The Dollar General Foundation has a 30-year-old history of providing literacy grants to hometown communities throughout the United States. 

Dollar General is unlocking potential in communities with the goal, “We support programs in hometown communities that are helping individuals take their next steps towards a bright future.” Under their literacy program, Dollar General supports:

• Adult Literacy Grants (Creating access and opportunity for adults to learn)

• Beyond Words (Rebuilding school libraries affected by disasters)

• Family Literacy Grants (Learning for the whole family)

• Summer Reading (Keeping students engaged in reading throughout the summer)

• Youth Literacy Grants (Supporting students on their K-12 educational journey)

An August 2023 article by Carolina Mitchell (https://www.wxxv25.com) stated that Dollar General Literacy Foundation announced $65,000 in youth literacy grants to Mississippi nonprofits organizations, libraries, and schools. These grants were a part of $2.6 million that was recently awarded across the country to purchase books, technology, equipment, or materials. There were 18 grants awarded in Mississippi which supported 6,200 individuals in the state. Three Mississippi schools that received grants were:

• Gautier Middle School – $3,000

• Moss Point Escatawpa Upper Elementary – $3,000

• Program Believe in Biloxi – $4,000

The Adult Literacy program awarded grants in 2023 to:

• Jackson State University School of Lifelong Learning (Jackson, MS)

• Northeast Mississippi Community College Development Foundation (Booneville, MS)

• Northwest Mississippi Community College Adult Education (Senatobia, MS)

• Program Believe (Biloxi, MS)

• Tate County Literacy Council (Senatobia, MS)

• Vox Press (Oxford, MS)

Dollar General Literacy Foundation provides grant funding to support literacy and education initiatives serving individuals of all ages. The Foundation funds nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries within a 15-mile radius of Dollar General stores in the states in which they operate.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation was established in 1933 by Cal Turner and Cal Turner, Jr. in honor of Dollar General co-founder J.L. Turner – a farmer’s son with only a third-grade education who dropped out of school after the death of his father.

The next Adult Literacy grant cycle for the Dollar General Foundation will open in January 2024. All Dollar General Foundation grants applications are submitted online at www.dgliteracy.org.

For questions about the Foundation grant programs, contact 615-855-5201 and/or write Dollar General Literacy Foundation, 100 Mission Ridge, Goodlettsville, TN 37072.

For referrals to programs in your local community, call 877-389-6874; and to volunteer, visit the National Directory at www.NLD.org or contact 877-389-6874.

One way to support Dollar General Literacy Foundation is to participate in the Yellow Glasses Project. When you buy, wear, and share a pair of $2 yellow sunglasses you can shine a light on literacy and help the Foundation support its literacy program.