Room to Read

U.S.-based international non-profit organization

Room to Read

Company type| Non-profit organization
Industry| Education
Founded| 2000
Headquarters|

United States

Key people

* Geetha Murali (Chief Executive Officer )
* John Wood (Founder)
* Erin Ganju (Co-Founder)
* Dinesh Shrestha (Co-Founder and Director of Field Operations)

Revenue| $64.7 million (2023)[1]
Website| www.roomtoread.org

Room to Read is a global non-profit organization which focuses on working in collaboration with local communities,[2] partner organizations and governments to improve literacy and gender equality in education.[3] Room to Read has globally distributed headquarters with leadership across the globe.

Room to Read has reached 50 million children and has worked in 28 countries.[4][5]

## History

[edit]

Room to Read was co-founded and launched by John Wood, Erin Keown Ganju and Dinesh Shrestha in 1999 after Wood visited several local schools in Nepal. He observed the teachers' and students' enthusiasm and lack of resources, which led him to quit his job and build a global team to create sustainable programs that help solve their education challenges.[6][7]

Wood and Shrestha worked with rural communities to build schools and established libraries. They later expanded beyond libraries, to begin the Girls' Education program in 2000, which focuses on young girls and provides a long-term commitment to their education.[6]

Geetha Murali joined the organization in 2009 as a manager, and in 2018, was appointed CEO of Room to Read.[5][8]

John Wood transitioned off the global board of directors in December 2021.[9]

In 2023, Room to Read leading funders included: Atlassian, Cartier Philanthropy, Humanitix, Goldman Sachs Gives, IMC, The Patrick J McGovern Foundation, Tatcha, and World Food Programme (WFP).[8]

In 2024, the writer Jacinta Kerketta turned down the Room to Read Young Author award; she said this was because of Room to Read's ties to Boeing.[10][11]

## Programs

[edit]

Room to Read nurtures foundational learning skills in children, enabling them to pursue lifelong learning and make informed decisions.

Room to Read’s literacy programming supports children in developing literacy skills with a love of reading, and its gender equality programming supports adolescents, particularly girls, in developing life skills that promote gender equality.[3][2] They deliver and scale programming directly and with partners, operating within areas of expertise: curriculum and content; educator training and coaching; delivery structures; and research and insights.

## Impact

[edit]

As of 2024, Room to Read has benefited more than 50 million children and worked in 28 countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, Grenada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Malawi, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Vietnam and Zambia.[4][12]

## Awards and recognition

[edit]

* Skoll Foundation: Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2004–2013)
* Academy for Educational Development: Breakthrough Ideas in Education (2007)
* Fast Company / Monitor Group: Social Capitalist Award (2004–2008)
* Charity Navigator: 18 four-star ratings (2005–2017, 2019)[13]
* American Library Association: Presidential Citation (2008)[14]
* UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy: 2011[15]
* Cambodia Ministry of Education: Royal Medal of Munisaraphorn Mahasereaywat (2013)
* World's Children's Prize, Honorary Award Laureate (2014)
* American University School of International Service: Ten Innovative NGOs in Education (2014) [16]
* Library of Congress Literacy Award: Special Response Award (2020); David M. Rubenstein Prize (2014)[17]
* OnCon Icon Awards: Top 10 Finance Team, 2023 [18]
* UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education[19]
* Manchester Animation Festival: Best Short Film for Children, She Creates Change – Dewmini, 2023 [20]
* HundrED's Global Collection: Hall of Fame, 2025, Top 100 Global Collection, 2025, 2024, 2023 and Academy Choice Award, 2023 [21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Room to Read 2023 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 4 June 2025.
2. ^ a b Westfall, Sandra (December 9, 2019). "Inside Michelle Obama & Julia Roberts' Emotional Day with Vietnamese Girls: 'I Will Never Recover'". People magazine.
3. ^ a b Newsdesk (July 4, 2020). "Charity releases hundreds of children's books for free online to help parents teach at home". charitytoday.co.uk.
4. ^ a b "Room to Read Marks 25th Anniversary with Strategy to Benefit More Children, More Quickly and Global Recognition List Honoring Partners in World Change". Retrieved 2025-03-20.
5. ^ a b "I became CEO of a company that has helped millions of kids read—here's my no. 1 piece of career advice". CNBC. 2024-11-14. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
6. ^ a b "John Wood: 'I had to get out of Microsoft and make education for the world's poorest children my job'". Financial Post. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
7. ^ Roger Hearing (2017-03-24). "Hardline Conservatives Threaten To Sink 'Trumpcare'". Business Matters (Podcast). BBC World Service. 26:30 minutes in. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
8. ^ a b "The NGO scaling solutions for literacy and gender equality". Retrieved 2025-03-20.
9. ^ "Ex-Microsoft director's mission to get disadvantaged girls to university". 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
10. ^ Muzaffar, Maroosha (1 October 2024). "Indian poet rejects US-backed arts award 'in solidarity with Palestine'". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
11. ^ "'For Children of Palestine': Writer Jacinta Kerketta Turns Down Award Co-Sponsored by USAID". Retrieved 2025-03-20.
12. ^ "Room to Read: Building Libraries, Schools, and Computer Labs in Developing Countries". Edutopia. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
13. ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for Room to Read". Retrieved 2025-03-20.
14. ^ "ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects". Round Tables. 16 July 2010.
15. ^ "UNESCO International Literacy Prizewinners 2011". UNESCO.
16. ^ "Ten Innovative NGOs in Education". 12 September 2014.
17. ^ "Library of Congress Literacy Award Winners Announced". News from the Library of Congress. 30 August 2014.
18. ^ "2023 Finance Team Winners | OnCon Icon Awards". onconferences. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
19. ^ "2022 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education: mentoring programmes from Cambodia and Tanzania chosen as laureates". Retrieved 2025-03-20.
20. ^ "Manchester Animation Festival (2023)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
21. ^ "HundrED Global Collection 2023". hundred.org. 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2025-03-20.

## External links

[edit]

* Room to Read official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

Other|

* Yale LUX