George & Barbara Bush Foundation Launches Barbara Bush Fund for Family Literacy

New fund will address America's literacy crisis by providing direct grant support for community-based family literacy programs nationwide

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The George & Barbara Bush Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the Barbara Bush Fund for Family Literacy, a new initiative that will provide grant support to high-quality family literacy programs nationwide. The launch of the Fund was formally announced on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, during a reception at Texas A&M University's Bush School for Government & Public Service in Washington, D.C.

"Barbara Bush knew that literacy is the foundation upon which we build full, productive lives – as individuals, as families, as communities and as a nation – and she spent decades working to open the doors of opportunity for everyone," said Alice Gonzalez Yates, CEO of the George & Barbara Bush Foundation. "Yet far too many parents and children still lack the literacy skills they need to thrive, and family literacy programs nationwide are in urgent need of support. We believe she would challenge us, in this moment, to do more, and we are proud to answer that call by opening the next chapter in her enduring legacy of literacy."

Today, more than half of U.S. adults read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, impacting their ability to earn family-sustaining wages and support their children's learning. Young readers are struggling as well: 69% of fourth graders lack proficiency in literacy, making them more likely to struggle academically, drop out of school and have reduced earning potential as adults. This crisis is linked to some of today's most pressing challenges, including multigenerational cycles of poverty, poor health, low educational attainment and workforce readiness deficits.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush chose literacy as her cause more than 40 years ago based on her belief that "if more people could read, write and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation and our society." She established the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to address the issue at the national level in 1989, and she remained actively engaged in its work until her passing in 2018. 

Over the past 36 years, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has raised and provided more than $130 million in support for national family literacy programming spanning all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as operating its own programs. The establishment of the new Fund will bring the work of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to a close, while carrying forward its mission and advancing Barbara Bush's vision of a more literate America.

"My mother believed that parents are a child's first and best teachers, and that family literacy is one of the most important investments we can make," said Doro Bush Koch, honorary chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and board member of the George & Barbara Bush Foundation. "We see the launch of this new Fund as the natural next step in the evolution of the work that she cared about so deeply – one that will allow for even broader reach and deeper impact on families across the country."

Rather than operating its own programs, the Barbara Bush Fund for Family Literacy will amplify impact by investing in well-respected national and community-based organizations already doing extraordinary work. The Fund will support comprehensive family literacy programming by providing grants to fuel the delivery of effective programming and engaging in thought leadership to elevate family literacy at the state and national levels.

To celebrate the establishment of the Fund, George & Barbara Bush Foundation CEO Alice Gonzalez Yates announced the recipients of three grants: First Teachers Family Literacy Program in Biddeford, Maine; Briya Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.; and Achieve Plant City in Plant City, Florida.

The launch event included a panel discussion on the importance of family literacy, featuring Angelica Ibarra, founder and executive director of Achieve Plant City; Denine Torr, vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy at Dollar General and Barbara Bush Foundation board chair; and Andrew Roberts, president of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

"I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful initiative and deeply grateful for the support," Ibarra said. "I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of family literacy and the impact it can have on multiple generations. As a former literacy student, I can attest how my life and the lives of my children were forever changed thanks to the vision Mrs. Barbara Bush had for our country."

The George & Barbara Bush Foundation will draw on the expertise of a robust network of national family literacy experts to design the grantmaking process for the Fund and expects to award the first round of grants in 2026.

About the George & Barbara Bush Foundation: The George & Barbara Bush Foundation strives to preserve the historic legacies of President and Mrs. Bush, primarily by supporting and promoting education and service-oriented programs at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum and The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University, as well as administering the Barbara Bush Fund for Family Literacy. The Foundation creates unique and life-changing opportunities that bring together and connect world leaders, students, public policy experts, business executives and current officeholders. Learn more at www.georgeandbarbarabush.org.

SOURCE Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy