Around the globe, education nonprofits like Room to Read offer crucial support to government and organizational partners, providing essential services for children experiencing deep educational and economic inequities, by doing the following: By investing in students' potential, education nonprofits like Room to Read are catalyzing change. A growing body of research shows that an educated population drives economic growth, fosters innovation, promotes social equality, enhances civic engagement and improves health — creating a stronger and more resilient society. Why education nonprofits are essential:
Filling critical gaps in global learning
In too many communities around the world, children are denied the right to a quality education. Challenges including poverty, climate and health crises, and social unrest all create barriers to learning. Even when children in historically low-income communities can attend school, they too often find themselves in classrooms that lack basic resources and highly trained teachers.
Which international education nonprofits are making the biggest impact?
With a belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read develops children’s literacy and life skills in a dignified and gender-equal way. We nurture these essential skills in children by training and coaching educators, creating quality learning materials and spaces, strengthening education systems, and delivering programs directly and with partners — all while honoring the dignity of every child.
UNICEF supports every child’s right to an education no matter where they must learn — under a tent in a refugee camp, at a local school or at home using a parent’s mobile phone. Through innovation and partnership, UNICEF is reaching more children than ever with the help they need to aim for a hopeful future.
UNESCO anticipates and responds to emerging trends and needs in education, as seen in its ground-breaking Futures of Education report, a global initiative to rethink how learning can shape the future of humanity and the planet.
Girl Rising is a girls' education nonprofit with a mission to use the power of storytelling to change the way the world values girls and their education. The organization has delivered evidence-based education programs for more than a decade, equipping girls with vital life skills and building supportive allies around them.
Malala Fund invests in education advocates and activists who are challenging the policies and practices that prevent girls from going to school in their communities.
CARE works to increase access to quality education for all children, particularly girls living in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Save the Children invests in schools, teachers and communities to bridge the global learning gap — because every child deserves the right to learn. Save the Children helps children get ready for kindergarten and learn to read by third grade — a major indicator of future success. They are especially focused on reaching vulnerable children in rural America where early learning resources are scarce. Globally, they ensure that no child’s learning stops because they are caught up in crisis.
Plan International works with children and girls in over 80 countries to help create a world where we are all equal. The organization promotes free, equal access to quality education for all children — from early learning to secondary education.
The GCE movement was founded in 1999, in the build-up to the World Education Forum in Dakar, to provide a platform to unify and coordinate civil society voices in relation to the global education agenda.
GPE helps countries build stronger education systems as a springboard to stronger economies and fairer and more stable societies, able to withstand shocks and adapt to the challenges of the 21st century.
Teach for All develops collective leadership to ensure all children can fulfill their potential. With their partners, Teach for All builds deep relationships with communities committed to making long-term progress for children.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, including the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in Afghanistan. The organization helps restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. They are proud to fight for a world where women and girls have an equal chance to succeed.
Pratham is an innovative learning organization created to improve the quality of education in India. As one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, Pratham focuses on high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system.
Educate Girls drives transformative behavioral, social and economic change in India by ensuring that every child has equitable access to quality education.
CAMFED catalyzes the power of the most vulnerable girls and young women to create the future they imagine: for themselves, for their communities, and for Africa.
Education nonprofits that are making a difference worldwide
There are many documented best practices in the field of education. Many nonprofits focus on systemic transformation rather than temporary solutions. Successful education nonprofits often emphasize community ownership, ensuring programs reflect local needs and cultural contexts. Many nonprofits forge strategic partnerships with communities, governments and businesses, creating systems of support that outlast any single program. And by collecting robust data and conducting rigorous evaluations, these education groups can identify what works and share their learnings with others in the field. With 25 years of experience as a global leader in education, Room to Read’s comprehensive literacy and gender equality programming has benefited more than 50 million children across 28 countries to date. We envision a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality, where all children have room to read, learn and grow — creating lasting change. To make this vision a reality, we: It takes a village to support children’s right to learn. That’s why Room to Read always works hand-in-hand with local communities and governments, and tailors our resources and solutions to address the greatest learning gaps in each region. As a result, we are respected as a valuable partner of choice for governments, other system and program partners, as well as investors focused on education. *This list includes partners that have confirmed participation in Room to Read's 25 Chapters for 25 Years Global Recognition List.
Innovative best practices in education nonprofits
Measuring the impact of education nonprofits involves examining both short- and long-term results. At the individual level, organizations track student outcomes such as reading skills, test scores and career success. And at the systemic level, they evaluate broader changes including policy reforms, teacher retention rates and shifts in community perceptions about education. This comprehensive approach to measurement ensures that both direct benefits to students and wider societal changes are captured.
Room to Read’s unique model
Here are just a few of the many partners — implementing partners and others — Room to Read has worked with over the course of our 25-year history to create a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality.*
AFRICA
SOUTH ASIA
SOUTHEAST ASIA
THE AMERICAS + EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
Room to Read stands out among education nonprofits by:
What does the future hold for education nonprofits?
Announcing Room to Read’s new strategy
In response to growing barriers to children’s education worldwide, Room to Read and our partners have set bold goals in order to improve literacy, life skills, dignified learning and gender equality outcomes.
Together with our partners, Room to Read is benefiting millions of children around the world with this crucially important work, unlocking foundational skills for young people to build better futures for themselves, their families and their communities.
