The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is investing in literacy programs across Tennessee, with Nashville-area schools and community organizations among the recipients of its latest round of youth literacy grants.
The Goodlettsville-based foundation announced Sept. 10 that it is awarding more than $4.1 million to more than 850 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations nationwide, with the funding expected to reach approximately 545,000 students.
Among the 2026 Tennessee recipients is 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, a Nashville organization that works to improve educational and economic opportunities for young people.
Other Nashville recipients include Backfield in Motion; Fannie Battle Day Home for Children; Glencliff Elementary School; Haynes Middle School; Napier Elementary Extended Learning Program; PENCIL Foundation; St. Luke’s Community House; United Way of Greater Nashville; and Warner Arts Magnet Elementary School.
The grants also extend into other communities served by Urban Journal. Recipients include Austin East Magnet High School, Fulton High School, Karns Middle School, and Sunnyview Primary School in Knoxville; Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence High School; Chattanooga Preparatory School and Rivermont Elementary School in Chattanooga; Austin Peay State University Foundation in Clarksville; and Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County, Read To Succeed and several Murfreesboro-area schools.
The grants are designed to support K-12 students who are reading below grade level or experiencing difficulty reading. Funds can be used to expand literacy programs and purchase books, technology, educational materials and software.
“When students have access to books, technology and educational resources, they gain tools that can support their learning for years to come,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
The latest grants continue a literacy effort that has grown substantially since the foundation was established in 1993. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation says it has awarded nearly $297 million to literacy programs that have helped more than 26 million people.
Dollar General’s literacy efforts have also directly reached the Nashville area this year. In January, the company surprised Chadwell Elementary School in Madison with a $50,000 Reading Revolution donation to help the school purchase books, computers, technology programs and other educational resources. Teachers and staff also received Dollar General gift cards for classroom supplies.
The foundation’s Reading Revolution program has provided more than $5 million to 137 schools and literacy-focused nonprofit organizations since 2013.
During National Literacy Month, Dollar General has also partnered with iHeartRadio and radio personality Bobby Bones to promote literacy. The partnership recently provided a $50,000 Reading Revolution donation and more than 700 books to students in Bones’ hometown of Mountain Pine, Arkansas.
The Arkansas event concluded the foundation’s seventh annual Yellow Glasses Project, which raises money for literacy programs through the sale of yellow sunglasses at Dollar General stores. Since launching in 2020, the campaign has raised more than $9 million for literacy efforts.
