First Book


First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books, educational resources, and other essentials—including coats, snacks, and hygiene kits—to educators serving children in need. First Book has offices in Washington, D.C., and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

History

First Book President and CEO Kyle Zimmer founded First Book with Peter Gold and Elizabeth Arky in 1992 to be a market-driven solution to the extreme lack of books available in the schools and programs serving children from low-income neighborhoods. Since then, First Book has grown to serve hundreds of thousands of educators working in Title I or Title I-eligible programs. Gold and Arky still serve on the First Book Board of Directors.

The First Book Marketplace

The is First Book's eCommerce site that provides First Book’s network of educators, librarians, providers, and others serving children in need with thousands of free and affordable brand new books, educational resources, and basic needs items. The First Book Marketplace is designed to addresses the barriers to education and attendance for kids in need from birth to age 18. It is available to educators and program leaders serving Title I or Title I-eligible schools and programs.

The First Book Network

The First Book Network refers to the hundreds of thousands of educators who access resources on the First Book Marketplace. Anyone serving Title I or Title I-eligible schools and programs, including out-of-school programs, faith-based organizations, shelters and clinics, libraries and museums, military family support programs, and early childhood programs, is eligible to join the network.

Reviews and awards

Kyle Zimmer won the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for her lifetime work at First Book, the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the 2016 Jefferson Award, the Peggy Charren / Free to Be You and Me Award, the Lifetime Collective Impact Reward, and the Carle Honor. She also was put on the 2016 Ideagen Power 100 List, and named Nonprofit Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association and Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
First Book also received many awards as an organization, including the 2015 David M. Rubenstein Prize, the Social Capitalist Award from Fast Company and the Monitor Group, and the Gold Halo Award., It has been reviewed favorably by the Charity Navigator and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance as a trustworthy institution.,