Creating Room to Read – John Wood

1. Creating Room to Read – John Wood Social Entrepreneurship, Book Assignment Fluff Clough

2. About the author • John Wood • Founder of Room to Read • Global nonprofit focusing on: • Literacy • Gender equality • Worked as an executive for Microsoft up until 1999. • Ideas for the foundation of Room to Read surfaced from Wood’s visit to a school in Nepal where there was an inadequate book supply • Also authored Leaving Microsoft to Change the Worldabout his journey.

3. Reaction to Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy • Exercised the importance of story-telling, similar to that of Walk Out Walk On • Every important investor or staff member’s story are explored in order to exhibit that massive change cannot be done alone • The story of expansion into each additional country is told and many of the individual communities as well. No single community is more or less important than another. • Endless examples and stories of innovation coming from the field that show how Wood was set on finding the best entrepreneurs in the world • Many of the organization’s big ideas come from social entrepreneurs discovered within the communities served.

4. Room to Read Vision Mission Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. • Room to Read believes that World change Starts with Educated Children. We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education that enables them to reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.

5. Core Operating Principles Focus on Education of Children Global Footprint and Long-Term Engagement Community Engagement and Local Partnerships Scale and Sustainability Attract and Retain Top-Caliber People Diversified and Engaged Funding Base Healthy and Efficient Organization

6. Theory of Change Literacy Among Primary School-Aged Children Girls’ Secondary Education Room to Read will also focus on equalizing the secondary school experience for girls as a means for improving gender equality in education and thus promoting quality education for all children. • Room to Read will focus on literacy as the foundation of all other learning by developing reading skills and the habit of reading among primary school children.

7. Financials • 2013 highlights • $41.6 million in cash donations • $14.8 million raised outside the US • $37.6 million invested toward programs • Programmatic spending constituted 83% of the total expenses

8. Impact • 1,824 schools constructed • 16,821 libraries established • 1029 books published • 14,588,494 books distributed • 28,111 girls’ education participants • 8.8 million children benefited

9. Social problem Millions of children around the world do not have access to literacy and books in their mother tongue from a young age.

10. Foundational Ideas for Room to Read • Big picture goal: put international education on the world’s agenda • Invest in human capital • Select candidates for girls’ program that are likely to succeed • Support system • Work ethic • Personality

11. Organizational Principles • Four key areas that will set Room to Read apart • Not be a charity but rather an organization or movement • He believes that giving leads to overdependence • Never ask for a donation but rather an investment • Run it like a business • This was appealing to the hard-core capitalists to whom they’d be asking for investments • Run the most efficient operation possible

12. Challenge-Grant Model • Each project – new school, freestanding library building, classroom library – is created from a coinvestment business model. • Room to Read meets communities halfway • “We can’t want this more than you want it. We can’t help you unless you want to help yourselves.” - Dinesh Shrestha, Room to Read Nepal • Advantages: • Work only with motivated communities • Make the money go further • Motivate investors • “[B]y requiring the community residents to pitch in, we are saluting their inherent dignity” (Wood, 50).

13. Building a GSD Team • Wood wanted to build a GSD or “get shit done!” team • Hired many business powerhouses who worked formerly in the private sector. • The key is decentralization: empowering those closest to your beneficiary • Collective impact • Room to Read partners with other organizations in the community so as to not reinvent the wheel • “By combining forces, like-minded organizations can leverage one another’s unique strengths and assets” (Wood 74).