Frequently Asked Questions

Eligible applicants include any not-for-profit organization, or organization that works with a fiscal sponsor, aiming to address and improve educational and/or developmental outcomes for Georgia’s children. Applications must reflect a cross-sector collaboration between the primary applicant and at least one partner organization. 

The Deal Center welcomes applications across organizations, including but not limited to:    

• Advocacy organizations  

• Civic and community organizations   

• Family Connection collaboratives  

• Community-oriented non-profits  

• City or County government agencies   

• Municipality departments, such as libraries or museums  

• Early education organizations  

This grant mechanism includes three funding tiers with variable amounts as indicated in the table below. Applicants must designate a tier for their project and provide a rationale for the selected tier. The Deal Center will award grants totaling up to $150,000. Each grant is issued for one year. Previous awardees are encouraged to apply for higher funding tiers each year. 

• (Tier 1) Creating and Growing: $10,000 

• (Tier 2) Strengthening and Sustaining: $14,000 

• (Tier 3) Scaling and Amplifying: $24,000 

More information on the requirements and expectations for each tier can be found in this year’s RFA.

Yes! For questions related to Qualtrics or application submission, please contact: 

Ryan Hersh 
Grants Administrator  
478-445-8537 
ryan.hersh@gcsu.edu 

For content-related questions regarding the Community Coalition grant application, please contact: 

Akia Lewis 
Strategic Innovation and Get Georgia Reading Project Manager 
470-366-1431 
akia@gafcp.org 

Yes! We suggest completing the application in a Word document prior to beginning the online application.

The back button in the online portal is enabled, but Qualtrics will save your progress. 

No, if you discover a mistake has been in the application after it has been submitted, please contact us for assistance.

Please note that changes to the submitted application cannot be made after the grant deadline has closed. 

For assistance, please contact: 

Ryan Hersh 
Grants Administrator
478-445-8537 
ryan.hersh@gcsu.edu 

Play & Learn (PALs) Two-Generation Early Childhood Literacy Initiative, Salena Weed, County: Whitfield, Amount Rewarded: $13,999.96

Thomaston-Upson Literacy Alliance: Strengthening & Sustaining Community Implementation of The Basics, Angela Norton, County: Thomaston-Upson, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

Turning Raider Nation Into Reader Nation: Strengthening and Sustaining Community Literacy Efforts for Early Childhood in Madison County, Amanda Sailors, County: Madison, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

Building A Strong Foundation: Fostering Early Language and Literacy Through Community Collaboration, Theotis Summerset, County: Montgomery, Treutlen, Wheeler, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

Berrien Babies Literacy Initiative, Sara Paulk, County: Berrien, Amount Rewarded: $9,999.75

Innovating a Trainer-of-Trainers Framework to Nurture Family-infant Engagement and Language Development, Sallie Starrett, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

Fayette First Steps: A Common Language for Kindergarten Readiness, Julie Turner, County: Fayette, Amount Rewarded: $9,966

Supporting Early Literacy In Atlanta's Latino Community, Ashley Lewman, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $13,999.70

WACO Reads-Community Partnerships for Language and Literacy, Leah Clark, County: Ware, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

The Basics in Lanier, Amy Griffin, County: Lanier, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

Sumter Organizations United for Literacy~SOUL Language is Everything!, Bari Geeslin, County: Sumter, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

Clarke Early Language and Literacy Success Collaborative (CELLSC), Angie Moon de Avila, County: Clarke, Amount Rewarded: $13,898.50

The Basics Troup County, Kim Meyers, County: Troup, Amount Rewarded: $13,997.50

Building Caregiver Capacity for Structured Literacy at Home: A Parent Leader Implementation Pilot, Brennan Chandler, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $49,997

‍Building an Early Language and Literacy System (BELLS): An Implementation Study of the Literacy and Justice for All Initiative in Atlanta, Gary Bingham, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $49,986

‍Evaluating the Feasibility of the WRITE HOME Backpack Project: Enhancing Parent-Child Reading—Writing Interactions to Support Family Literacy Practices, Jialin Lai, County: Richmond, Amount Rewarded: $49,999

‍A University-School Partnership to Enhance Teacher Preparation and Early Literacy Outcomes, Kristin Sayeski, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $50,000

‍M2-Enabled Reflective Literacy Coaching for Early Career Teachers: Strengthening Science of Reading Practices in Rural Georgia, Melissa Baker, County: Tift, Amount Rewarded: $49,996

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2025:

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The Basics Cobb County, Irene Barton, County: Marietta, Cobb, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Dimon’s Dine & Discover [A Family Literacy Night], April Hopson, County: Columbus, Muscogee, Amount Rewarded: $23,760

‍Get Upson Reading with The Basics, Angela Norton, County: Thomaston, Upson, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Scaling and Adapting the Get Comfortable Literacy Mentor Program, Matt Stevens, County: Athens, Clarke, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Hart from the Start, Courtney Hart, County: Hartwell, Hart, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

A Time to Play-Growing, Learning and Exploring Together!, Annette Beckwith, County: Jackson, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

Jefferson County Early Language and Literacy Community Coalition Project (ELLCC), Chester Johnson, County: Jefferson, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Macon Literacy Strong: Building a Strong Start for a Solid Future, Amillia Woolfork, County: Macon, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Jackson County Literacy Partnership, Kelli McDaniel, County: Jackson, Amount Rewarded: $13,100

‍Sumter County Organizations United for Literacy ~ SOUL, Bari Geeslin, County: Sumter, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍Building a Strong Foundation: Fostering Early Language and Literacy through Community Collaboration, Theotis Summerset, County: Montgomery, Treutlen, Wheeler, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍Brainy Baby Basics, Lauralen Avery, County: Bibb Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍United We Read, Jessica Dudley, County: Hall, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍Building Stronger Foundations: The Dalton/Whitfield County Basics Initiative, Stephanie Hogshead, County: Dalton, Whitfield, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Jump Start to Literacy, Allison Davis, County: Warren, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Reading Is Worth It!, Teresa Sumner, County: Worth, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

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2024:

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The Write Start: Reading and Writing in Pre-K, Rebecca G. Harper, County: Richmond, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Creating Capacity for Early Literacy among ESOL Newcomers in Low-Trust Community, Marvin Lim, County: Gwinnett, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍ Sumter SOUL, Bari Geeslin, County: Sumter, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Fostering Early Language and Literacy in the Tri-County area that consists of Montgomery, Treutlen, and Wheeler Counties, Theotis Summerset, Jr. , County: Montgomery, Amount Rewarded: $10,000

‍Read Write to Lead Camp and Love Your City in Norcross, Maria Lao, County: Gwinnett, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍The Basics Troup County, Mandy Hill, County: Troup, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍Bringing The Basics 2, Stephanie Hogshead, County: Whitfield, Amount Rewarded: $14,000

‍Growing Meriwether County, Rhonda Fuller, County: Meriwether, Amount Rewarded: $23,998

‍The Basics Cobb County, Irene M Barton, County: Cobb, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Cook County Reading Initiative, Zoe Myers, County: Cook, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Literacy Initiative - Building on the Basics, Lasima Turner, County: Richmond, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Collective Approach to Enhancing Early Language and Literacy Development in Chatham County,  Cheri Dean, County: Chatham, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

‍Jump Start to Literacy in Warren County, Allison Davis, County: Warren, Amount Rewarded: $24,000

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2025:

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PAGES+ Literacy Initiative: Parents and Generations Engaging Through Stories and Language, Sally Brown, County: Charlton, Amount Rewarded: $49,900.40

‍Rethinking Practice-Based Learning Theory in the AI Era: A Structured Composing Tool to Enhance Early Literacy and Language Development, JeanMarie Farrow, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $49,990

‍Supporting Paraeducators in Enhancing Language and Literacy (SPELL), Brennan Chandler, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $49,940

‍Prioritizing the Building Blocks for Co-Regulation and Language Development with Families of Hospitalized Newborns, Grace Bagwell Adams, County: Fulton, Amount Rewarded: $49,494.50

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2024:

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Building Foundational Literacy Skills Through Collaborative and Family Partnerships, Rebecca Harper, County: Richmond, Amount Rewarded: $49,990

The Talkative Teacher Project: Reducing Job-Related Stress to Improve Communication in Preschool Classrooms, Erin Hamel, County: Clarke, Amount Rewarded: $47,328

Using a University-Practice Partnership As a Lever for the Training and Delivery of a Summer Early Literacy Intervention, Kristin L. Sayeski, County: Clarke, Amount Rewarded: $49,999 ‍

Development of a Research Informed Classroom Tool For Evaluating Special Educators Implementation of Read Aloud, Kevin Ayres, County: Clarke, Amount Rewarded: $48,454 ‍

Using Pre-Service SLPs to Increase Access to Early-Reading Intervention, Matthew D. Carter, County: Lowndes, Amount Rewarded: $48,423.13 ‍

Beyond the Basics: Expanding the Community Implementation Grant, Malisa Pedro, County: Whitfield, Amount Rewarded: $50,000

Project-Based Learning, Transdisciplinary Literacy, Equity Lens: A Mixed Method Study Facilitated to Examine Teacher Identities and Student Impact, JoAnna Arnold, County: Sumter, Amount Rewarded: $50,000