thank each one of you for joining us in our work to help every child have access to a quality education.
At a Glance
From learning resources to advances in research, we transform the lives of kids in need.
At First Book, impact starts with educators and goes beyond books. Our family of social enterprises provides a comprehensive solution to educational inequity, with services extending to the development of educator resources and national education research.
5 million
children served each year
Educators reached since 2012
13 million +
books distributed through the First Book Marketplace
$4.7 million
in book credits distributed through the OMG Books Awards, First Book’s largest-ever grant
Double the distribution
of learning games and toys, educational resources, classroom supplies, and everything we do that goes beyond books
28 exclusive
First Book Special Edition titles added to the Marketplace, giving kids access to low-cost editions of popular books
21 quantitative studies
conducted through First Book Research & Insights
$54.6 million
savings of First Book members by shopping on the Marketplace*
*This accounts for publisher discounts, donated inventory, and supplemental partner funding
Expanding Access to Quality Education
First Book brings quality learning resources to more kids in need.
OMG Books Awards: More books for kids across the U.S.
This year, we launched the OMG Books Awards: Offering More Great Books to Spark Innovation—our biggest program yet—and awarded more than $4.7 million in funding to 20,000 educators across 33 states for brand new books and eBooks.*
*First Book was selected by the respective 33 Attorneys General to distribute the funds in the eligible states and territories, which can only be used to purchase books and eBooks in those states, implementing a court settlement unrelated to First Book.
$0 million
in book credits
0
states and territories
0
organizations
0
educators
0+
kids reached
$0 million
worth of new books and ebooks distributed
Our school was blessed enough to be included in the grant for multicultural/bilingual books for our students. Our English Language Learners were so excited to hear about these books. It is important for these students to be recognized and their diversity celebrated. They need to see their own lives and situations mirrored in these amazing stories.
Kristi Cool, reading specialist at Municipal Elementary School in Roy, UT and member of the American Federation of Teachers Utah that received a $52,000 OMG Books grant
Our school was blessed enough to be included in the grant for multicultural/bilingual books for our students. Our English Language Learners were so excited to hear about these books. It is important for these students to be recognized and their diversity celebrated. They need to see their own lives and situations mirrored in these amazing stories.
Kristi Cool, reading specialist at Municipal Elementary School in Roy, UT and member of the American Federation of Teachers Utah that received a $52,000 OMG Books grant
First Book Accelerator: Making research work for educators
In 2019, based on feedback from the First Book Network, we developed educator assessment guides focusing on respect, empathy, and diversity. We also released the second version of the Cultural Calendar, designed to guide educators through various religious and cultural celebrations, and conducted standing-room-only workshops on the Trauma Toolkit. The results:
0%
of educators felt more comfortable discussing cultures other than their own with the help of the Cultural Calendar
0%
of educators shared the Cultural Calendar with other educators
0
kids from culturally diverse backgrounds reached through the 2019-2020 Cultural Calendar
0
kids supported through the Trauma Toolkit
0
educators learned to identify and understand their biases through the Unconscious Bias: An Educator’s Self-Assessment
The response to these resources has been extraordinary, with program leaders telling us that we helped them deliver what kids need right now.
Ellen Galinsky
President and Co-founder of Families and Work Institute
Community Connect: Linking kids to critical services
Community Connect, our platform to connect our network with nonprofit partners, launched a partnership with the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games to link educators with smokeSCREEN, a smoking prevention game. We developed the game companion guide for teachers, with quick, easy-to-implement activities. Within X months, the free guide has been downloaded nearly 7,000 times from teachers in [locations].
Deepening Our Impact
First Book goes beyond books to bring a holistic solution to educational inequity.
Research and Insights: Amplifying educators’ voices
To determine the top barriers preventing kids from learning, we conducted the First Book Education Barriers Survey in March. We discovered that the most common barriers faced by their students have nothing to do with what goes on in the classroom – they are all related to the toxic stress of poverty.
Most Common Barriers
1
Lack of family engagement (cited by 72% of educators)
2
Complicated family structure (cited by 71%)
3
Inadequate access to emotional / mental health support (cited by 67%)
4
Lack of books that are culturally relevant to kids (cited by 63%)
5
Experiencing trauma or extreme stress (cited by 62%)
Mental health support for people of all ages is terribly lacking. With strong relationships at school or other places, and mental health supported, as long as kids are not still hungry or in pain, they will learn. All the educational resources in the world will not be effective unless mental health, physical needs and positive relationships exist.
— First Book Network member
First Book Network: A community of educators for kids in need
We’re proud of the First Book Network’s uninterrupted growth In just seven years, the First Book Network of educators grew a whopping 891.7% — and it’s growing fast, with 1,000 members joining each week. Last year, more than 46,000 new teachers joined our mission, and with every new educator comes an inspiring student success story.
Has active members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and all the Canadian Provinces
First Book Marketplace: Affordable, high-quality books for educators serving kids in need
The First Book Marketplace provided the First Book Network with affordable, 24-hour, year-round access to thousands of new, high-quality, curated books – some for just the cost of shipping – educational resources, and basic necessities for kids in need from birth to age 18.
0 million
books and resources distributed
0x distribution
of learning games and toys, educational resources, classroom supplies, and everything we do that goes beyond books
0 exclusive
First Book Special Edition titles added to the First Book Marketplace
0% more
users on the site in 2019 compared to last year
$0 million
savings of First Book members by shopping on the Marketplace*
*This accounts for publisher discounts, donated inventory, and supplemental partner funding
Take Action
Let’s bring educational resources to millions of kids in need
Kids in low-income communities don’t have the resources and opportunities they need to get quality education. With your help, we can bridge educational inequity and open the doors to lifelong learning for millions of kids.
