Mission Statement
World Change Starts with Education. We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.
To achieve this goal, we focus on two areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact: literacy and gender equality in education. We work in collaboration with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the life skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond.
Description
Our Model
Invest locally. We hire and empower local
teams to run our in-country operations, and
we partner with local communities and
challenge them to co-invest in each project.
This ensures their active participation and
sense of ownership.
Build community capacity.We ensure
we are always contributing to growing
the capacity of the local community. For
example, in our book publishing program,
we hold workshops with local authors and
illustrators to empower a growing pool of
local talent.
Improve program quality.
We continuously track our programs
through ongoing research, monitoring and
evaluation. For example, during the first three
years after a library is established, site visits
are conducted every three months to assess
progress; offer needed training; and provide
additional books and educational materials.
Manage efficiently and effectively.
We ensure maximum investment in our
programs. For every $1 Room to Read receives,
83 cents goes directly to programs. We also
maintain a diversified donor base with 47
percent of our funding coming from outside
North America.
Create a global movement. We have
over 52 chapters in 16 countries and over
11,000 volunteers that network, plan events,
and raise awareness for Room to Read. Our
chapters collectively raise approximately 30 percent of our annual operating budget.
