Improve Education Fund
Impact overview
Mar 2026 – Jun 2026From March through June 2026, the Improve Education Fund's portfolio delivered measurable impact at remarkable scale. Room to Read's 2025 Annual Report anchored the period, confirming 60.3 million children across 29 geographies have built foundational learning skills since the organization's founding — with 16.5 million reached in 2025 alone and a $1.75M Skoll Foundation investment accelerating Africa programs. DonorsChoose mobilized tens of thousands of donors across multiple campaigns, channeling over $14.5 million in classroom supplies during Teacher Appreciation Week alone. EdTrust marked its 30th anniversary with Capitol Hill advocacy and a Youth Civic Leadership Summit, while Reading Is Fundamental celebrated 60 years of service. Child Mind Institute's Mental Health Fitness program reached 1.8 million students across 8,400+ schools, and its Mirror app surpassed 200,000 downloads — signaling growing demand for youth mental health tools.
Nonprofits
Themes
Literacy programming — from Room to Read's global library and publishing work to RIF's Skybrary app and DonorsChoose book campaigns — forms the backbone of the portfolio. Room to Read alone confirmed 60.3 million cumulative beneficiaries, with 74,000+ books sent to classrooms in March and 1.1 million distributed globally in 2025.
DonorsChoose ran multiple high-impact campaigns across the period, including #FillEveryShelf, STEAM Futures Week, and Teacher Appreciation Week, collectively mobilizing tens of thousands of donors and delivering over $16 million in supplies to public school classrooms.
EdTrust sustained a strong policy presence throughout the period, celebrating its 30th anniversary while defending public education funding, launching a Justice Policy Fellowship, hosting a Youth Civic Leadership Summit, and opposing measures such as Indiana's ESSA waiver and the Federal Voucher Tax Credit.
Room to Read's Girls' Education Program was a consistent presence, with 615,724 adolescents reached in 2025, a 90%+ grade advancement rate, and individual stories — such as alumna Senghong mentoring 121 girls in Cambodia — illustrating deep community impact.
Child Mind Institute expanded its mental health footprint significantly, with Mental Health Fitness reaching 1.8 million students across 8,400+ schools, the Mirror app surpassing 200,000 downloads, and new global initiatives at SXSW London and SNF Nostos 2026 in Athens. Demand for digital mental health tools showed clear upward momentum.
Reading Is Fundamental's Camp RIF and Reading Summer Camp launched for summer 2026, and DonorsChoose's soccer and supply campaigns targeted end-of-year classroom needs. Seasonal programming peaks in May–June as organizations prepare children for summer learning.
Milestones
Room to Read's annual report confirmed 60.3 million children across 29 geographies are building foundational learning skills, and EdTrust celebrated its 30th anniversary with a gala and Hill Day advocacy.
June 2026
DonorsChoose mobilized 45,000+ donors to deliver over $14.5 million in classroom supplies during Teacher Appreciation Week and The 175 campaign.
May 2026
Child Mind Institute's Mental Health Fitness program reached over 1.8 million students across 8,400+ schools worldwide, and the Mirror app surpassed 200,000 downloads with 4,500+ users connecting to crisis support.
May 2026
Room to Read's 2025 Annual Report revealed 16.5 million children benefited from literacy programming in the year, bringing the cumulative total to 55 million since founding.
April 2026
Room to Read received a $1.75M investment from the Skoll Foundation to advance literacy and gender equality programs across Africa, where programs have already benefited 10+ million children.
April 2026
DonorsChoose's STEAM Futures Week mobilized 6,100 donors to deliver more than $1.8 million in STEAM supplies to public school classrooms nationwide.
April 2026
DonorsChoose's #FillEveryShelf campaign mobilized over 4,400 donors to send 74,000+ books to classrooms nationwide during National Reading Month.
March 2026
Reading Is Fundamental celebrated its 60th anniversary with a Capitol Hill reception, having reached 237 million children with nearly 430 million books since 1966.
March 2026
Monthly snapshots
Summary
In June 2026, five education and youth-focused nonprofits delivered literacy programs, mental health resources, and equity advocacy reaching tens of millions of children globally. Room to Read's annual report highlighted 60.3 million children building foundational learning skills across 29 geographies, while Reading Is Fundamental celebrated its 60th anniversary with active summer reading programs, book celebrations, and the NAPPA-award-winning Skybrary app. EdTrust marked its own 30th anniversary with a gala, Hill Day advocacy, and sustained policy campaigns defending education equity for students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and undocumented students, while DonorsChoose channeled over $2 million in school supplies and 255 soccer projects to historically underfunded schools. The Child Mind Institute expanded its global mental health footprint through SXSW London's Youth Mental Health Hub, the SNF Nostos 2026 conference in Athens, and new MoBI Labs in Brazil.
- Room to Read's annual report confirmed 60.3 million children across 29 geographies are building foundational learning skills through its programs.
- Reading Is Fundamental celebrated its 60th anniversary (#RIF60), marking 60 years of bringing the joy of reading to over 237 million children.
- The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation funded 255 soccer projects at historically underfunded schools through DonorsChoose, reaching 15,932 students across 181 schools.
- Room to Read raised USD $235,379 through the MDRT Foundation partnership, with the IMC Trading for Charity event on June 16 adding to cumulative impact benefiting 7.8 million children.
- Child Mind Institute led six sessions at the first-ever Youth Mental Health Hub at SXSW London and presented a youth-led Evidence-to-Policy Review at SNF Nostos 2026 in Athens.
- EdTrust celebrated its 30th anniversary with a gala and Hill Day advocacy, while issuing public statements opposing Indiana's ESSA waiver and the Federal Voucher Tax Credit.
In May 2026, five organizations delivered sweeping impact across literacy, education equity, children's mental health, and classroom funding.
In April 2026, Room to Read released its 2025 Annual Report, revealing that 16.