Room to Read

Joanne PanZdravko Stojanovic

Chris Clemens

Dr. Aufseeser

GES400

5/5/16

About Room to Read

● Founded by John Wood in 2000.● Based in San Francisco.● Core belief - “World change starts with educated

children”, with a focus on children’s literacy and girls’ education.

● Works to collaborate with “local communities, partner organizations, and governments”.

Literacy Program

●Develop “skills and habits of reading throughout primary school”●Gives the poor a way out of poverty through education●Allows children a chance to survive●Instills a love of reading and education in children

Girls’ Education

●Gives and allows girls to continue on into secondary education●Able to end illiteracy with children●Promotes gender equality in countries they work in●Statistics:

● Educated women are healthier (5-10% reduction in HIV/AIDS and preventable diseases)● 20% wage boost● 2/3 of illiterate people are women● Literate women=children twice as likely to survive past 5 years of age, especially in developing and third-world countries

Offices and Operations● Currently has programs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal,

South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia● Global reach, with International Regional Offices based in Asia/Pacific,

Australia, Europe, India, Japan, and Canada

Impacts

Korea

● Annual Expenditure by Educational Institutions per Student for All Services

Bangladesh

● Room to Read Bangladesh was officially established in 2008● Our operations in Bangladesh included:

● School Libraries established 545● Girls’ Education participants 1,439● Books published in the Bengali language titles 60● School construction projects 56

● In 2011 our team also introduced Reading & Writing Instruction and School Construction.

● Our key NGO partners in the country include SHARP and EC Bangladesh.

Youth (15-24) literacy rate (%) 2008-2012, Male 77.1

Youth (15-24) literacy rate (%) 2008-2012, female 80.4Number per 100 population 2012, mobile phones 63.8Number per 100 population 2012, Internet users 6.3Pre-primary school participation, gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, male 26.8

Pre-primary school participation, gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, female 26.1

Primary school participation, gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, male -

Primary school participation, gross enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, female -

Primary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, male -

Primary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, female -

Primary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012, male 77.2

Primary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012, female 81.2

Primary school participation, Survival rate to last primary grade (%), 2008-2012, admin. data

66.2

Primary school participation, Survival rate to last primary grade (%), 2008-2012, survey data

93.5

Secondary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%), 2008-2012, male 42.8

Secondary school participation, Net enrolment ratio (%) 2008-2012, female 50.6

Secondary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012, male 42.9

Secondary school participation, Net attendance ratio (%) 2008-2012, female 47

UNICEF - Bangladesh Statistics

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladesh_bangladesh_statistics.html

2014

● Most recent data

● Woods stepped down and Erin Ganju (co-founder) becomes CEO

● Wants to impact 15 million children by 2020

● Created Students Helping Students to improve education in Africa and Asia

● Allows visitors to see the work for $25USD for half day or full day

● https://www.youtube.com/user/Roomtoread for documentaries on helping girls continue school

● http://www.roomtoread.org/AnnualReport/2014/

Finances● Earned 8th consecutive Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating in

2014.●Relates to “sound fiscal management and commitment to

accountability and transparency”●High rating shows that Room to Read “outperforms most

other charities in America” in these areas● Pledges low overhead, and wise use of donations to lead to

largest benefit for children around the world.● Additional funds would therefore be used responsibly, with

efforts taken to direct most of it towards addressing the issues.

● Goal of Room to Read is to reach 15 million children by 2020, could increase dramatically with further financial support.

Awards, Recognitions, News Releases

● Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2014)

● Young Presidents’ Organization, SEN Philanthropy Award (2014)

● Library of Congress Literacy Award, Rubenstein Prize (2014)

● GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Award (2013-2014)

● The Global Journal’s “Top 100 NGOs” (2012-2013)

● United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Confucius Prize for Literacy (2011)

● American Library Association Presidential Citation

● Charity Navigator’s Top “4-Star” Rating (2006-2013)

● Laos Book Excellence Award for Local Language Publishing (2007-2008, 2010)

● Nepalese Society for Children’s Literature Award (2004-2005, 2009)

Partners

● US Department of State

● Symantec

● Hilton Worldwide

● Barclays

● Citi

● ELMA Foundation

● Goldman Sachs

● Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

● Bloomberg

● Caterpillar

● Townsend Press

● Scholastic

● Google

Why Fund Room to Read?● Fiscally responsible - Funds would reach their target● Room to Read has a grassroots approach and is culturally

sensitive (as opposed to top-down)● Works with local communities, organizations, and

governments● Has operations throughout the Global South● Is a proven success (as seen in the case studies)

“Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship.”

–Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General (Served from 1997-2006)

Bibliography●Canada, N. (2015, November 17). Room to Read Uncovers 10

Key Findings on Global Education. Canada Newswire.

●Center on International Education Benchmarking: Learning from the World’s High Performing Education Systems. South Korea: System and School Organization.

● Room to Read. 2015. Room to Read.org. N.d. Web. 7 October 2015.

● Room to Read. 2014 January 9. Room to Read Earns Eighth

Consecutive Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating. Room to Read.

● Room to Read. n.d. Bangladesh. Room to Read Where We

Work: Bangladesh

● Tucker, Marc. (2015, May 15.) Lesson From Freddie Gray: It Isn’t the Money. National Center on Education and the Economy.

●UNICEF: 70 Years for Every Child. Statistics: Bangladesh. UNICEF.