In the last two newsletters, we highlighted the Ready and Relevant pillars of our next strategic plan. These plans focus on ensuring Literacy Pittsburgh is an organization that embraces diversity, rewards and retains its talented staff members, and has a structure that supports robust programs and support systems to help students succeed.
These are ambitious but critical plans, and the key to making them possible is you. For Literacy Pittsburgh to be Ready and Relevant, we must also be Sustainable. We are experiencing an unprecedented demand for our programs—we're serving 22% more students than this time last year, and hundreds more are on our waiting list. Our ability to meet the demand while improving educational and career outcomes for our students means generating revenue to fuel growth, innovation, and long-term sustainability.
To achieve our strategic plan goals, we seek to:
- Increase individual, foundation, and corporate support to fund operations.
- Raise change capital for plan implementation.
- Attain balance sheet/capitalization goals.
- Grow legacy giving (Pathways to a Better Future)
Increasing fundraising to support rising demand will mean
1. Grow support from three new affinity group programs—alumni, legacy council (former board), and tutors, resulting in a 28% increase overall from individual donors and the identification of three to five new donors of $10,000+
2. Increase support from foundation and corporate donors by 66% based on the crucial role Literacy Pittsburgh and our students play in the region's economy.
3. Raise change capital (special one-time investments) to support implementation of the 2024-27 strategic plan. This includes investments in data infrastructure, program research and development, change management support, facilities, and equipment, along with new staff positions
4. Establish a working capital fund and an operating reserve for additional working capital and rainy day uses. Grow endowment to support future core capacity.
5. Establish and implement operating and spending policies, tools, and governance cycles to responsibly steward balance sheet funds.
6. Evaluate and revise investment management arrangements commensurate with investment beliefs and policies.
7. Grow Pathway Builders program of donors who choose to support Literacy Pittsburgh through smart giving strategies.
Sustainability is the foundation upon which the other two pillars are built. It is thanks to the generosity and dedication of our many financial supporters—individual, corporate, government, and foundation—that we can create a Ready and Relevant organization positioned to meet the educational needs of the community today and for years to come.
Literacy Pittsburgh (formerly Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council) helps create better lives through learning. Recognized as a national leader in adult and family literacy, Literacy Pittsburgh is the largest provider of adult basic education in Allegheny and Beaver Counties. Last year, Literacy Pittsburgh helped more than 4,000 individuals acquire the skills needed to reach their fullest potential in life and participate productively in their communities. Literacy Pittsburgh provides free, personalized instruction in workforce readiness, high school diploma test preparation, digital literacy, English language learning, math, reading, and family literacy through one-to-one and small class instruction. Founded in 1982, it serves local adults through numerous neighborhood locations and its Downtown Pittsburgh Learning Center.
