Happy July! Here is an UPDATED roundup of grants available to libraries with deadlines in the next few months, or with rolling or ongoing deadlines.
Yiddish Book Center’s Reading Group Grants
Deadline: July 14, 2025
The Yiddish Book Center is accepting applications from public libraries to host “Between Two Worlds,” a three-part reading group series focused on Yiddish literature in translation. Forty selected libraries will receive a $2,000 grant for events, speakers, or enhancing library programming related to the titles, travel, lodging, and meal expenses for a reading group facilitator to attend a three-day workshop at the Yiddish Book Center, copies of three Yiddish literature titles (17 copies each) in translation for book club discussion, funding for a fourth book, eligibility to host a small, specially curated traveling exhibit on the history of Yiddish and its role in Jewish life, religion, and culture, reading guides, and other educational materials related to the Yiddish titles, and access to virtual programs and an online community of fellow librarians and facilitation for discussion, connection, advice, and collaboration. The theme, “Between Two Worlds,” explores questions of identity, displacement, and belonging through the lens of modern Yiddish literature—works that reflect the experience of navigating between cultures, generations, and geographies. The series is designed to spark deep conversations and introduce readers to vibrant literary voices they may not have encountered before. Programs will run January-June 2026.
Walmart Spark Good Local Grants
Deadline: July 15, 2025
These grants, ranging from $250 to $5,000, are awarded to address specific community needs. The project should align with the focus areas of Creating Opportunity, Advancing Sustainability, Strengthening Community, and/or Centering Racial Equity.
Libraries Without Borders-Library-School Partnership
Deadline: July 31, 2025
Libraries Without Borders US (LWB US) is growing its partnership base across the country in order to increase library access and usage for underserved youth and families! This initiative aims to enhance partnerships between local schools, school libraries, and public libraries. Through this Request for Proposal (RFP), LWB US will select five (5) public libraries or library systems with high levels of community need and a commitment to sustain successful efforts launched through the partnership. Selected partners will receive technical assistance for community data collection and analysis, strategy and development for school-library partnerships, implementation support, ongoing evaluation, and sustainability planning. To nurture a successful partnership, LWB US will provide supplies and materials up to $5,000 to support the implementation of school-library initiatives. Please note that LWB US is not a grant funder, but they partner with public libraries and library systems in order to increase community access to and engagement with resources and offerings.
Nasdaq Foundation Financial Literacy Grants
Deadline: August 1, 2025 (Later deadlines: November 8, 2025; February 7, 2026; May 10, 2026; August 9, 2026; November 8, 2026)
These grants are open to library foundations and “Friends of” library groups. Driven by Nasdaq’s Purpose to advance economic progress for all, the Nasdaq Foundation works with organizations that promote and support under-resourced communities by reimagining investor engagement and equipping communities with the financial knowledge needed to share in the wealth that markets create. Grants will be given in this area to organizations and programs that deliver impact in one or more of the following ways: enhancing financial literacy among under-resourced communities, with an element of teaching participants how to invest; improving access to knowledge and tools for investing; and wealth creation among under-resourced communities. There is no set minimum or maximum grant amount. The Nasdaq Foundation’s Leadership Team will consider whether the amount requested is commensurate with the proposed project and appropriate for the Nasdaq Foundation’s annual grant-making target and charitable purposes. Reasonable overhead costs may be included in the grant request, provided they are specified.
Carol June Bradley Award for Historical Research in Music Librarianship
Deadline: August 11, 2025
This award was created by the Music Library Association in 2003 through the generous financial support of its namesake. Since Dr. Bradley’s death in 2009, MLA has continued to fund the award in her honor. The award exists to support research-in-progress in music librarianship or music libraries. There are no restrictions as to an applicant’s age, nationality, profession, or institutional affiliation. All proposals are reviewed entirely on the basis of merit. Preference will be given to projects that are in the latter stage of the research process. An award of up to $500 is available for 2026.
Lois Lenski Covey Foundation’s Bookmobile Grant
Deadline: August 15, 2025
The bookmobile grant program provides grants for purchasing children’s fiction or non-fiction books. The books are intended for young people to check out for pleasure reading or as a source of information for a school assignment. The library grant program DOES NOT provide grants for book distribution programs (book gift programs), atlases, dictionaries, basal readers or similar texts, workbooks or similar instructional tools, magazine subscriptions, or for textbooks or encyclopedias.
Nora Roberts Foundation Literacy Grant
Deadline: September 1, 2025
The Nora Roberts Foundation’s mission is to create a beautiful, equitable, and safe world and pursues this goal by supporting literacy organizations, as well as organizations focused on the arts, children, social justice, and the environment. Although priority is given to organizations surrounding the Washington, DC area (MD, PA, VA, WV), organizations that operate locally and nationally in the United States are eligible for these grants. It is recommended that first time grant-seekers ask for $3,000-$5,000, although smaller grants will also be considered. The application includes a program summary, non-discrimination statement, organizational documents, brochures and optional attachments (budgets, impact report, testimonials, etc.)
Carolyn M. Hewins Scholarship for Aspiring Children’s Librarians
Deadline: September 1, 2025
Areas of focus for the Fall offering include Business & Economic Development, Education & Workforce, Health & Well-being, Public Service & First Responders. Grant maximum of $5,000 or have at least 75% of the project currently funded. Priority projects include Technology and broadband-enabled focused projects, those with a long-term impact on the community and its residents. Projects that promote community participation and engagement, and create a more sustainable rural community. Applicants will need to complete an online portal application that includes contact Information, history, project details, budget, and narrative of the grant funding need.
Foundation for Rural Service Community Grant Program
Deadline: September 5, 2025
Areas of focus for the Fall offering include Business & Economic Development, Education & Workforce, Health & Well-being, Public Service & First Responders. Grant maximum of $5,000 or have at least 75% of the project currently funded. Priority projects include Technology and broadband-enabled focused projects, those with a long-term impact on the community and its residents. Projects that promote community participation and engagement, and create a more sustainable rural community. Applicants will need to complete an online portal application that includes contact Information, history, project details, budget, and narrative of the grant funding need.
Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize for Public Libraries
Deadline: September 15, 2025
The Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, was created in 2019 to recognize the public library as a vital community asset. When libraries, civic entities, organizations, and the people they serve become close partners, their communities thrive. One winning library will receive $250,000 in unfettered grant monies from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation. The winning library will also be profiled in the March 2026 issue of Library Journal and online. Honorable mentions may also be named. The winning library will be identified based on the degree of its impact on the community in the following key areas: engagement with local government to support the service area’s defined goals, engagement with the community to develop library services, community recognition, inclusive service that supports broad community interests, leadership development to perpetuate the library’s organizational strength and dynamism, environmental sustainability and leadership in sustainable thinking, inventiveness as exemplified by one of the library’s services which is particularly original, both strategically and tactically, and resilience in the face of challenges.
Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant
Deadline: December 1, 2025
This grant aims to recognize a librarian who has a creative, innovative project that promotes literacy and is designed to recognize a creative, innovative literacy project for and with youth (ages 10-19). Examples of literacy include, but are not limited to, digital, media, visual, computer, data, financial, civic/ethical, news, information, multicultural, and cultural.
The Courage Project: Celebrating Everyday Courage in America
Deadline: Ongoing
The Courage Project seeks to recognize individuals and organizations that embody the foundational values of our nation through acts of courage that strengthen our communities, our democracy, and our shared future. The Courage Project distributes awards to organizations and honors everyday people for acts of courage and compassion that demonstrate bravery in their communities. For organizational awards, local nonprofit organizations will receive recognition for specific actions, whether that’s supporting free speech, championing equality, or building community. For individual recognition, recipients may recommend donations to values-aligned American non-profit organizations, seeding civic engagement in their communities and strengthening our democracy. By allowing recipients to “pay it forward,” the project gives Americans the chance to seed lasting change in their own communities. The award amounts will range from $10,000 to $50,000. Whether it’s a librarian defending free speech, a teacher protecting vulnerable students, or a local leader bridging divides, these recipients embody core national values: kindness, empathy, and community. For individual honorees, The Courage Project also provides an opportunity to “pay it forward” by directing funds to nonprofit organizations aligned with their values – helping to foster long-term impact at the grassroots level.
The Community Heart & Soul Grant Program
Deadline: Ongoing
The Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program provides $10,000 in funding for resident-driven groups in small cities and towns to start the Community Heart & Soul model. Grant funding requires a $10,000 cash match from the participating municipality or a partnering organization.
Believe in Reading – Grants for Literacy Program
Deadline: Ongoing
Grants are made to organizations with 501(c)(3) status or its equivalent for educational institutions, including public libraries. Believe in Reading will consider funding programs that serve any age or aspect of supporting reading and literacy, including adult literacy, English as a second language projects, or Braille projects for the blind or visually impaired. Believe in Reading will supply funds only if they are earmarked for literacy, not just a general campaign. Reading must be the prime activity. Because addressing literacy is not a short-term process, Believe in Reading’s grants are renewable for up to a maximum of three years, but a first-year award does not guarantee any subsequent awards. Currently, the maximum grant amount is $10,000; however, the vast majority of grants are for $3,000 or less. First-time applicants will not be funded for more than $3,000.
Rural Technology Education & Assistive Technology (AT) Grants
Deadline: Ongoing
Grants are typically $500 – $2,500 for staff and student-led projects in public schools and libraries. The projects funded are designed to help spark student interest in technology-based careers like computer science, computer engineering, information technology, programming, cyber security, robotics, or similar areas. In some cases, these project donations may include a few smaller items like a Raspberry Pi microcomputer or a robotics kit or entire Maker Spaces equipped with things like circuit development kits, 3-D printers, robotics kits, and classroom sets of individual microcomputers to build upon. Other projects include early-stage robotics classes, teams, and clubs interested in project-based learning that culminates in competitive events like FIRST. The focus is on funding libraries and schools in rural or high-poverty areas that are designed to reach multiple students equitably and help establish ongoing student interest groups like maker spaces and coding clubs.
Wyoming Humanities’ Indian Education for All Program
Deadline: Ongoing
One of the best ways to fulfill the Indian Education for All Act is to have Tribal Knowledge Keepers visit Wyoming classrooms. This is not always feasible because costs for travel and honorarium to those wanting to share their valuable wisdom. To address these challenges, Wyoming Humanities is offering funds for K-12 educators in Wyoming to bring an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper into their school, classroom, or field trip. All requests for support should help fulfill Indian Education for All standards and requirements. Wyoming Humanities will offer one-time compensation to support the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Keeper in the classroom, including a $350 honorarium and $200 in travel funds (if 100+ miles roundtrip.) Payment will be made directly to the Indigenous Knowledge Keeper. Funding is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. If payment is required prior to the classroom visit, apply at least six weeks before the visit. If payment is NOT required prior to the classroom visit, apply at least four weeks before the visit.
Wish You Well Foundation
Deadline: Ongoing
The Wish You Well Foundation supports adult and family literacy in the United States by fostering the development and expansion of new and existing adult literacy and educational programs. The focus is on supporting nonprofit organizations that teach adults the literacy skills they need to communicate, grow, and thrive within their communities. Grants amounts range from $200 to $10,000.
Scholastic Possible Fund
Deadline: Ongoing
The Scholastic Possible Fund was established to provide a single repository of quality children’s books to be donated to charity partners that share the Company’s mission to improve global literacy and put books into the hands of children who might otherwise have none. The Fund seeks to improve access to books in underserved communities and to provide relief in communities recovering from crises or natural disasters. The non-profit partners receiving donations from this fund have demonstrated the ability to effectively educate children and families in diverse communities about the importance of books and reading from birth through adulthood.
Jan Stauber-Sherlock Holmes Literacy Grant
Deadline: Ongoing
The mission of the Jan Stauber Grant is to provide needed financial assistance to persons and organizations developing literacy programs and other educational experiences that will introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes. Educators or librarians can be awarded up to $1,000 for a project that encourages young people to read and introduces them to Sherlock Holmes.
Art Resources Transfer’s Library Program
Deadline: Ongoing
This program provides free books on contemporary art to public institutions nationwide. Public libraries, public schools, prisons, and reading centers that self-define as under-served are eligible to order free books through our Library Program. Institutions can order anytime throughout the year. Books are entirely free and shipped free of charge.
The Pilcrow Foundations Children’s Book Project Program Grant
DEADLINE: Rolling
The Pilcrow Foundation, a national non-profit public charity, provides a 2-to-1 match to rural public libraries that receive a grant through its Children’s Book Project and contribute $200-$400 through a local sponsors for the purchase of up to $1,200 worth (at retail value) of new, quality, hardcover children’s books. We provide a list of over 500 quality hardcover children’s books from which Children’s Book Project grant recipients can select books best suited for their community. The book list includes award-winning and star-reviewed titles from educational and literary organizations.
Black Hills Corporation Community Giving
DEADLINE: Ongoing
Areas of focus are arts and culture, civic and community development, education, environment, human services, and youth development. Giving limited to Black Hills Energy service areas.
BNSF Railway Foundation Grants
DEADLINE: Ongoing
These grants are given to organizations and programs that support and improve the general welfare and quality of life in the communities in which BNSF Railway Company operates. Generally, requests that clearly fall within one or more of the following categories will be considered for funding: civic services, cultural organizations, educational institutions, health and human service organizations, youth organizations, and a federally recognized tribal government.
T-Mobile Hometown Grant Program
DEADLINE: Ongoing
T-Mobile is investing $25M in 500 rural towns over 5 years to jumpstart projects and build stronger communities. These grants can be used to help upgrade tech at your local library, build new hiking trails, revitalize historic buildings, and more.