To get started on the funding challenge, remember to research, research, research. Conduct Internet searches on family literacy and funding. Contact the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). In addition to providing technical assistance, NCFL has resource materials (e.g., Funding a Family Literacy Program) available and presents an annual national conference. Peruse trade journals such as The Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Newspaper of the Non-Profit World (for information, see http://philanthropy.com).

Marketing
Family literacy is good — therefore it speaks for itself. Unfortunately, in a time of 30-second sound bites and meals on the run, anything that someone needs to “buy” must be sold, marketed, or promoted — particularly to potential funding entities.

The notion that family literacy in alternative settings needs to be marketed can be an anathema to program planners. However, marketing family literacy is the same as marketing anything else. It is always based on the “WIIFM Principle” — What’s in it for me? Why should I buy? How is my life (family, school, future) going to change if I buy? Madison Avenue really knows how to market!(12) When an advertisement appears on television or in a magazine, it is targeted toward a particular group or market segment. Madison Avenue promises that life will be better if we buy jeans; eyeliner; beer; a fancy new car, truck, or van; laundry soap; cigarettes; etc. And we believe Madison Avenue. We buy!

While one could argue about commercial advertising’s tactics, its principles are worth examining. Applying Madison Avenue’s principles to family literacy in an incarcerated setting requires asking the following questions:

• What’s in it for me?
• What is the product?
• What’s the transaction?
• Who are the buyers?
• Who is the seller?
• Are the buyers internal or external to the system?

12 Adapted from Hudson River Center for Program Development, Inc., WORK-BASED LEARNING: A Resource Guide for Change (Glenmont, NY: Author, 1996.)

“The Parent and Child Time I spent with my child today and all other Parent and Child Time is of immense value to me. I enjoyed myself very much, and from my observation, so did my child.”
Participant in family literacy program