Partners & Funders

In fiscal year 2001, Books For Africa sent 40 container shipments of books to Africa. In 2011, we sent 178 containers—about 1.9 million books to 21 countries! This significant growth was achieved thanks to the generous support of our funders, especially Better World Books.

Books For Africa receives financial support from Oprah’s Angel Network, the OPEC Fund For International Development (OFID), Better World Books, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foundations, corporations, and individuals to cover the high costs of shipping books to Africa. Their support is leveraged by significant in-kind support from Better World Books, Follett Educational Services, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and many schools, publishers, libraries, and individuals. Books For Africa has received the highest ratings from Charity Navigator and the Minnesota Charities Review Council.

  

Better World Books is a *triple-bottom-line online bookstore. Each book purchased on the site powers a book donation to someone in need. Book for Book. The company also uses revenue to fund literacy organizations including Books for Africa. In addition to their work for literacy, Better World Books diverts books from the landfill and offers carbon-balanced shipping.

Better World Books by the Numbers:

  •  Over 6 million books donated Better World Books
  • Over $11 million raised for literacy & libraries
  • Over 70 million books re-used or recycled
  • Over 29,000 pounds of carbon emissions offset

*Triple-bottom-line means that Better World Books works equally for people, planet and profit.

 

The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) is the philanthropic branch of the Chrome Group, a group of organizations involved in the Nigerian oil industry. The Foundation is a Nigerian non-governmental organization with the mission to help raise Nigerians from poverty. SEOF largely focuses on providing quality education and educational materials to Nigerian students of all ages. BFA is pleased to partner with the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation on the signing of a $400,000 Memorandum of Understanding in 2011 as well as future projects.

 

A generous 2008 grant from Oprah's Angel Network will be used to ship nine 40-foot sea containers of books to school-age children in South Africa, Tanzania, and Liberia who currently have little or no access to reading materials.
 

 

     U.S. Agency for International Development

Through a partnership with the USAID Africa Education Initiative, Books For Africa shipped eighteen 40-foot containers of textbooks in 2007 to eight African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. Over 500,000 books valued at over $2.6 million were shipped through this partnership with USAID.

 

 

Follett Educational Services is BFA's largest supplier of donated K-12 textbooks.     Out Of Print Clothing donates proceeds to BFA to ship containers to recipients in Africa.  Thomson Reuters provides funding and core law libraries for BFA's Law & Democracy Initiative  IFESH sponsors BFA shipments to partners in Africa. Capstone provides brand-new books for shipment to Africa. Books For Africa is a member of Aid For Africa, allowing for partnership in the Federal Combined Charities Campaign. Amara Wines is a collaborative partner of BFA generating funding.   

     Combined Federal Campaign #10718/Aid For Africa The Dictionary Project is BFA's largest supplier of dictionaries.  Visions In Action is a collaborative partner providing librarian training and book distribution in Africa.      Course Hero provides funding for BFA shipments through the Knowledge Drive, an initiative seeking to strengthen the powerful academic resource they provide for college students. Borrowed Books LLC provides funding for BFA shipments.      World Vision provides new books from publishers for BFA shipments. Books For Africa is a recipient of a Google Grant award. Designed for 501(c)(3) organizations, Google Grants is a unique in-kind advertising program harnessing the power of Google AdWords advertising product. Encyclopaedia Britannica provides Books For Africa with encyclopedias and atlases. Alphabetimals donates proceeds to BFA to ship containers to recipients in Africa.   

Now, 20,000 students in 30 schools in 30 communities have access to books that will broaden individual horizons, enhance classrooms, and maybe significantly change a life or two.

— Rose Zulliger, Peace Corps Volunteer who organized and distributed a BFA shipment in South Africa