Arkansas Imagination Library has received a $60,000 grant from Arkansas Community Foundation to establish a long-term fund supporting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Benton and Washington counties.
The new fund, held at Arkansas Community Foundation, will support the local share of Imagination Library book costs in the two counties. Arkansas Imagination Library is currently responsible for raising these funds so participating children can continue receiving a free, age-appropriate book in the mail each month.
“This grant provides a strong foundation for building a sustainable, long-term funding model,” said Dr. Charlotte Parham, executive director of Arkansas Imagination Library. “We will build on this investment by engaging community leaders, businesses, foundations and individual donors so we can sustain monthly book delivery and increase participation among children and families in Benton and Washington counties.”
Together, Benton and Washington counties are home to 36,196 children from birth to age five. As of September 2026, 7,941 children—approximately 22% of the region’s eligible population—were enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. That includes 4,404 children in Benton County and 3,537 children in Washington County.
The grant will serve as the fund’s founding investment. As the fund grows, future distributions will help Arkansas Imagination Library maintain monthly book delivery for currently enrolled children while expanding opportunities for more Northwest Arkansas families to participate.
“Providing children with access to books at an early age greatly enhances later success in the classroom, including high school graduation rates,” said Jessica Ford, president and CEO of Arkansas Community Foundation. “Arkansas Community Foundation is honored to partner with Arkansas Imagination Library to help nurture a lifelong love of reading.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails a free, high-quality book each month to enrolled children from birth until their fifth birthday. Every book is selected for the child’s age and delivered directly to the child’s home at no cost to the family.
Arkansas Imagination Library currently serves more than 86,000 children each month across all 75 Arkansas counties. Since 2005, Arkansas Imagination Library and its Local Program Partners have mailed more than 7.2 million books to children throughout the state.
To learn more or support the Northwest Arkansas fund, visit www.arcf.org/ardpil.