The funds received from the North Texas Book Festival, along with gifts and donations, are given in grants to school and public libraries, adult and children literacy programs, and reading programs. Thirteen north Texas counties are eligible to apply. The expenses involved in organizing and promoting the festival are met through dues and contributions. The North Texas Book Festival, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) organization and does not have any paid employees.

All grant proposals are number-coded without committee members knowing the writers. After the committee, composed of four members and a chairman, has completed the selection, they check the list provided by the members of the NTBF, Inc. for groups that performed an outstanding promotional campaign. One of the questions on the application is how the library or program applying for a grant generated public interest in attending the North Texas Book Festival. The official flyer and poster material can be copied from the web site. Any of the libraries or reading programs given a grant is eligible for a $100 bonus.

In 2004, Pelican Publishing Company, Inc., of Gretna, Louisiana, began providing an annual $500 matching grant in memory of James Rice, author-illustrator of many of the books in the popular "Night Before Christmas" series. Mr. Rice was the featured author at the first North Texas Book Festival and participated in the festival each year until the end of his life.

School libraries, public libraries, and literacy programs in thirteen north Texas Counties are eligible for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000. The grant applications are to be filled out and returned by the date of the next festival, which will be held in the Denton Center for Visual Arts, April 19 2008.