In 2025 we funded 24 organizations across literacy, public-health outreach, and small-town libraries. Total grants: $4.7M. Here is the work.
For the seven years I've been with Tonebridge, the conversation in philanthropy has moved toward measurement — short-cycle, headline-friendly numbers. We've moved the opposite direction. In 2025 we cut the number of organizations we fund by a third, while increasing the average grant size by 70%. We did this so partners could plan in years, not quarters.
The work in these pages is therefore quieter than last year's report. It is also more honest. A school librarian in a town of 4,000 people, kept on payroll for another five years. A rural clinic that finally fixed the boiler. Things you don't put on a billboard, but that families notice.
We learned things, too. We say so. The Pollack Reading Initiative did not work — we tell you why on page 14. We're closing it and putting the money into the public-libraries program instead.
We narrowed to three areas in 2023 and have not added a fourth. Each gets its own staff, its own budget, and its own multi-year horizon.
$2.3M · 11 partners
Public-library operating grants in towns of fewer than 25,000 people. We pay for boring, important things: librarian salaries, replacement HVAC, summer reading programs.
$1.6M · 8 partners
Mobile clinics, school nurses, dental outreach. We fund the parts state programs miss — the mile between the highway and the holler.
$0.8M · 5 partners
Operating grants for independent regional presses. Without these, certain voices simply do not get printed. We are not interested in awards; we are interested in keeping the lights on.
| Recipient | Program | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater County Library SystemFive-year operating grant, library staffing | Literacy & Libraries | $480,000 |
| Pine Mountain Wellness Co-opThree years of nurse-practitioner coverage | Rural Health | $360,000 |
| Three Forks Free LibraryCapital repair and replacement | Literacy & Libraries | $215,000 |
| Wakatomi Family DentalMobile-clinic vehicle and equipment | Rural Health | $285,000 |
| Locust Bend PressThree-year operating support | Small-Press Publishing | $210,000 |
| Hilltown School Nurse NetworkYear-round nurse coverage, 14 schools | Rural Health | $525,000 |
| The Boatsworks Reading RoomChildren's collection refresh | Literacy & Libraries | $85,000 |
| Other partners (18) | $2,540,000 | |
This page is a public summary. The full report — including audited financials, the closing memo on the Pollack Initiative, and our 2026 program direction — is available as a PDF.
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