The Imagination Library of Washington (ILWA) recently announced a pair of new grants that will help restore Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to Washington children from birth to age 5.
Major commitments from the Roots & Wings Foundation and The JTMF Foundation will stabilize ILWA’s 50% book-cost match that supports local program partners and enables the program to restore service in paused communities as quickly as possible. Together, these commitments provide immediate support while creating a stronger foundation for statewide program stability, according to a news release from the program.
The combined support is expected to ultimately restore access for approximately 40,000 children and return the program to full statewide coverage. Once restoration is complete, total statewide enrollment is expected to exceed 100,000 children.
In Lewis County, the program was never in doubt, as the United Way of Lewis County, working with partners such local Rotary clubs, has significant private support. To learn more, visit https://www.lewiscountyuw.com/dolly-partons-imagination-library.
Roots & Wings committed $3 million to ILWA to support book funding and program stability statewide over the next two years. During the current fiscal year, that investment will work alongside a significant tiered contribution from The JTMF Foundation to support the 50% book-cost match, helping local program partners maintain existing service and restore service in paused communities, according to a news release from the ILWA.
These commitments build upon additional private philanthropic support received during the funding gap, which helped ILWA maintain operations and prepare to restore service.
ILWA has begun reactivating service in communities where local program partners are ready to resume operations. The organization is also actively recruiting and onboarding new nonprofit partners in regions that currently lack a local program partner. Restoration timing will vary by community.
“This extraordinary support will help thousands of Washington children once again receive a new book in the mail each month,” Brooke Fisher-Clark, executive director of Imagination Library of Washington, said in the release. “We are deeply grateful to Roots & Wings Foundation and The JTMF Foundation for helping restore service and stabilize the book-cost match our local partners depend on. Their investments provide critical stability now, but renewed public funding remains vital to sustaining statewide access for Washington children over the long term.”
ILWA previously achieved statewide coverage across all 39 counties through a network of local program partners. Unlike in prior years, ILWA was not included in the state operating budget for the current fiscal year to support the state’s 50% share of book costs. At the same time, several local program partners faced challenges securing their local book match. Those local funding shortfalls led to service pauses in several regions, leaving thousands of children without access to monthly books while ILWA worked to secure replacement funding and rebuild local partnerships.
Although these new funding commitments represent a transformative step forward, continued public and private investment will remain essential to protecting statewide access in future years. ILWA encourages Washington residents to share enrollment information with families of children from birth to age 5, advocate for continued state investment in early literacy during the 2027 legislative session, and contribute to the program’s long-term sustainability, the release stated.
