Literacy Grants Program

City National’s Reading is The way up^® and Dollars + Sense grants program lets K-12 teachers in California, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., fund classroom projects that aim to foster creativity and critical thinking in students.

Key Dates

Online applications are accepted October 1 through October 31 of each year. Awards are announced in January of the following year (recipients are notified by email). To apply for a grant, check back here during October.

See the complete list of grant recipients »

Use of Funds

Grants may be used to purchase books, videos, CDs, DVDs, computer software and hardware, and any other educational resources to be owned, used and distributed to a K-12 school located in one of the eligible counties listed below.

Grant checks will be made payable to the school and designated for the stated use in the application. Funds must be expended by December 31 and projects must be completed by the end of the following school year.

Eligibility and Requirements

Applicants may apply for grants of up to $1,000. Applicants may not apply for multiple grants and cannot be involved with multiple teams.

Please note the following requirements:

• The school principal or administrator must understand and fully support the project, as evidenced by signing the statement of support on the application form and final grant agreement.
• Project goals and learning objectives are clearly defined and tied to students' academic needs. The expected impact on student performance is described for all participants.
• If a field trip is involved, well-planned pre- and post-trip activities are connected to classroom learning objectives.
• Teachers, librarians, school media specialists and administrators may apply if they work full-time at K-12 schools in the following places:

Reporting Requirements

Final reports are not required but are encouraged. We would like to hear about students' accomplishments and how grants were implemented.

Submit the report via email to rwu@cnb.com