Literacy and education are essential for everyone’s success and vital to the economic well-being of communities.
Having built a global business on improving the effectiveness of written communication, Pitney Bowes has a vital interest in literacy and education. We also believe that by supporting literacy and education programs, we can improve countless lives and strengthen the fabric of communities everywhere we are involved. Each year we grant $1.4 million to organizations working on these issues, with a particular focus on programs aimed at closing the achievement gap and preparing the workforce of tomorrow.
Our employees are equally passionate about this commitment and apply their energy and experience to help children, families, schools and related charities through thousands of hours of volunteer time every year.
In the United States, we make 60-80 grants each year, focused on communities where we have a presence and where the population is underserved or at risk. Many of the programs we support focus on children from the pre-kindergarten level (about age three) up through elementary and middle school (about age twelve). We support school-year enrichment initiatives such as Head Start, mentoring and after-school homework support, as well as summer learning opportunities to help consolidate gains made during the school year and minimize losses over the summer vacation. We also support programs at the high school level and beyond, including mentoring, job training and GED courses.
Some of the organizations and programs we support:

Reading Is Fundamental — Care to Read, book distributions programs and help for young children and their caregivers.

Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship — Summer Biz Camps, global organization that helps young people from low-income communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity.

National Urban League — youth education programs

ProLiteracy — initiative to build workforce readiness

National Literacy Trust (U.K.) — Pushing the Envelope initiative

Everybody Wins! USA — Power Lunch literacy and mentoring program

Case study: Reading is Fundamental
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) helps motivate young children to read by working with children, their parents, caregivers and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. For several years we have supported RIF in a number of ways, from having one of our senior managers serve on its Executive Committee to funding and volunteering. From 2006 through 2008, the Pitney Bowes Foundation provided support for Care to Read "train the trainer" programs in five states, reaching 290 childcare employees. We have also supported RIF book collections for kindergarten classrooms and reading programs to support summer learning.

Case study: Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
NFTE provides entrepreneurship education to young people from low-income communities to enhance their business, academic and life skills. Pitney Bowes has supported the NFTE since 2004 by helping to fund Entrepreneurship Clubs in Connecticut, Greater Boston and Washington, D.C. Entrepreneurship Clubs provide a strong enrichment curriculum taught by NFTE-certified teachers with support from business volunteer coaches and mentors. Participants create businesses, apply for bank accounts, develop products and marketing strategies and learn about business licensing and recordkeeping.

Case study: WNBA Fast Break to Reading
In 2008 Pitney Bowes teamed up with the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to raise awareness and funding for literacy across the United States. Six WNBA teams-the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics-participated in the season-long initiative to engage fans through special seating at designated games and one-on-one "Reading Time Outs" with players and volunteers. The program reached over 1500 children at 30 events with the help of 108 Pitney Bowes employee volunteers.

Case study: Pushing the Envelope for the National Literacy Trust
Pitney Bowes' annual Pushing the Envelope charity auction raises funds for the UK's National Literacy Trust in 2008. Now in its fifth year, the event auctions on eBay envelopes designed by some of the world's top artists, writers, illustrators, musicians and personalities.