About Us
The Literacy Campaign for Monterey County, launched in 2006, was a multi-million dollar effort to identify and direct grants to community-based programs offering literacy services. The target audience of this five-year, concerted program was adults, ages 18 to 35, with a focus on parents with young children. Over $2.2 million was granted to adult literacy providers during the course of the five-year campaign.
The Community Foundation for Monterey County coordinated this initiative. The Literacy Campaign was created because human service and health providers and educators told us that low literacy levels represented a significant barrier to receiving services, educational success and economic empowerment. Our research revealed alarming local statistics: a quarter of the adult workforce reads below the fourth grade level and only two-thirds have completed high school. Armed with the knowledge that literacy is a basic economic and human need, the Community Foundation, in partnership with other community leaders, made the committment to bringing about measurable change in our community. With basic literacy skills, more residents will have access to fuller lives, greater job opportunities, and successful families.
From 2006-2010, the Literacy Campaign was guided by a volunteer Steering Committee. Funding for grantmaking and other costs was been supported by:Monterey Peninsula Foundation, First 5 Monterey County, Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, The S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation,and other funders and individuals.
The Literacy Campaign for Monterey County was established in January 2011 as an independent nonprofit. For more information, please call Marcy Rustad, Executive Director at 831.595.2665 or visit www.literacycampaignmc.org.
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