We’re Bulk Purchasing Books with Partner Early Literacy Organizations
The Book Buying Buddies program allows Reach Out and Read of Greater New York to purchase affordable bilingual titles and culturally reflective stories with a range of themes, including diverse characters, experiences, and communities. We partner with fellow early literacy organizations across the country to order diverse books from publishers in bulk quantities, giving our non-profit organizations the best value with our collective purchasing power. It’s a win-win for everyone: the families, the non-profits, and the publishers.
Per book pricing averages around $2.00 per book, depending on the type and language of books needed. There are no overhead costs charged to partners, only the publisher provided price per book and shipping costs. We plan for 2 rounds of Book Buying Buddies each year with deliveries in the spring and fall. Due to the bulk ordering process, book shipping takes between 4-6 months from order to delivery.
| Summer 2026 Delivery Timeline | Date |
| MOA Signed by All Partners | December 19 |
| RFP Released to Publishers/Vendors | January 5 |
| Publisher/Vendor Bids Due | February 6 |
| Winning Bid Selected & Notified | February 20 |
| Purchase Order Sent | March 20 |
| Books Delivered to Final Destinations | Summer 2026 |
What We Can Do Together
While Book Buying Buddies has enabled us to provide more books to children in New York, we have only met 70% of the total book need. Your investment in the Book Buying Buddies program will enable us to:
- Purchase more affordable bilingual and culturally reflective books to ensure we provide a book for every child at every wellness visit.
- Add titles in Arabic, Bengali, Haitian Creole, French, Mandarin, and Spanish to address our population’s top language needs.
- Build the staff and infrastructure needed to expand our Book Buying Buddies collaborative, which in turn supports the accessibility to diverse children’s books, helping to make bookshelves in greater New York more equitable — fostering literacy, nurturing empathy, and empowering youth one story at a time.
To connect with us as a nonprofit partner or get on our publisher/vendor list for our next outreach, email Kari Kurjiaka, Director of Literacy & Public Policy, at kkurjiaka@reachoutandreadnyc.org.