Freadom
Today is National Read Across America day, a perfect day to celebrate our friends over at Freadom, a new brand launched just a few months ago, whose aim is to support literacy across America by donating 100% of net profits to the cause. Any product purchased from Freadom right now also comes with a sample bag of our coffee, and as always: 100% of profits goes toward literacy initiatives across the country.
You may know Brian Floriani as the founder of Bernie’s Book Bank , which he started in 2009, providing millions of books to under-served children in the area. His launch of Freadom came out of his experience with Bernie’s as a supplemental way to advance the cause of literacy. We wanted to bring you an interview with Brian to learn more about this important cause.
For those that don't know, give us a brief explanation of how and why you started Bernie's Book Bank.
61% of low income families in America have zero books in them. Research shows book ownership is critical to reading readiness and becoming a proficient reader. Reading is the most important skill to pursue happiness and become a productive member of society. We all literally read our way to a better life. Book ownership is a variable in the literacy equation we can actually solve for if we have if we have the courage & initiative to build an effective, efficient, scalable and sustainable book bank model capable of serving the underserved community; specifically children. This was the goal in founding Bernie’s book bank; serving every under-resourced child in all major metropolitan areas in America. Very similar to how the feeding America food network works in combatting food insecurity.
How did the idea to form Freadom come out of your experience with Bernie's?
Often, nonprofits play a major role in solving major social issues like literacy. However, they are traditionally expected to do so with the least amount of money, time, and talent; and without adequate funding, nonprofits are unable to take the necessary risks needed to be truly successful. In other words, nonprofits are expected to help solve our nation’s biggest problems but without running like a successful business. This is a recipe for failure; it makes you wonder, how serious are we about solving these problems? Along with many other discouraging philanthropic trends, charitable giving in the U.S. has remained frozen at 2% of the GDP for years. So, relying on traditional philanthropy alone to solve one of the biggest and most critical challenges facing our country today WON’T cut it.
The Freadom story starts in 2009 at Bernie’s Book Bank, a metropolitan-based children’s book bank model; a nonprofit created to address the lack of books in the homes of at-risk children. Since its founding, more than 18 Million books have been distributed throughout Chicagoland. The experience gained building Bernie’s Book Bank exposed the many challenges associated with traditional nonprofit thinking, philosophies and execution. Freadom was founded as an outfitter and advocate, to address specifically, the unsustainable, unscalable and unpredictable reality of revenue generation in literacy nonprofits. Freadom also exists to accelerate and amplify the awareness of, and the cause for literacy. Freadom is a for-profit company where 100% of the net profits support literacy initiatives across America. Freadom has the audacious goal to invest $100 Million annually to literacy. We will fund efforts which are effective and efficient, scalable and sustainable, which have an entrepreneurial culture, operate like a business, and think like a brand.
What has been the most rewarding part of running Freadom so far?
The most rewarding part of Freadom is challenge of solving a problem, especially one which has the potential to impact so many children in America. Ultimately, this will positively impact ALL of us!
How do you see literacy and freedom connected? What would you have the average American understand about that connection?
The better you READ, the more FREE you will truly be! Life+Literacy=Pursuit of Happiness. Being able to read is the most critical skill for anyone who wants to fully claim and realize the freedoms America promises.
What action would you have someone take to combat the statistics surrounding illiteracy?
We believe in citizenship, not just in how it outlines our rights and privileges but more importantly how it defines our duties; we must all get into the “arena” to make our communities better for future generations. Make meaningful investments of time, treasure or talent in effective literacy initiatives. Turn your consumerism into activism by making purchases of high-quality products offered by Freadom.
Lastly, what's your favorite book?
The Bible
Children’s: “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” by Judith Viorst
Adult: “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankel