Reading is Fundamental of Northern Virginia, Inc.

RIF NOVA is an all-volunteer nonprofit that raises all its own funds to provide new books, donated like-new books, and literacy programs (such as author visits) to deserving children in the city of Alexandria and in Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince Williams counties.

The goal of RIF NOVA is to promote literacy skills and to motivate reading among children who might otherwise have no books at home -- a key element of reading acquisition. According to the U.S. Department of Education, "The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home." Books-for-keeps are chosen during book distributions at more than 30 Northern Virginia Title 1 schools and at several child development centers throughout the academic year. Gently used (like new) books, accrued via the RIF NOVA Donated Book program, are distributed to schools and at NOVA community events.

RIF NOVA programming also includes the "Authors in Our Schools" project, which brings authors to schools for presentations about their books, the importance of reading and writing, and the importance for the children of telling their own stories. Children each receive an autographed copy of the author's work(s).

In concert with area businesses, RIF NOVA provides books and science related programming. STEAM it Up! is a program with Arlington-based Amazon/AWS to provide children with a building project and a STEAM relevant book. Books & Budding Builders is a project sponsored by Arlington-based energy company AES to teach children about energy with a hands-on building project.