San Francisco, United States · Established 2000
Room to Read
World change starts with educated children.
(About)
Literacy and girls' education across Asia and Africa.
Room to Read was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. Today it is an established organisation, working on literacy, girls' education and libraries and known within the sector for its tagline "World change starts with educated children.".
The organisation currently operates in 10 countries, with major presence in India, Vietnam and Nepal. Literacy and girls' education across Asia and Africa. Verified profiles, financials and annual reports are published on its official website at roomtoread.org.
(Verified profile)
What the record actually says.
Sourced from official reports & independent registers
Structure & mandate
US 501(c)(3) founded 2000 by John Wood, Erin Ganju and Dinesh Shrestha. Works with governments to strengthen state-run schools.
Key public programmes
- ▸Literacy programme — teacher training, libraries, local-language books
- ▸Girls' Education Programme — mentorship, life skills, secondary school completion
- ▸Government partnerships to institutionalise the model
Founded
2000
HQ
San Francisco
United States
Countries of work
10+
Primary sources
Independent registers
(Public perception & reviews)
What people actually say.
AI-synthesized from watchdogs, press & donor reviews
The Reach Out Score is generated by our AI based on public-domain signals (watchdog ratings, transparency, program-vs-overhead, controversies). It's a starting point — always verify against the primary sources above.
(Work in the field)
Photos of their work.
Sourced from Wikimedia Commons
(Where we operate)
Active in 10 countries.
- India
- Vietnam
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Tanzania
- South Africa
- Bangladesh
- Indonesia
(Related organizations)
Worldreader
A world where everyone is a reader.
Digital books reaching millions of children.
Malala Fund
Every girl deserves 12 years of education.
Championing girls' right to safe, quality education.
Educate Girls
Educating every girl in India.
Reaches out-of-school girls in India's most educationally backward districts.