Frequently Asked Questions - General

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation was established to address the underfunding of Canadian school libraries and the literacy crisis. Love of Reading provides grants for the purchase of new books and education resources to high-needs elementary schools.

The Foundation raises money in three ways:

1. Online or in-store donations
2. Proceeds from Love of Reading fundraising items at any Indigo, Chapters or Coles book store
3. Private donations

Fundraising items are the products that generate donations for the Foundation. Examples are:

• Gift card holders (bags and sleeves)
• Plush Riley teddy bear with blue ribbon
• Scaredy Squirrel box set (puppet with book)

Yes. For any online donation over $20.00, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt. The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is a registered charitable organization with the federal government under Business Charitable Registration number 81738 6373 RR0001.

81738 6873 RR0001

In 2008 the $1.5 million was distributed based on the school’s student population so every student at every school receives equal funding, which explains why the level of funding is different for each of the grant recipients. This allows the Foundation to distribute the $1.5 million across more schools instead of 10 as we have done in previous years.

Each year the grant is broken into two portions:

• 90% is set up as a corporate account for Love of Reading schools to purchase required books through Indigo, Chapters and Coles
• 10% is cash and can be used to support creative literacy activities and events

From 2005 to 2007, $1.5 million dollars was distributed each year with every school receiving equal funding regardless of the student population $150,000 was given out in increments of $50,000/year for three years).

All donations are added to a collective fund which is distributed among selected Love of Reading schools. If there is a particular school that you believe deserves a Love of Reading grant, please encourage one of the teachers or the school principal to download the online application form (pdf file, 136KB).

Fundraising items are the products that generate donations for the Foundation. Examples are:

• Gift card holders (bags and sleeves)
• Plush Riley teddy bear with blue ribbon
• Scaredy Squirrel box set (puppet with book)

No. Indigo Books and Music Inc. does not receive any profits from donations or the sale of fundraising products purchased at Indigo, Chapters or Coles. All cash donations and proceeds of sales go directly to the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. Indigo donates the profits from designated fundraising products and collects customer donations at its Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores. Indigo also collects donations from its employees through an optional employee payroll deduction program.

Indigo Books & Music Inc. donates the profits from designated fundraising products and collects customer donations at its Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores. Indigo Books & Music also collects donations from its employees through an optional employee payroll deduction program.

Applications are evaluated based on the criteria outlined in the grant application. Each year we receive hundreds of applications from schools across the country. The applicants have to fulfill a strict set of criteria and must demonstrate:

• The school is high-needs
• The Principal’s role in mandating a literacy focus
• There is currently dedication to literacy even with limited resources
• The infrastructure is in place (Literacy Committee, volunteers, physical space, etc) to absorb the books if selected as a grant recipient

The assessment includes pre-screening and evaluations administered by current Love of Reading school principals and input from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation employees and Heather Reisman, President of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.

You can learn more about the grant here and download the application form (pdf file, 136KB).

Since 2004, 90 schools from across Canada have been selected as Love of Reading schools, receiving the grant over a three year period. Click here to listen to life-changing calls when we announced the recipients.

You can view a complete list of the schools selected for 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.