by David Risher

All non-profit enterprises raise funds. It comes with the territory. After all, if an organization could pay all its bills by selling its services at a profit, it should probably do so and allow Adam’s Smith’s invisible hand to do the heavy lifting.

People in our field sometimes complain about having to raise funds.  And to be sure, it is no substitute for reading with children in our program, or helping publishers donate e-books, or building an extraordinary team. But it turns out that fundraising can also be fun.  That’s because it’s really an opportunity to engage with interesting experienced people and share ideas with them.  This is just as true for smaller donors as for major donors: even $20 donations (which is enough to buy 5 e-books) are often accompanied by a question, a suggestion, or simply a life-affirming expression of gratitude.

Here are a few examples– let’s call it “The Story of Bill, Shel, and Brendan.”

The Bill is William Draper. Here is a bit of wonderful holiday news: on Tuesday, The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation awarded Worldreader a three-year grant, and named me a DRK Foundation Social Entrepreneur.   This is huge: we were one of only six grantees, out of thousands of requests and proposals they receive each year.  We are humbled to be part of the group that funded the entrepreneurs behind Kiva, Room to Read, Vision Spring, and many other first-tier  social enterprises.

The financial support from the DRK will directly help us get thousands of kids reading in some of the world’s poorest countries.  But even more important is the expertise that Bill’s team bring on what it takes to effect large-scale change.  The questions that Anne Marie Burgoyne, Breanna DiGiammarino, and the rest of the team asked during our application process have already sharpened our thinking immensely, and we’re deeply appreciative.

(By the way, what is it about people named Bill?  We’ve already written about this Bill, and this Bill was kind enough to Tweet about our work to his 35,000 followers last week.  Wow!!  If you are reading this and your name is Bill, please contact us immediately )

Shel is Shel Kaphan, and his Kaphan Foundation yesterday also gave Worldreader a generous grant.  (Yesterday was a big day for us!)  Shel was Amazon’s first employee, and those of you who know him know he’s kind of a natural-born skeptic.  Shel and his partner Ericka asked great questions as they kicked Worldreader’s tires fairly well, which makes their endorsement even more gratifying.  We look forward to working with them for many years, both on our Sub-Saharan Africa work and in the future in Latin American.

And Brendan is Brendan Williams, who made a donation through our website in the name of the SMS 7th Grade Teachers.  We didn’t know Brendan directly, but his generosity will help bring more books to children in Ghana and Kenya while it acknowledges teachers in his own life.  We’d love everyone who likes our work to follow Brandon’s lead!

Brendan, Bill, Shel, have helped Worldreader immensely this year as we’ve brought more e-books to more children, and we appreciate every one of you who have  followed our progress.  The secret to keeping fund-raising fun is knowing that  each person helps shape and refine our thinking, challenging us to think even bigger or faster or just plain different… and along the way, reaffirms our belief in the generosity of all.

Huge thanks to all our funders and other partners, and Happy Holidays to all from all of us at Worldreader!

 

 

 

A year ago, Worldreader officially launched “Books for All” in Ghana. A few months later, we went to Kenya.

Today, we’re adding another great “first” to the list. The Worldreader  movement to transform reading in the developing world will be heading to Uganda! Right, Uganda! Can we get a shout-out?!?

Why, you say? What’s the big deal about Uganda, a country in East Africa?

Well, for starters, it’s a really big step towards reaching our goal of giving one million kids – 1,000,000! – access to books by 2015. Imagine all those kids who will have information, knowledge, and ideas at their fingertips. Imagine how that will touch their lives and inspire change in their communities. The mind marvels at what a profound effect a single device and a personal library of books can have.

Our foray into Uganda marks another significant milestone. It represents how a project we modeled in Kenya with The Kilgoris Project can be replicated and distributed to other places in the Pan-Africa region, and eventually worldwide. We call it the Worldreader Partner Program. It’s a way for us to empower others in the developing world to improve literacy, put more e-books in schools and libraries, and get children excited about reading. In a nutshell, we offer select partners our know-how, and the partners handle the implementation and day-to-day program management. We share best practices and content, and keep moving forward giving more kids e-books. In 2012, the Worldreader Partner Program will pave the way for us to enter up to 10 new markets filled with kids hungry for books. You can read more about how to get involved here.

Our first partner in Uganda is the Humble United Methodist School (Here’s a curious side note: HUMBLE is an acronym for Helping Ugandan Mwana By Loving Example, and “Mwana” is a Luganda word for child). They’ll get things going with a 100 Kindles and initially focus on their elementary school students, said Dave Norman, a member of the school management committee and pastor at the Crossroads United Methodist Church, the Asburn, Va. organization sponsoring the school.

Expectations are already running high. Everyone’s gearing up for the beginning of February when the new school term starts and the e-readers will be switched on.

“The school is for the most vulnerable children with the greatest need,” he said. “These are children who would not have any opportunity like this. Now they will be exposed to the world through books.”

Dave tells a story that drives the point home. The Hope For Africa Children’s Choir recently performed at Crossroads, and afterwards parishioners were able to talk to the children, aged eight to 14.

Someone asked, “What’s your favorite story?” The kids looked at each other, and one replied, “The Bible.” No one else had an answer because they have very few books and, as a result, had no favorite story.

That’s when it clicked for many bystanders — digital books delivered via mobile phone technology could definitively make a difference in the lives of children like these.

Even Dave, who has been at the forefront of this collaboration, couldn’t help but think, ”What if the choir comes back next year and someone asks the same question? Next year, they’ll be able to say ‘I love this book or that was my favorite story.’ They’ll be able to read books and classics that the world is reading.”

We can’t wait to hear what will top their list a few months from now.

And you? Curious to find out which book will be a page-turner for kids in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and who knows where else? Want to share the joy of reading? Support Worldreader. Give book love. Donate.

 

We’re very excited to announce that our Executive Director and co-founder David Risher has been elected as a 2011 Microsoft Integral Fellow.  This follows as intensive selection process led by the Microsoft Alumni Association and judged by a distinguished panel including Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton CNN’s medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, and eBay Founder and Chairman Pierre Omidyar.

The award includes a $25,000 grant for Worldreader and access to the network of Microsoft alumni to help support our work.  This is both exciting in itself and we think it will lead to great things in the future.  Here are a few pictures of David with Bill and Melinda from the event– and more information in this Seattle Times article.   Enjoy!  (And for a look at the inspirational video the Alumni Foundation prepared about his love of reading and inspiration for Worldreader, click here.)