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Margaret McNamara, attended University of California, Berkeley where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. She was a teacher from California and wife of then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. His appointement led to their move to Washington, D.C. Her inspiration and leadership while tutoring children in the District led to the formation of Reading is Fundamental. RIF is a nonprofit children's literacy organization dedicated to making reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. It is the largest literacy program in the country.

After many early organizational meeting with other educators in the District, McNamara secured a $150,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support pilot activities in the District of Columbia. Following the success RIF had in Washington, the Ford Foundation increased RIF's grant to $285,000 in August 1968, enabling RIF to launch ten model programs across the country. From these early beginnings, RIF evolved into a national motivating force for literacy. Margaret McNamara died in 1981, knowing that her dream of making reading fun and fundamental had become a reality.

Today, through its contract with the U.S. Department of Education and with private funds, RIF provides 16 million free books for children to choose and keep each year. RIF programs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. RIF is also affiliated with programs in Argentina and the United Kingdom. It achieves high visibility through public service announcements on children's television programs.

The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF)^[1] was established in 1981 to honor the late Margaret McNamara and her commitment to the well-being of women and children in developing countries. The purpose of the grant is to support the education of women from developing countries who are committed to improving the lives of women and children in their home countries. Previous grant recipients were studying fields such as agriculture, architecture and urban planning, civil engineering, education, forestry, journalism, nursing, nutrition, pediatrics, public administration, public health, social sciences, and social work.

1. ^ http://www.gwu.edu/~fellows/mmmf.html

• Reading is Fundamental website
• McNamara Biography on Reading is Fundamental website

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