FACT SHEET
IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY
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Illiteracy Snapshot - 64% of fourth graders are reading below the proficient level.
(National Assessment of Educational Progress)
Crime - Literacy can help reduce the rate of crime in all of our communities. 85%
of juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system cannot read. (US
Department of Justice)
Economy - Literacy can help America's debt and everyone's wallets. Illiteracy
costs businesses and taxpayers $200 billion annually and adds $230 billion
annually to healthcare costs. (Communities in Schools)
Poverty - Literacy is a strong indicator of who is living in poverty. 80% of illiterate
children live below the poverty line. (US Census Bureau)
Jobs - Literacy can provide a capable workforce for our communities. At least
65% of jobs will require more than a high school degree. (Center on Education
and Workforce)
Life Dignity - Literacy gives life value and allows people to contribute to society.
Those who cannot read will have difficulty positively impacting the future of their
family and our nation.
OUR HISTORY
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Jonathan Wilfong and Andrew Renshaw founded Coaching for Literacy (CFL)
was founded on August 28, 2013. They both grew up in Memphis, Tennessee,
where their families support individuals through various literacy programs. As
high school seniors at Memphis University School, the pair decided to offer a
solution to the problem of illiteracy - Coaching for Literacy.
We believe everyone is born with equal and great worth. Literacy is an
expression of that worth and we strive to do everything within our means to give
value to every single child.
HOW WE OPERATE
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Coaching for Literacy strives to connect the public to the issue of illiteracy
through the power of sports and create a movement of individuals who support
literacy initiatives through funding and awareness.
Our programs are designed to execute that mission: generate funding and raise
awareness for literacy initiatives, below is a description of each initiative:
o Coaching for Literacy Awareness Games - Sports teams partner with
Coaching for Literacy to raise awareness about the issue of illiteracy.
o Revitalizing Literacy Through Sports - An event series where influential
sports figures and literacy experts share with individuals why literacy is
crucial for our society’s future.
o Collegiate Chapters - Students band together to change the future as
they volunteer and raise support for literacy programs.
We strive to engage the general public through our 3-Step Impact Plan:
o Learn: When someone learns about illiteracy, they will act to end it.
o Act: Sign a petition to commit to Fight for Literacy in your community.
o Donate: Create a brighter future by funding a literacy project.
HOW WE FUND LITERACY WORK
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Our Impact Promise ensures that 100% of general funds raised are directed to
the mission of the organization and not to overhead.
Funds raised by Coaching for Literacy’s effort in a particular community remain
in that community in accordance with our Impact Promise - 70% is given to our
selected literacy program partner and 30% is allocated toward Coaching for
Literacy’s program expenses.
OUR LITERACY PARTNERS
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Over 3 years, Coaching for Literacy has worked with 26 partners in 11 states and
21 cities.
Our partners must meet the following requirements:
o Focused Literacy Programs - Serves children at or below the 3rd gradelevel and provides programming to at least an 80% majority of students
living at or below the poverty line.
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Proper Qualifications - IRS 501 (c)(3) status, 990 Form and high-level
ratings from charity evaluators GuideStar and Charity Navigator.
SPORTS TEAM PARTNERS (PAST AND CURRENT)
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Stanford – Basketball (M)
Georgia Tech – Basketball (M)
Arizona - Basketball (M)
Alabama – Basketball (M)
UNLV – Basketball (M)
John Hopkins - Lacrosse (W)
Colorado - Basketball (M)
St. Bonaventure - Basketball (W)
Memphis - Basketball (M)
Vanderbilt - Basketball (M)
Harvard - Basketball (M)
UVA - Basketball (M)
Ole Miss - Basketball (M), Football
Yale - Basketball (M)
San Francisco - Basketball (M)
Florida State - Basketball (M)
Central Arkansas - Basketball (M)
SMU - Basketball (M), Football
UCLA - Basketball (M)
LA Tech - Basketball (M)
UT-Chattanooga - Basketball (M)
Cal - Basketball (M)
Kansas State - Basketball (M)
Mississippi State - Basketball (M), Basketball (W), Football
Navy - Basketball (M)
ETSU - Basketball (M)
VCU - Basketball (M)
University of New Haven – Basketball (M)
Washington Wizards - Basketball (M)
CFL AWARENESS GAMES:
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Coaching for Literacy Awareness Games highlight the great work our sports
team partners do on and off the court. Each team makes an impact in their
community by following our 3-Step Victory Plan:
o Pick One Game - The partner sports team selects one night for their team
to raise awareness in the Fight for Literacy.
o Wear Green - We send the coaching staffs green apparel to wear on
game night to promote the cause.
o Blow The Whistle - Our staff works with each partner’s PR team to raise
awareness about the problem of illiteracy.
OUR IMPACT
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Coaching for Literacy has raised awareness via publications and radio spots with
media syndicates such as ESPN, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated.
In just three years, our efforts have raised over $500,000 for literacy efforts.
We have provided direct literacy support to over 7,610 kids and 250 literacy
instructors in 26 different literacy programs nationwide.
Our collegiate chapters consist of 5 chapters with a total of 150 members who
have provided over 2,000 service hours to literacy programs.