PLATINUM2023

Spread the Word Nevada

Inspiring children, one book at a time.

Henderson, NV   |  www.spreadthewordnevada.org

Mission

Spread the Word Nevada is dedicated to advancing early childhood literacy by placing books into the homes of children within Nevada's low income communities. Through community collaboration, mentorship and family partnership programs, Kids to Kids fosters reading and language development opportunities ultimately leading to brighter academic and economic futures for these children. We are dedicated to changing the lives of our at-risk children, one book at a time.

Ruling year info

2001

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Lisa Habighorst

Main address

1065 American Pacific Dr., Ste. 160

Henderson, NV 89074 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

22-3829041

NTEE code info

Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement (B92)

Primary/Elementary Schools (B24)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Kids to Kids

Kids to Kids, our flagship program, reaches out to at-risk children (grades Pre-K to 5th Grade) in low income areas by providing them with new and gently used books to develop their very own “keep at home” library of books to learn from and share with their families.  The program objective is to enhance the reading abilities of and instill a deep appreciation for reading during the formative stages of the at-risk student population.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
At-risk youth

Breakfast with Books, our family literacy programming helps instill the importance of reading with the children in partnership with their families to increase their daily practice as a means for literacy success. Students and their parents, grandparents, guardians, and siblings are invited to share in a light snack and story reading at the elementary schools we serve for a 45-minute program focusing on skills, knowledge, and confidence building to read together. These tools give emphasis on pronunciation, inflection, and cadence to serve as guides to read aloud with the children and incorporate daily reading practice. Brand-new books our facilitator reads at the event are available for families to take home. In addition, all participants choose from a large selection of gently-used books to also take home and grow their home libraries.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
At-risk youth

Books & Buddies is our reading mentorship program which partners our volunteers from Southern Nevada’s senior centers, businesses, and communities with the children attending our at-risk elementary schools.  Volunteers partner individually with students to focus on further developing the child’s reading proficiency, comprehension, and verbal recitation skills.  This program provides children with valuable one-on-one mentoring that is not available in the classroom or in the home.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
At-risk youth

Readers In Training is an early intervention for our youngest readers still at home. We focus on the critical birth to 5 years old development to build a foundation for all future learning. In addition to engaging the parents to understand their incredible power to impact their child's literacy, love of learning, and school readiness success. A monthly age-appropriate book is mailed directly to the child with parental tips and tools newsletter, along with engaging activities that can be completed in the home focusing on the theme or skill of the month. There are virtual trainings recorded in English and Spanish that can be reviewed at a time that is convenient for families with opportunities for in-person literacy playgroups to grow their community support systems. A monthly check-in on the theme or skill actively engages families with literacy interventions and provides further outreach services they may need assistance with to better prepare for school readiness.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
At-risk youth
Children and youth
At-risk youth

Where we work

Awards

Spread The Word Nevda Day, March 4th 2009

City of Las Vegas

Non-Profit of the Year 2008

In Business Magazine

Points of Light Award 2006

Nevada Governor

Outstanding Charity of the Year 2005

Nevada Community Foundation

Affiliations & memberships

Association of Fundraising Professionals - Member 2015

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of books distributed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

Kids to Kids

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

There was a decrease in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic and reaching at-risk children.

Hours of volunteer service

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

There was a decrease in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Spread the Word Nevada is dedicated to advancing early childhood literacy by placing books into the homes of children within Nevada's at-risk, low-income communities. Through community collaboration, mentorship and family partnership programs, Spread the Word Nevada fosters reading and language development opportunities ultimately leading to brighter academic and economic futures for these children.

Spread the Word Nevada “adopts" elementary schools in Nevada where at least 80% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. These are schools where the majority of the families are living at or near the poverty line. Families that are struggling for basic needs cannot afford to purchase books, seldom have home libraries and sadly, for many reasons, have not formed a culture of reading in their households. Upon adoption of the Kids to Kids program for students PreK-5th grade, each child in the school receives a book bag and chooses five books to take home and begin building a home library. We know that not owning books is one of the single biggest barriers to not reading proficiently by the third grade.

By helping to create books that “live" at home we assist with fostering a greater love for reading and the tools to practice skills learned in the classroom. Each school adoption includes a monthly family literacy program called Breakfast with Books. This program is a before or after school family engagement event that includes students attending with an adult member/s of the family for a modeled storytime, light breakfast or snack, a chance to win a prize to motivate the students, and literacy activity sheets. Each member of the family attending the program is invited to choose and take home a book. Mentoring through our Books & Buddies program takes place at several on-site school centers designated for volunteers from the community to pair with a struggling reader for 30-45 minutes per week. This program has shown remarkable results in raising reading levels and confidence. Readers In Training recognizes the need to start even earlier with children birth to 5-years-old that provide the necessary wraparound supports to bridge home and school. Readers In Training encourages parents as their child's first teacher to instill the joy of reading in their home environment.

Spread the Word Nevada has shown remarkable results and growth over the last 20 years. Co-founders, Laurie Hartig and Lisa Habighorst are both former educators and have long understood the need for these services within the school district where they both taught. Clark County School District is the fifth-largest school district in the country yet sadly, ranks nearly last in the nation for education. Poverty is a reality in Nevada and Spread the Word Nevada joins many other nonprofit organizations that are addressing the results of children living in low-income communities.

Our Program Director, Books & Buddies Coordinators, and many support staff are former educators with years of experience in teaching and knowledge of Clark County School District. Spread the Word Nevada has a long and strong partnership with Clark County School District, its Partnership Office, and Superintendent. The programs we offer are eagerly sought and welcomed into 78 schools as of September 2023. Sustaining these schools throughout the years is made possible by the dedicated work of our board of directors and staff, long-time support from foundations, and consistent corporate funders as well as passionate individual donors and volunteers.

As new schools are added that are in need of services, Spread the Word Nevada makes it our mission to eventually reach all schools in our community where children can benefit from these valuable literacy programs. Over more than 20 years, we have grown from delivering a few boxes of books to one school from the trunks of our co-founders' cars to now placing over 60,000 books to at-risk children every month during the school year! Lives are changing for students and students are sharing the magic of books with their own families, frequently teaching their parents how to read. We are extremely proud of the broad reach that a single book can have when a child has ownership of a world within the pages of a story.

We were proud to provide statewide services at elementary schools in Wahsoe, Elko, & Nye Counties. As we steadily grow in our programming we continue to provide excellent services through the training of our staff to meet these needs in the most efficient and impactful way possible.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback

Financials

Spread the Word Nevada
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Spread the Word Nevada

Board of directors
as of 09/06/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Chad Leavitt

Findlay Automotive Group

Term: 2017 - 2023

Adrianne Burke

Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Kris Hanson

Collage Tile

Melissa Joseph

PlayAGS

Mary Madden

Las Vegas Valley Water District

Chad Leavitt

Findlay Automotive Group

Carol Cline-Ong

MDL Group

Daniel Philippus

RSM US LLP

Jenelle Canis

Toyota Financial Savings Bank

Monte Smith

Brown & Brown Insurance Nevada

Jodi Stephens

Stephens Consulting

Agnes Zadlo

PNC Bank

Palmira Gerlach

Children's Community Advocate

April West-Kieckhefer

Children's Community Advocate

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/6/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/06/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
Policies and processes
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.