What We Aim to Solve
In the world of school book fairs, fewer things feel worse than seeing a kid come with his classmates, looking at the books, and leaving empty-handed. It’s awful for the kid. It’s awful for the school. It’s awful for the booksellers. It’s inequity at its core, and it’s preventable.
We eliminate this barrier by funding $25 vouchers for students attending school book fairs hosted by Bookie’s Bookstore, a longtime South Side literacy partner. Every student deserves to choose books freely, confidently, and without exception.
Our Mission
We remove cost as a barrier to literacy. Every student walks away from a school book fair with stories they’ve chosen themselves—books that reflect their curiosity, culture, and voice. This simple act of choice transforms the reading experience.
When students choose books, schools strengthen their classrooms and libraries. Bookie’s donates book credits directly to host schools, building their collections and deepening their literacy ecosystems. We prove that equity and sustainability can work together.
Our Goals
We aim to ensure that every student attending a school book fair can choose and own books—without cost, stigma, or exception. We restore dignity to the book fair experience by centering student agency and authentic choice.
We build stronger school communities by fueling student literacy and strengthening school libraries with book credits from every fair. When students read books they’ve chosen, schools win too.
Our Strategy
We secure donations and grants to fund $25 vouchers for every eligible student. We build deep partnerships with schools, donors, and literacy advocates to ensure full participation—no barriers, no exceptions.
Our work is rooted in community engagement and radical transparency. We amplify student choice as the catalyst for literacy equity. Every dollar donated goes directly into students’ hands, transforming book fairs from transactions into moments of dignity and agency.
Our Approach to Equity
We assess each school’s needs and partner with them to fund accordingly. In schools where the vast majority of students face barriers to book ownership—like Kipling Elementary—we fund the entire fair. Every child receives a voucher. No one is singled out. There’s no shame, no embarrassment, no exclusion.
In more mixed schools, we work with school leadership to identify and support students who need vouchers most. Schools handle distribution discreetly, ensuring every student who needs help can participate and choose freely—without any stigma.
Our strategy centers on dignity and partnership. We meet schools where they are, always with the goal of removing barriers to reading.
Legal Status
FAIR Fund Chicago is an officially recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit (39-2848252) fully registered with the Illinois Attorney General’s Charitable Trust Bureau (CO# 01100541).
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