Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, Inc.
When children learn to read, their own store begins.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Reach Out and Read
Since 1999, ROR GNY has provided books to children six months through five years old and literacy guidance to parents and guardians at hospitals and health centers in the greater New York region. Children visiting these sites for a check-up receive a new age-appropriate book, and their parents receive guidance on the development of their children's early literacy skills, with strong encouragement to read aloud to their children regularly. In addition, waiting rooms at health centers are "literacy rich," with books for older siblings and, when possible, volunteers reading aloud to children and modeling read-aloud techniques for parents. Reach Out and Read programs especially target children living below or near the poverty level.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of books distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Infants and toddlers, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Reach Out and Read
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
At each well-child visit from six months through five years of age, the child receives a new book to take home and build their home library. We track books distributed to ensure program efficacy.
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Infants and toddlers, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Reach Out and Read
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
No other early literacy organization has both the scale to reach hundreds of thousands children and the solid evidence base to support program effectiveness.
Number of program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Infants and toddlers, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Reach Out and Read
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Medical providers seek to sign up for our program because it is so impactful.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
In aiming to create a better avenue for building early literacy skills in children ages 0-5, our program seeks to provide books and literacy guidance to the children and families who participate in Reach Out and Read of Greater New York. While Reach Out and Read of Greater New York touches families of diverse economic and racial backgrounds, in NYC, Long Island, and the Greater Hudson Valley, the majority of the children and families served in our program are in the lower-income bracket. It is our mission to get books in the hands and homes of those most in need. By the age of 5 children in our program have a collection (on average) of 10 books in their homes before they enter kindergarten.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our first line of strategy is working with pediatricians and medical providers who manage a Reach Out and Read of Greater New York program at their hospitals or medical centers. We train pediatricians in our model When a child comes in for a well-child visit Reach Out and Read of Greater New York is also a part of a few literacy-based organizations adding to continua of services around literacy resources, which partner together to help support the whole family. We also aim to give parents and caregivers the tools and coaching they need to empower them to help their children be ready for school. Our organization, while separate from the flagship organization, Reach Out and Read located in Boston, does work in collaboration with the Reach Out and Read headquarters as well as other affiliates in our network. We also partner with multiple publishers to supply diverse and age-appropriate books our 233 sites in the New York and Greater New York area.
Additionally, currently, in the time of COVID-19, we have added virtual programming which includes daily read alouds and bilingual workshops for families. Although this programming is being created in response to the pandemic, we plan to use the recorded videos as teaching tools and resources for families and pediatric medical providers in the future as well.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Currently, to meet our goals, Reach Out and Read of Greater New York encourages providers and site coordinators to take the online training through myROR, the database developed by our National affiliate. We also engage in targeted fundraising and seeking creative ways to increase our book support capacity through programs like “Adopt-a-Site.” Adopt-a-Site is where a generous donor decides to support a site whether monetarily for the purchase of books or by hosting book drives for the site. We are constructing a volunteer training program as well as cultivating in-kind book donations and partnering with city council initiatives and local collective impact projects.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As we continue to find ways to improve on fidelity to our model, Reach Out and Read has had success over the past few years, which includes being asked to pilot new programming. In partnership with City’s First Readers, the program Books In The Nursery was born. The goal was to distribute one title I Will Talk To You, Little One by Phyllis Grann and famous illustrator Tomi dePaola to new parents and caregivers upon the birth of their child. More than 275,000 copies of I Will Talk To You, Little One have been distributed in English and Spanish to families at our participating hospital sites. Secondly, we have identified program sites working with special populations such as the underhoused and homeless, and children and families with special needs. Lastly, we have expanded our multilingual book distribution efforts by providing books beyond English and Spanish. We now offer books in Haitian-Creole, Manadrin, Arabic and French.
We have consistently met 50% of our population’s book needs over the past 5 years → increasing the percentage of book needs met moving forward. We have been asked to participate in 3 pilot programs: First 1000 Days, Read the City Campaign and United for Brownsville collective impact project. Most recently, we have launched a robust virtual programming as a response to the COVID pandemic.
Our future goals are to increase consistency across sites, new hands-on provider training, volunteer training, meeting the book needs, more virtual programming, continuing to partner and grow with the other city initiatives.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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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 look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/19/2022
Jack Pace
White & Case, LLP
Term: 2011 -
Gary Tannenbaum
Miltan Management
Judith Levine
No Affiliation
Leora Mogilner
Mount Sinai Medical Center
Jack E. Pace
White & Case LLP
Goldie Alfasi-Siffert
The Institute for Family Health
Rita Brause
Fordham University
Bonnie Lieberman
No affiliation
Sergey Kraytman
Goldman Sachs
Joshua Greene
S&P Global
Anjali Thadani
Dorothy Weintraub
Scholastic
Bianca Mason
Adam Kaufman
Susan Elbe
Jenny Gilmore
Deloitte
Matt Gregory
Janicelynn Park
Lisa Nelson
Farhan Husain
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/03/2022GuideStar 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
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.