Jacksonville-based literacy nonprofit Read USA has received a $1 million donation from the Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Foundation , which is the largest gift in the organization’s 13-year history and came with a condition that doubled its impact.
Ward, former CEO of CXS Corp ., and his wife, a family and marriage therapist, required Read USA to first raise a matching $1 million. That was accomplished via other donors.
So the outcome of their donation is $2 million to boost literacy, particularly for the nonprofit’s primary partner, Duval County Public Schools.
“Read USA has created clever, well-constructed programming. We saw the impressive results and the real progress being made, particularly among students who are the furthest behind,” Ward said. “You have to also think about the broader picture of what Read USA is doing. With the teacher shortage and pipeline struggles we face, education programs at universities declining and other challenges, Read USA is exposing young people to the profession, which is so important.”