Invest in a Child’s Future
Louisiana is facing a literacy crisis.
Only 26% of Louisiana’s 4th grade students are proficient readers. That is unacceptable.
The Center for Literacy and Learning is working across the state with our partners to improve student outcomes, train, coach, and support educators, empower families through at-home reading programs, and champion equitable educational policies. Your donation will ensure Louisiana’s children have every opportunity to learn to read.

Be a part of the change, your monthly donation helps provide books to kids. By gifting $10 a month, you are contributing to a better education for every student in Louisiana. Getting books into the hands of kids is a surefire way to help them reach their full literacy potential. Your gift also helps us to provide better resources, training, and support to educators, ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to quality education.

Alice Thomas Memorial Fund
Alice Peale Pierce Thomas was the founder, president, and CEO of The Center for Literacy and Learning. Alice passed away quietly and peacefully on November 3, 2022.
A core mission of social justice drove her strong belief that all children, regardless of how they look, where they come from, or how they learn, can and will achieve school success when provided with highly effective teachers and positive, supportive learning environments.
In founding and growing The Center, Alice changed the lives of countless tens of thousands by permanently changing the nature of education at a local, national, and international level – and by reforming the very way that teachers teach.
William Van Cleave Memorial Scholarship Fund
“Syntax lost its exclamation mark.”– Jan Wasowicz
While William Van Cleave presented on many topics, he always said that syntax was his superpower. His colleagues would tell you that he had many superpowers. As a way to honor them all, we have created the William Van Cleave Memorial Scholarship Fund that, through a selection process, will afford chosen educators the opportunity to attend Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning®.

Mail donations to:
The Center for Literacy and Learning
3500 North Causeway Boulevard, Suite 1240
Metairie, LA 70002
Legal Name: Louisiana Children’s Research Center for Development and Learning
Federal Tax ID Number: 72-1221356

Other Ways to Give
Corporate Matching Gifts
You can double—or even triple!—your gift without paying a penny more. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Some companies match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses. These programs allow our donors to leverage their generosity to make a greater impact in the areas of The Center for Literacy and Learning that are most meaningful to them.
You may mail your completed matching gift form to:
The Center for Literacy and Learning
3500 North Causeway Boulevard, Suite 1240
Metairie, LA 70002
If you need the Center’s EIN (Employer Identification Number) to complete the form, it is 72-1221356.
Most organizations require The Center for Literacy and Learning to verify your gift in order to make the match. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1 (800) 840-9786.
Gifts of Stock
A gift of appreciated stock can be an excellent way for you to support The Center for Literacy and Learning, avoid a capital gains tax and take a charitable deduction. Outright gifts of marketable securities for current operations or endowments can be made in several ways. Please consult your tax professional for advice related to your particular financial situation.
Transferring Stocks
To make a gift of stocks, please inform The Center for Literacy and Learning of the company stock/mutual fund you intend to transfer or the approximate value of your gift and your stockbroker’s name and telephone number, as well as the gift designation.
Please contact:
Morgan Hilliard
Vice President of Advancement
Direct: (833) 792-1874 ext. 202
morgan@mycll.org
Gifts of securities can be transferred to The Center for Literacy and Learning account by providing the following transfer instructions to your broker exactly as follows:
Charles Schwab
DTC Number: 0164
Receiving Institution Account Number: 2181-2178
Account Title/Registration: LA Children’s Research Center for Development & Learning DBA The Center for Literacy and Learning
Contact Name: Dr. John Wyble, CAE, President and CEO
Phone Number: (833)792-1874
Gift date is the date of receipt in The Center for Literacy and Learning’s account. Please notify us as soon as the transfer is initiated.
Sending securities held as physical certificates:
Please send the stock certificate(s) along with a transmittal letter by certified mail to:
The Center for Literacy and Learning
3500 North Causeway Boulevard, Suite 1240
Metairie, LA 70002
Attn: Cindy Phillips, Director of Business Operations
You should also sign the back side of the stock certificate or an irrevocable stock power transferring ownership to the Louisiana Children’s Research Center for Development and Learning. The signature on the stock power must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a commercial bank, trust company, securities broker dealer, credit union, or savings institution participating in a STAMP Medallion program approved by the Securities Transfer Association, Inc. Gift date is the postmark date as mailed to The Center for Literacy and Learning.
Planned Giving
Planned gifts have an enormous and lasting impact on The Center for Literacy and Learning, creating a legacy for educators and students that lasts for generations. Planned gifts also form part of an overall financial plan that can provide you with significant benefits. For example, planned gifts can help you maintain control of your assets during your lifetime, take advantage of a number of tax benefits, leave a legacy at The Center for Literacy and Learning and possibly even provide income to yourself or others during your or their lifetime. Unlike gifts of cash, planned gifts typically come from assets in your estate, rather than disposable income.
Common planned giving mechanisms:
- Bequest – with the help of an advisor, include language in your will or trust specifying a gift
- IRA charitable rollover – if you are 70 1/2 years old, you can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly without having to pay income taxes on the money
- Retirement assets – make a gift of your unused retirement assets by listing The Center for Literacy and Learning as a beneficiary
- Insurance – if you have a life insurance policy that has outlasted its original purpose, consider making a gift of your insurance policy
If you have any questions about ways to support The Center for Literacy and Learning, please contact:
Morgan Hilliard
Vice President of Advancement
Direct: (833) 792-1874 ext. 202
morgan@mycll.org