Statements
Mission
Nashville Book Connection (NBC) connects kids with books they love to nurture their identities as readers--at home and in the classroom.
NBC nurtures reader identities as students uncover a sense of pride, passion, and excitement around reading, book ownership, and shared experiences. Our intentionally-curated books offer windows and mirrors for our K-5th graders to feel seen and see others.
Through our partnerships with local elementary schools in under-served communities, NBC targets individual student literacy needs by growing home libraries full of meaningful, intentionally chosen, diverse books in under-served communities.
Background
Our approach is personalized, collaborative, student-centered and data-driven. We value student agency, access to new, meaningful books and understanding student interest and needs as cornerstones for developing readers. When our team helps students voice their reading interests and needs, we see growth and positive connections in how they see themselves as readers.
Impact
1. This year we SERVED MORE STUDENTS THAN EVER BEFORE - In 2024, we partnered with 2 schools, served 700 students, and matched twice as many students with books that spoke to their interests/needs.Since the Fall 2019, NBC has sent nearly 9,100 new, diverse, intentionally-chosen books home with over 1,100 K-5th grade students. Superhero books. Feelings books. Books on identity and families. Books about friendship. Biographies. Nonfiction books about space and animals. Funny books. Early readers. Graphic novels. Picture books. Chapter books. Books that speak to our students' interests and needs, books that excite them, books that allow them to feel seen and represented.
2. We have made strides in GROWING STUDENTS' READER IDENTITIES - The research is clear. When students have agency and are interested in what they read, their motivation to read increases. When children see themselves in books, they gain confidence and self-esteem - significant indicators for long-term success. Finding oneself in books, knowing one's voice matters, feeling successful as a learner/reader, finding genuine joy in reading - these social-emotional markers are necessary components in literacy gains.
At NBC, we know the critical juncture where reading skills, reading interests and reading confidence all converge. We are proud to have the impact we've had. Because of our work, we have seen:
-An increase in the number of students reporting that they now had books with characters who looked or felt like them.
-Positive growth in the number of students who called themselves "readers".
-An increase in the number of students who had books they were excited to read.
-A positive change in the number of students who claimed to enjoy reading.
3. We have EXPANDED & DEEPENED OUR REACH - This Fall we were able to hire a contract employee to support our Book Cart program at a new partner school, Tom Joy Elementary, for the Fall 2025 semester. Tom Joy serves 420+ students in K-5, a population nearly twice as large as any school community we've served previously. Similarly, we were able to address more teachers' needs, supporting their capacity to maximize students' growth as confident, engaged readers.
4. We CODIFIED OUR PRACTICES & IMPROVED HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS - We continued to improve work in:
-measuring the effectiveness of our NBC programs. We were able to more successfully and efficiently survey students before and after the Book Cart Program experience.
-documenting our processes/operations. Because of a stronger administrative team, we have been able to better streamline our processes and operations.
GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR
1. NBC is growing its capacity to serve more students and schools. As we EXPAND AND DEEPEN OUR REACH this year, NBC plans to serve at least:
-700 K-5th graders.
-30 teachers' classrooms.
-2 elementary schools in MNPS.
2. Additionally, we will ENHANCE OUR OPERATIONAL GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY. We will continue to:
-Grow our revenue.
-Hire staff.
-Grow the number of community partners.
3. We will continue to CODIFY OUR PRACTICES AND IMPROVE HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS. Building upon our current qualitative data collection, we will:
-Measure the effectiveness of our program through stronger quantitative tools.
-Document our processes and operations.
-Share our methodology and results.
Needs
After working to meet the diverse literacy needs of hundreds of Nashville's youngest students, we've learned just how deep our impact has been. We're eager to expand our work and grow our reach to more schools, more teachers and more students.
NEED #1: Funding for Part-Time Employee ($9,000)
As we work toward our goals (EXPANDING AND DEEPENING OUR REACH and ENHANCING OUR OPERATIONAL GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY), we need to grow our team. NBC has been 100% volunteer-based since 2019, and while this model has allowed us to prove the important depth of our work, it has limited NBC's reach. In order to move forward and serve more students, NBC must have paid personnel.
NBC's part-time position responsibilities include:
-Serving as school-site coordinator on NBC Days;
-Leading volunteer training sessions;
-Fulfilling student and teacher book requests;
NEED #2: Funding for Additional School Partnership ($10,950)
Since 2019, NBC's budget has supported a single school partnership per year. Past partnerships include Carter Lawrence Elementary, Warner Arts Elementary & Fall-Hamilton. Now that NBC has demonstrated its unique approach to impacting literacy in Nashville, it's time to serve more students. This funding request will support NBC's expansion to an additional partner school.
Board Chair Statement
In the time I have served as Board Chair of Nashville Book Connection, I can honestly say that every single interaction in this organization has been filled with inspiration and optimism. Be it zoom calls internally or being face to face with the smile of a first grader holding the exact right book, there is a feeling of excitement, of promise. From the very beginning, the spark of an idea about improving this world through evidence-based interactions and book ownership gained traction. The very existence of NBC is itself a success, as the germ of an idea quickly grew into a functional model, a working program, and a highly motivated board of directors, our struggle through normal non-profit start up pains was immediately hampered by the Covid pandemic. I am incredibly proud of how our small organization was able to pivot and adapt while remaining true to our mission of connecting kids with books they love, providing consistency and connection in a time when they were most needed. A strong sign of our current success is our intentionality in seeking out and forming community partnerships (local schools and businesses as well as the children's literacy community at the city, state, and national level). We have had several cycles of our program in elementary schools and the feedback from administration, teachers, and especially students has been excellent. We are gaining traction as an established and credible organization and are seeing individual donors and grant funding continue to increase.
Our biggest challenge is maybe having hearts bigger than our bank account, frustration that our desire to connect more children to the world of reading is hampered by limitations of time, funding, and humanpower. This frustration is fueling the board to strategically plan and attack the coming years to maximize capacity and ultimately the number of children who are interested and motivated to read.
My personal reading journey began before I have memories, as my parents prioritized reading aloud, making books accessible, encouraging and modeling reading as important and entertaining. I do recall staying up with a flashlight under covers, sneaking in a few more chapters. Reading features prominently in my adult life and as my children came on the scene, it was an utmost priority to equip the nursery with books, go to the library, and connect with books. Some of my fondest moments of their childhoods have been reading together and sharing stories. As a pediatric health provider, I know the impact that language and literacy have on growing brains, and as a parent I see the benefits of expanding your world through reading. It is my profound belief that every child should have the opportunity to learn, discover, grow, and connect to humanity through books. Nashville Book Connection is committed to making this happen.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Education - Libraries |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Educational Services |
| Tertiary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts & Culture |
Areas Served
| TN - Davidson |
