Charities United States Education Read to Me Project
Read to Me Project logo

Read to Me Project

The Read to Me Project helps underserved children achieve kindergarten readiness & a lifetime of literacy by empowering school-age children to read to their young siblings at home. …

Education Salinas, CA EIN 471224251 · IRS Sign up to see website
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86
Integrity Assessment
Strong transparency
86/100 · methodology

About Read to Me Project

The family is a baby’s first teacher. A child’s development during the first five years of its life is the foundation for learning through the rest of its life. The earliest literacy experiences prepare a child with the language, vocabulary, and cognitive learning capacity that can set the course for a lifetime of greater success, equity and opportunity.

Founded
Headquarters
Salinas, CA
Foundation type
Publicly-supported charity (509(a)(2))
NTEE code
B90
IRS subsection
501(c)(03)
Ruling date
Size
small

Verified certifications

Confirmed against the issuing authority - not self-reported.

IRS Tax-Deductible since 2014

Mission

The Read to Me Project helps underserved children achieve kindergarten readiness & a lifetime of literacy by empowering school-age children to read to their young siblings at home. We raise public awareness of the importance of language & pre-reading in the first 5 years of life.

Focus areas & reach

· What they work on and where
📚 Education · NTEE B90
Cause tags

How it stacks up against peers

· vs. 8 similar education in United States
Program spending This charity: 0%
Peer average: 95%
CEO comp as % of revenue This charity: 17.15%
Peer average: 0.48%
Integrity Assessment This charity: 86
Peer average: 93

Red flags

· 1 item
High Executive Pay
Top executive compensation is 16.9% of total expenses ($75,000 of $444,516).

Common questions

· Auto-generated from filings + methodology

Read to Me Project is a registered education nonprofit based in Salinas, CA, United States. It is registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It was founded in 2014 and has been operating for 12 years. Its EIN is 471224251. It has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 86/100 (Strong transparency), indicating well-documented governance, financials, and contact details. The organization reports $437K in annual revenue. 33 officers and directors are publicly disclosed. GiveRadar has identified 1 potential concern.

Read to Me Project has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 86/100. This score combines five components: Registration (20 pts), Financial Transparency (30 pts), Governance (20 pts), Contact Availability (10 pts), and Data Recency (20 pts), with negative adjustments for any red flags. A score of 86 ('Strong transparency') reflects well-documented governance, recent financials, named leadership, and working contact details. For comparison, the average integrity assessment for education charities in United States is 93/100.

Read to Me Project is located in Salinas, CA, United States. The organization was established in 2014 and has been active for 12 years.

Based on official tax filings, Read to Me Project has $437K in annual revenue. Its revenue is below the peer average of $7M. Create a free GiveRadar account to view the complete financial breakdown with year-over-year trends.

Read to Me Project is classified as a Education organization, registered in United States. It operates as a Publicly-supported charity (509(a)(2)). By size, it is categorized as a small organization. It has $437K in annual revenue. The organization has 33 disclosed officers and directors.

GiveRadar has identified 1 potential concern for Read to Me Project. Red flags are automatically detected from official data and may include high executive compensation relative to budget, low program spending, or missing financial filings. Red flags do not necessarily mean wrongdoing but indicate areas that may warrant further review before donating.

Read to Me Project has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 86/100 (Strong transparency), which suggests it is a well-documented organization. It is regulated by the IRS. You can donate directly through their official donation page linked on their GiveRadar profile. GiveRadar provides data for research purposes and does not endorse any organization. Always do your own due diligence.

The family is a baby’s first teacher. A child’s development during the first five years of its life is the foundation for learning through the rest of its life. The earliest literacy experiences prepare a child with the language, vocabulary, and cognitive learning capacity that can set the course for a lifetime of greater success, equity and opportunity. Read to Me Project is classified as a education organization registered in United States. The organization was founded in 2014.

Among education charities registered in United States: Read to Me Project's GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 86/100 is in line with the peer average of 93/100. Its annual revenue of $437K is below the peer average of $7M.

Yes, donations to Read to Me Project are generally tax-deductible in the United States. Read to Me Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Its EIN is 471224251, which you can use for tax filing purposes. Donors can typically deduct contributions on their federal income tax return if they itemize deductions. Consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Verified against 3 official sources, last refreshed .

Annual revenue
$100K-$1M
0% to programs
Source: IRS 990 (FY2025) why this matters
Unlock exact figures

Filing history

5 years on file from IRS 990 (FY2025): revenue, expenses, program spending, assets, and liabilities by fiscal year.

Years on record: FY2025, FY2024, FY2023, FY2022, FY2021.
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Taxes

Tax-deductibility for donors

Donations may be tax-deductible for residents of United States under local rules. Confirm with the charity directly.

Always confirm tax treatment with the charity directly or your tax advisor before donating.

Leadership

CY
Cynthia W Hertlein
Treasurer

Officers & trustees (12)

Source: Public filings

BL
Blake D••••••
Director
CA
Cassandra B•••••
Director
CH
Charlie O••••••
President
CY
Cynthia H•••••••
Director
CY
Cynthia W H•••••••
Treasurer
JA
Jason L•••••
Executive Director
JE
Jennifer O••••• U••••
Director
JE
Jen O••••• U••••
Former President
JU
Juan P•••• L••••
Director
JU
Julia F•••••
Executive Director
LI
Libby M••••••
Executive Director
MO
Morgan F••••
Director
Full names, contact details & compensation

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Latest news

From global news sources

No recent news coverage found

News coverage will appear here when articles mention this organization.

Activity timeline

Filings and press mentions, merged

Form filed
$0.6M revenue
FY2025
IRS_990
Form filed
$0.4M revenue
FY2024
IRS_990
Form filed
$0.5M revenue
FY2023
IRS_990
Form filed
$0.5M revenue
FY2022
IRS_990
Form filed
$0.4M revenue
FY2021
IRS_990

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Peer charities

Other education in United States, by integrity assessment

Charity Score Revenue Program %
Read to Me Project This page 86 $437,360 -
Engaging Opportunities Foundation 93 $154,246 92%
Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative 93 $496,564 97%
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council 93 $797,579 96%
Insight Colearning Center 93 $599,391 95%
Vphs Baseball Boosters 93 $154,642 97%
Fieldguides Incorporated 93 $435,724 89%
Coal Pit Ministry Inc 93 $208,306 91%
Dream Out Loud Center Inc 93 $218,479 100%

Sources and verification

Refreshed

Registration and legal identity
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search
Financial filings
IRS Form 990 filings - Fiscal year 2025 most recent on file.
Officers and trustees
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search - 33 disclosed in the public registry.

Data freshness

Last updated
May 27, 2026
Profile completeness
90%

What we don't know

Honest gaps - our score reflects transparency, not impact

Programs & projects
No named programs listed by the charity
Operating reach
Countries where programs run not specified

Methodology

GiveRadar combines public registry filings, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and news archives into a single 0-100 integrity assessment. We don't take a cut of any donation, ever.

Read full methodology

Quick facts about Read to Me Project

What is Read to Me Project?
Read to Me Project is a education publicly-supported charity (509(a)(2)) based in Salinas, United States. The family is a baby’s first teacher. A child’s development during the first five years of its life is the foundation for learning through the rest of its life. The earliest literacy experiences prepare a child with the language, vocabulary, and cognitive learning capacity that can set the course for a lifetime of greater success, equity and opportunity.
When was Read to Me Project founded?
Read to Me Project was founded in 2014.
Who leads Read to Me Project?
Cynthia W Hertlein serves as Treasurer.
Where is Read to Me Project located?
Headquartered in Salinas, United States.
What is Read to Me Project's annual budget?
Annual revenue for fiscal year 2025 is approximately $100K-$1M. 0% of expenses go to program services.
Is Read to Me Project trustworthy?
Read to Me Project has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 86 out of 100 (Strong transparency). The score reflects public-data transparency: registration, financial disclosure, governance, contact details, and how recently data was refreshed. It does not measure program impact.
What is Read to Me Project's registration number?
IRS EIN: 471224251.
What is Read to Me Project's website?
http://www.readtomeproject.org/