This article originally appeared in Stet News on April 28, 2025.
Cutting-edge curriculum from the University of Florida guides young readers.
A philanthropic prizefighter, the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties connects philanthropic donors to a network of nonprofit partners fighting the biggest local challenges.
Context: The foundation has priorities that it modifies from time to time — no surprise since it has been making grants and giving scholarships for 50 years.
- Its mantra, Giving For Good, is practiced by uniting generous people with changemakers in areas from housing to mental health, early childhood to education.
Why it matters to reading: One of the foundation’s priorities is education and youth, with a focus on healthy development, education and literacy.
- The foundation awarded 117 scholarships totaling more than $1.3 million to high school graduates enrolling in college in 2024.
What they’re saying: “Experts tell us a child’s ability to read at grade level by third grade is the single greatest predictor of future success because this is when they transition from learning to read to reading to learn,” said Danita DeHaney, the foundation’s president and CEO.
- “Youth in the communities we serve are falling behind in record numbers, with the current third-grade literacy rate well below acceptable levels.”
The big picture: In 2024, the foundation raised a record $31.8 million, an increase of 12% over the previous year, which allowed 609 organizations to deliver services.
What’s new: In 2024, it launched the Early Literacy Fund in response to the literacy crisis.
- Designed to help nonprofit organizations focused on improving youth literacy rates in Palm Beach and Martin counties, the foundation uses competitive grantmaking to find groups to support.
That summer, the foundation brought a University of Florida reading curriculum to four local nonprofits for a nine-week program.
How it works: The curriculum clarifies the techniques needed to teach ‘decoding,’ the process of reasoning used to identify a new word based on what one already knows.
– Using phonics, segmentation, blending, chunking and a plethora of tools, helps children figure out new words. Decoding (reading) is — like any skill — improved by repetition, the curriculum says.
– The lead donor, the Lawrence A. Sanders Foundation, committed $100,000 to support the pilot program for 55 children from Banner Lake Club in Hobe Sound, Fuller Center in Boca Raton, the Achievement Center for Children & Families in Delray Beach and the Edna W. Runner Tutorial Center in Jupiter.
The bottom line: All saw significant improvements in reading scores.
