Kifani Kids is the charitable arm of Kifani Press | Kifani Works and a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the state of Tennessee. We help to get little readers excited about their local communities through the power of literacy.

Our Vision: Through the power of literacy, all children will be confident lifelong learners who positively impact the world around them.

Our Mission: To engage early readers through the transformative power of place-based books, curriculum, and educational experiences.

Our Values:

Faith - Our faith is the foundation of our service to others and we do so with the unwavering hope and optimism in a greater good.
Kindness: We treat all people the way we would want to be treated, regardless of differences.
Creativity: We believe children must experience the joy of creativity to become higher level thinkers.
Compassion: We work to alleviate the suffering of others.
Empowerment - We believe empowered communities can work together for a more just and equitable society.

We're fundraising with a goal of getting 250 people to give $25 in 2025 to help us in our launch year. Your donation will allow us to continue to:

Partner with community organizations to produce free, locally published books
Provide a free website that centralizes all of the local curriculum resources
Create educational and literacy events where the community can receive free books and resources
Provide learning opportunities for young aspiring authors, illustrators, and publishers

Our proposed programming includes:

Reading Around the Block - Our grassroots approach to providing free book access and place-based books.
ABC Around Town - Our interactive, county-wide initiative that engages our earliest readers through phonics.
901KidsFest - An educational experience that highlights the creativity and wonder of kids.
Kifani Kids - A free, digital, place-based literacy curriculum and scholarship program.
Shelby County A to Z - (In partnership with the Shelby County Government Youth and Education Nonprofit Committee) - A free picture book and digital resource for early readers celebrating the largest county in Tennessee.

Help us reach our first benchmark goal of 250 donors!

For the past thirteen years, we've operated our social enterprise, Kifani Press | Kifani Works and partnered with community organizations, nonprofits, and local governments to create fun literacy projects. Now, as a nonprofit organization, Kifani Kids can expand its impact in the Mid-South and provide more resources at no cost to the community. We will need your help to make it happen! Every donation goes directly towards programming and resources that directly impact children in the Mid-South. Here are just a few of our past projects:

Shelby County A-Z Picture Book (2023-2025): We partnered with Shelby County's Division of Community Engagement and local nonprofit, Stand for Children, on a project called Shelby County A-Z. This colorful picture book was distributed for free to over 9,000 pre-k and kindergarten students throughout Shelby County.
ALLMemphis Partnership (2021 -2022) -- We partnered with ALLMemphis to develop three full-length decodable readers that were locally and culturally relevant. Each reader also came with a color version and supplemental materials for teachers and students. Most recently, we partnered with Literacy Mid-South to distribute free copies of these readers during their voter registration events.
ALLMemphis Partnership (2019 -2020) -- We developed 149 decodable readers that were locally and culturally relevant. Each reader also came with a color version and supplemental materials for teachers and students. During the pandemic, ALLMemphis distributed the readers for free to all of their partner schools.

Perea Elementary Curriculum Pilot (2019 -2020) -- We developed a semester pilot for an ELA Curriculum for Perea Elementary prior to the pandemic. It included lesson plans, presentations, anchor charts and student materials. We had to pause the project due to personal illness and Covid-19. However, we hope to complete the project as a part of Kifani Kids!

901KidsFest (2023-Present) We launched 901KidsFest in 2023 where kids and teens take center stage. This free event celebrates the creativity and wonder of kids. Youth authors, performers, artists and vendors get to highlight their work. Community organizations are also on-hand to provide free books, resources, art projects, and treats.

Our amazing board helps to guide the direction of Kifani Kids and ensure that we are meeting the needs of the community. Our board is diverse, talented, and passionate about literacy and education.

If you have ideas or want to collaborate, please reach out to us at hello@kifanikids.org.

Kifani Kids $25 in 2025 Annual Giving Campaign

Engaging early readers in the Mid-South

Team Members