In short
- The American Dyslexia Association (ADA) has been a nonprofit organization since 2008 and is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 26-3530084.
- Donations and the charitable part of membership fees are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
- From tax year 2026, US taxpayers who do not itemize can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts to qualified charities ($2,000 for joint filers).
- ADA gives away 1,593 printable worksheets, audio training, and links to more than a dozen practice websites.
- Ten apps from our circle are free in the App Store, in English, with no ads and no in-app purchases; most also run in the browser.
Did you know that the American Dyslexia Association has been a non-profit organization since 2008 and is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 26-3530084), dedicated to free help and quality services for people affected by dyslexia and their families? Your donations and membership fees are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. As a dyslexia charity, ADA uses every gift to keep worksheets, practice websites, and learning apps free for children, parents, and teachers.
The need is large. The International Dyslexia Association estimates that 15 to 20 percent of the population show some symptoms of dyslexia, such as slow reading, poor spelling, or mixing up similar words [Source: International Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Basics, dyslexiaida.org]. Most families look for help at home first, long before they find a trained specialist. That is exactly where free, well-made material makes a difference.
What does 501(c)(3) public charity status mean for donors?
A 501(c)(3) public charity is an organization that the IRS recognizes as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that receives broad support from the public. The IRS has confirmed this status for the American Dyslexia Association, Inc. in a determination letter, as a public charity under Section 509(a)(2). Gifts to public charities are deductible under the rules of Section 170 [Source: IRS, Public charities, irs.gov].
For you as a donor to a dyslexia charity, that means three things:
- Your gift goes to a charity, not a company. ADA has no shareholders; donations fund free help.
- You can name our EIN, 26-3530084, on your records and in your tax software.
- You receive a written acknowledgment for your gift, which the IRS asks donors to keep for any contribution of $250 or more [Source: IRS, Publication 526, irs.gov].
Can you deduct a donation if you take the standard deduction?
Yes, starting with tax year 2026 you can. The IRS states: “Beginning with tax year 2026, if you do not itemize, you may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 if filing jointly) of your cash contributions to certain qualified organizations” [Source: IRS, Topic no. 506, Charitable contributions, irs.gov].
This is new. For years, most households received no federal tax benefit for small cash gifts, because only people who itemized could deduct them. The new rule covers cash gifts, including card and PayPal payments; it does not cover gifts of clothing, stock, or other property, and it does not cover donor-advised funds. Keep a receipt or bank record for every gift. For your personal situation, please ask a tax professional; this article is general information, not tax advice.
How do you donate to the American Dyslexia Association?
You can donate online in under a minute through our secure PayPal donation page. Choose any amount, one time or as often as you like.
The donation button also sits at the top of every page of american-dyslexia-association.org. Questions about a gift, a matching gift from your employer, or a donation in memory of someone are welcome at [email protected].
Which ADA memberships are there, and is the fee deductible?
ADA offers three annual memberships, and each one supports the same mission. You can join on our Memberships page; the details of each level are listed under Membership Levels.
| Membership | Annual fee | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Supporting | $40 | Parents, students, educators, and advocates |
| Professional | $120 | Certified Dyslexia Trainers who completed an ADA-accredited training program |
| Organizational | $350 | Schools, learning centers, tutoring organizations, and institutions |
Membership fees are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. In practice, this means the part of your fee that is above the value of the member benefits you receive, such as badges, certificates, webinars, or a directory listing. The IRS rule is simple: “you can only deduct the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received” [Source: IRS, Topic no. 506, irs.gov]. Professionals who join for their practice may treat the fee as a business expense instead; your tax advisor can tell you which applies.
What does ADA offer for free?
ADA gives away 1,593 printable worksheets for training visual, auditory, and spatial skills, plus symptom training for dyslexia and dyscalculia. You find them on the FREE Worksheets page, sorted by area:
- Visual recognition (276 pages), visual memory (46), and visual sequencing (89)
- Auditory recognition (121), auditory memory (20), and auditory sequencing (20)
- Spatial orientation (12) and body perception (7)
- Symptom training dyslexia (467) and dyscalculia (14), attention (3)
- Create your own worksheet (51), word formulation (228), and a picture dictionary (239)
Next to the worksheets, Ears Open and Paying Attention! offers free audio clips for auditory perception training. On this blog, our Freebies page collects free downloads, and the article 1500 free worksheets explains how to start. If you want the full overview by age and topic, read Free Dyslexia Resources for Parents and Teachers.
All material follows the AFS-Method developed by dyslexia researcher Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller. The method trains attention, sensory perceptions, and the symptoms in reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating together, because a child needs all three to learn these skills without constant errors [Source: Astrid Kopp-Duller, Dyslexia – Training Using the AFS-Method, 3rd revised edition, 2021].
Which practice websites can families and trainers use?
Certified Dyslexia Trainers find the following websites in the resource library of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program, and families can open them directly. Most of them are free to use; a few belong to printed card games that you can order.
- easy-training-program.com: 31 free online games for visual memory, auditory skills, attention, and spatial orientation.
- spot-differences.com: a new Picture of the Day every day, online or as a PDF, for visual perception and attention to detail. Try the Spot the 10 Differences challenge here on the blog.
- wordformulation.com: a Word of the Day with exercises in AFS word formulation; read more in Mastering Word Formulation.
- cloze-test.com: gap-fill texts for reading comprehension, introduced in our post on 750 cloze tests.
- findthewordsabc.com: word search games with word lists for every letter of the alphabet.
- letters2words.com: a card game for word formation, with free game instructions as a PDF.
- mathe4matic.com: a card deck that makes math concepts visible in 3D.
- easy-reading-card.com: a reading card with a colored window that keeps the eye on the line and doubles as a bookmark.
- parents.learnedy.com: a free parents package for up to four children, without ads.
For background, the reference sites afs-method.com, dyslexiatest.com, and dyslexia-dyscalculia.com explain the method, the AFS-Test, and the books behind the training. Our article More Than 25 Years of the AFS-Test tells the story of the assessment.
Which free apps help children with dyslexia and dyscalculia practice?
Ten apps from our circle are free in the App Store, in English, with no ads, no in-app purchases, and no sign-up. Most of them also run as web apps, so a laptop or a school Chromebook is enough. All apps and browser versions are listed at appsthrum.com.
| App | What it trains | App Store | Browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFS5.com | 10 math games: addition, subtraction, times tables, division, fractions, time, money; 10 languages online (app in English). Also available in Spanish – También disponible en español: afs5.com en español (web version / versión web) | App Store | afs5.com |
| Math-Bingo | Times tables as a bingo game | App Store | Play online |
| Wordthrum | Word building in a letter wheel crossword | App Store | Play online |
| Hivethrum | A daily honeycomb of seven letters to build words | App Store | Play online |
| 3er | Close looking and comparing color, shape, number, and fill (visual discrimination) | App Store | Play online |
| Tangramthrum | Visual perception, spatial orientation, and shape recognition | App Store | Play online |
| Linkthrum | Attention and spatial thinking in a calm line puzzle | App Store | Play online |
| Brickthrum | A classic brick breaker for a short, playful break | App Store | brickthrum.com |
| Heartthrum | Pulse check with the iPhone camera, for calm moments before homework | App Store | heartthrum.com |
| Spoon Hero | 48 healthy recipes, a weekly planner, and a shopping list for parents | App Store | Open web app |
One detail matters to many parents: these apps collect no data about your child. They need no account, show no ads, and keep progress on the device. AFS5.com also avoids time pressure; after a mistake, the game shows the solution instead of a penalty.
What can free material do, and when does a child need a trainer?
Free worksheets and apps are excellent for daily practice, but they do not replace an individual training plan. A short daily session of 10 to 15 minutes at home, plus weekly work with a specialist, is the pattern the AFS-Method recommends [Source: Kopp-Duller, 2021]. A Certified Dyslexia Trainer first finds out, with an educational assessment, which sensory perceptions and which symptoms need training. Then the free material becomes targeted instead of random.
If you would like to become that specialist yourself, read Have You Heard of the ADA-Accredited Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program? and visit dyslexiacertificate.com.
Why supporting a dyslexia charity matters
Every free worksheet, website, and app costs money to write, host, test, and keep up to date. Dyslexia is a learning difference, not a lack of intelligence, and children who learn differently deserve material that respects that. Your donation or membership keeps this help free for the next family that searches for it at night after a hard homework session.
Donate now or become a member. Thank you for standing with people affected by dyslexia and their families.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The American Dyslexia Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity under Section 509(a)(2), EIN 26-3530084. It has been a non-profit organization since 2008; details are on the About page.
Yes, to the extent permitted by law. From tax year 2026, non-itemizers can deduct up to 1,000 dollars in cash gifts, or 2,000 dollars when filing jointly, according to IRS Topic 506.
Membership fees are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, which generally means the part above the value of the member benefits. Memberships start at 40 dollars a year at dyslexia.me/memberships.
ADA offers 1,593 free printable worksheets at american-dyslexia-association.org, sorted by visual, auditory, and spatial skills and by symptom training for dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Yes. Ten apps from our circle, including AFS5.com, Math-Bingo, Wordthrum, and Tangramthrum, are free in the App Store in English, without ads or in-app purchases. Most run in the browser too; see appsthrum.com.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service: Determination Letter 947 for American Dyslexia Association, Inc., EIN 26-3530084 (on file with ADA).
- Internal Revenue Service: Topic no. 506, Charitable contributions. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506
- Internal Revenue Service: Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526
- Internal Revenue Service: Public charities. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/public-charities
- International Dyslexia Association: Dyslexia Basics. https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics/
- Astrid Kopp-Duller: Dyslexia – Training Using the AFS-Method, 3rd revised edition, 2021. https://www.afs-method.com/
- Apple App Store (US), app listings of AFS5.com, Math-Bingo, Wordthrum, Hivethrum, 3er, Tangramthrum, Linkthrum, Brickthrum, Heartthrum, and Spoon Hero (still listed in the App Store under its German name), checked October 3, 2026. https://appsthrum.com/en/
This article is general information and not tax or legal advice. Please ask a tax professional about your own situation.