Donation Agencies
This section gives you a brief overview of possible book donation agencies, computer donation agencies and funding sources.
Book Donation Agencies
African Children‘s Libraries http://www.africanchildrenslibraries.org/ African Children's Libraries African Children's Libraries donates children's books and assists mostly in elementary schools in establishing libraries. They are working with mainly children’s libraries in Liberia. ACL have helped establish 18 school libraries and sent some few books to a community college, nursing school and hospital over the last 15 years. Currently, they can provide consultation to those looking for resources but are not taking applications for additional schools.
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African Library Project http://www.africanlibraryproject.org Thistle Street Portola Valley, CA 94028, USA Contact: Chris Bradshaw African Library Project sends English language books, which are collected through book drives. Books are at U.S. preschool to 8th grade reading levels. Available resources include baby board books, children’s picture books, fiction and nonfiction, juvenile literature, children’s encyclopedias, children’s and adult dictionaries, recent atlases, and textbooks in English, science, math and geography.
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Asia Foundation / Books for Asia http://www.asiafoundation.org/ 465 California St., 9th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA The Asia Foundation's Books for Asia program donates new and high quality used books on all educational subjects and at all levels. Field offices of the Asia Foundation distribute the books to libraries, universities, schools and other institutions in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Please contact the nearest Asia Foundation office (often in capital cities of project countries) and ask for the Books for Asia Programme.
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Books Abroad Unit 1, Richmond Avenue Industrial Estate, Rhynie, Huntley, Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB54 4HJ, UK Books Abroad sends educational, library and resource books for all ages to places of greatest need. New and lightly used school textbooks in all subjects, library books, atlases, dictionaries and health books are available. Books are mainly donated by local schools and North East of Scotland Library Service Libraries. Most of the work is carried out by volunteers. To date, over 3 million books have been despatched worldwide.
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Book Aid International (BAI) 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London SES 9NR, UK Book Aid International works in partnership with libraries in Africa by providing books, resources and training to support an environment in which reading for pleasure, study and lifelong learning can flourish. They provided 563,424 new books to over 3,300 libraries in 2013 alone and have sent more than 30 million books to partner libraries since 1954. The books are distributed by in country distribution partners - library services, local NGOs, or distribution committees. To request books please read through the information and fill out the form on their website.
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Bookfriends International NFP 1000 N. Rand Road #206, Wauconda, IL 60084, USA Bookfriends International NFP is a non-profit public foundation that seeks to provide educational resources to the secondary school age children (grades 5 - 12) of Africa by providing them with textbooks, library books and reference materials that are in desperately short supply in their local villages.
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Books for Africa 26 East Exchange StreetSuite 411Saint Paul, MN 55101, USA Phone: (651) 602-9844 or Fax: (651) 602-9848 Email: bfa@booksforafrica.org A non-profit organization seeking to share books with the English-speaking countries of Africa. Books for Africa are the largest shipper of donated textbooks to the African continent and have shipped over 30 million school, university, and library books to 49 African countries since 1988. The organization only sends new or gently used books in excellent condition. All books are donated, with receiving organizations paying the costs ($10,000 - $15,000 per container) of shipping donated books in 40-foot containers each holding approximately 22,000 books.
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Books for International Goodwill (B.I.G.) Parole Rotary Club, P.O. Box 6327, Annapolis, MD 21401-0327, USA B.I.G. is a non-profit charitable organization associated with the Parole Rotary Club providing gifts in kind in cooperation with the public and private sectors. They ship books from individuals, bookstores, schools or libraries to needy countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and other areas of the world. The books are sorted into the following categories: college texts, high school texts and elementary texts and general reading for libraries (fiction and non-fiction), medical school, religion and paperbacks. The books are sorted and stored by volunteers. Shipping can be paid primarily by B.I.G. (with the recipient responsible for customs clearance and inland transportation). Over 6.4 million books have been sent. Note: B.I.G. has suspended operations pending the procurement of a new warehouse. They cannot accept volunteers or book donations at this time (11/01/2018)
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Books for the Barrios, Inc. 1125 Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA Books for the Barrios operates in the Philippines. Elementary textbooks, children‘s fiction and picture books, toys and games, athletic equipment and consumable school supplies are available. Due to the large size of shipments, individual requests cannot be honoured except as part of an ongoing project to the requestor’s particular locale. Individuals interested in acting as coordinators for large book shipments, however, should contact Books for the Barrios. Coordinators assist in identifying appropriate recipient schools, repacking books in smaller lots and organizing distribution. Coordinators can identify shipment sponsors among local government officials and civic leaders. The program is eligible for available countrywide development fund support.
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Bridge to Asia 1505 Juanita Way, Berkeley, CA 94702-1103, USA Bridge to Asia operates in China and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam). New and lightly used books, journals, magazines, databases, children‘s books, school books, reference books and other educational materials are available. Bridge to Asia has only a limited ability to send materials to individuals and to organizations not part of the recipient universities distribution system. Such requests often require personal attention and special shipping procedures. Bridge to Asia can still fulfill requests from individuals, but it may be several months before the books are sent out.
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Brother's Brother Foundation (BBF) http://www.brothersbrother.org/ 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233, USA The Brother's Brother Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization providing gifts in kind in cooperation with the public and private sectors. Working with volunteers in host countries, they have sent over 8,000,000 books to schools, universities and civic organizations since 1986. Brother's Brother Foundation typically deals in very large quantities (a ton may be considered a small quantity). They provide medical supplies, textbooks, food and seeds to countries all over the world. Their Education Program helps developing countries to build educational infrastructures by providing donated books and educational materials to Africa, South and Central America, East Europe and Asia. All donated books are screened to ensure that they are usable and relevant. Currently 15% of donations are used books and 85% are new books. Once a recipient is established, BBF makes available a book list for the recipient to select titles and quantities. On the website you will find an online application for receiving donations.
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Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE) 321 Chapel Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2, Canada CODE is a Canadian charitable organization that has been promoting education and literacy in the developing world since 1959. CODE builds the bridge of literacy by developing partnerships that provide resources for learning, promote awareness and understanding, and encourage self-reliance. CODE’s book donation programme is based on a long-term partnership arrangement with mostly non-governmental organizations in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania. North American donated books are selected by local book committees from booklists that are made available to the partners by CODE’s affiliate organization, the International Book Bank (IBB), based in Baltimore, USA. The donation programme is supplemented by funding for the organizations that enables them to purchase books from local publishers or to publish books themselves for free distribution to the target audience. The different sources of books ensure that materials are relevant to the needs of the end users, the readers. CODE and partners also establish libraries, train teachers, librarians and other literacy agents to support quality education for children. Please ask CODE headquarters for the nearest local organization or have a look at their website.
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Darien Book Aid Plan 1926 Post Road, Darien, Connecticut 06820, USA Darien Book Aid Plan has books on different subjects that are less than 10 years old. They send small boxes of books directly to libraries, schools and hospitals all over the world. The organization does not accept magazines in general, but forwards The National Geographic if it is less than 5 years old. Darien Book Aid Plan does not work with partner organizations. Apart from libraries, they also support local prisons with paperback books and give books to organizations that hold fundraising book sales. Darien Book Aid Plan will send a postcard informing you of the date of the transportation. They appreciate receiving a thank you note with a picture of the library or institution. Please write a letter or an e-mail to apply for book donations with the following information:
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Global Book Exchange (GBX) http://www.bookexchangemarin.org 664 Hilary Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920, USA GBX operates worldwide and is non-sectarian and supports all secular and religious recipients. However, religious texts are not available. Grades K to 12 used textbooks, teacher’s editions and readers are available. GBX collects surplus used books from local schools. The books are evaluated for condition and applicability. Books not deemed useful are recycled. For shipped books, GBX prefers to ship to a Rotary Club for distribution. The receiving club is responsible for customs clearance (when required) and distribution to clients. GBX gives high priority to recipients able to pay for port-to-port shipments. Shipping costs for a typical pallet shipment of 1000 books are approximately $500. A typical container shipment of 15,000 books costs approximately $4,000. Recipients are expected to pay any in-country costs (customs clearance, storage, distribution). GBX has limited funds for shipping costs. For international shipments, GBX sends as few as thirty boxes and as much as a 20-foot container.
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International Book Project, Inc. Van Meter Building, 1440 Delaware Avenue, Lexington, Kentucky 40505, USA Book Project sends books to libraries, schools, hospitals and universities in the Global South and parts of the U.S.A. since more than 36 years. Books can be new from publishers or used from individuals, schools and libraries. They cover all levels, children's books through graduate and professional books. On the website you will find an application form for book donations that will be assessed based on the quality and completeness of the application, suitability of the organization as a long-term partner and the IBPs ability to provide the specific books requested.
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Rotary Books for the World http://www.rotarybooksfortheworld.org/ 4601 Hamblen Court, Seabrook, TX 77586, SA Rotary Books for the World mainly operates in Southern Africa. They work through partnerships with Rotary Clubs in the Global South with their main partner being the Rotary Club of South Africa. The South African Rotarians have a new Rotary Humanitarian Aid Centre which serves as the book distribution center as well as district offices, training facilities, and dispenser of other aid materials. It holds racks of books carefully sorted by subject matter making it easy for the teachers to select their books. The Centre is open every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for qualified schools, libraries, and educational institutions to come and pick up as many books as they can carry. New and used primary, secondary, and college-level textbooks, and general reading material for libraries are available. For requests, please contact Charlie or Barbara Clemmons.
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Skipping Stones Box 3939, Eugene, OR 97403, USA Skipping Stones has donated books and back issues of Skipping Stones magazines all over the world. All kinds of books are donated: fiction and nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, juvenile novels, reference books, nature, multicultural works and folk tales. Skipping Stones, an international, non-profit, multicultural and nature awareness magazine, is now in its 30th year. The magazine, published quarterly (4 times a year), includes original writing, poetry, art and photography by all ages, especially youth. This non-commercial, ad-free magazine welcomes your students’ writing and art in English, as well as all bilingual (with another language) submissions. Annual Subscriptions are $35, including international postage. While the donations of books and magazine back issues are free, Skipping Stones asks that those requesting donations arrange for shipping and handling costs. With increased international postage for overseas shipments, it is not possible for Skipping Stones to cover the postage. A large Flat Rate Priority Box of books (weight, approx. 16 to 20 pounds) costs us US$92.00 in postage. If you can arrange a US mail to address, postage can be much less.
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Sources of Donated Books for Schools and Libraries Peace Corps. 2012. Sources of Donated Books for Schools and Libraries. [pdf] Washington DC, Peace Corps. Available at: http://files.peacecorps.gov/library/RE003.pdf [25.01.2018] This document originally intended to help Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts identify organizations that might provide books and other educational materials for schools and libraries in their communities. However, the organizations listed also provide support to other organisations. The services described for each organization listed in Section A apply specifically to Peace Corps Volunteers. The services and procedures for organizations listed in Section B apply to counterparts or other host country nationals requesting assistance directly.
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The World Bank Family Network (WBFN) / Book Project 1818 H Street NW, MSN J2-202, Washington DC 20433, USA The Book Project receives, packs, and distributes donated books to educational institutions in rural and disadvantaged areas of developing countries. Books are donated to all school levels, libraries and community groups concerned with education. When a Distributor requests a shipment book request forms are received from the institutions to justify sending a container of books to a country, WB Book Project in cooperation with a Distributor in Washington, DC finds a recipient organisation to clear the books through customs and distribute them to the recipients. The Distributor can either be spouses/staff of World Bank Missions, the Peace Corps in countries where volunteers are working with libraries and schools, ministries, or local or international NGO's. WB Book Project sends up to four containers (20' or 40') of 320 or 576 boxes of books per year to developing countries around the world (shipping is paid to the nearest point of entry). Write to them for a book request form (do not contact the local office of the World Bank). Development workers or librarians visiting Washington D.C. can select books from their warehouse to take to libraries overseas. Due to the long waiting list of countries wanting shipments, it usually takes at least two years for WBVS to collect enough requests from one country, find a reliable distributor, pack the shipment and send it overseas.
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Computer Donation Agencies
Computer Aid International 1E Mentmore Terrace, London Fields, London E8 3DQ, UK Computer Aid International is the world’s largest non-profit supplier of refurbished computers to schools and community organizations in developing countries. They test, refurbish, pack and ship donated Pentium computers from the U.K. for re-use in the non-profit sector overseas. They support libraries as long as they meet their criteria.
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Tools with a Mission (TWAM) 2 Bailey Close, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 0UD, UK TWAM collects unwanted tools from donors. These are tools that are in reasonable condition but are no longer wanted by their owners. All tools are only sent in response to specific requests. The workshop at Ipswich also deals with computers, sewing machines and knitting machines.
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World Computer Exchange (WCE) http://www.worldcomputerexchange.org 936 Nantasket Avenue, Hull, Massachusetts 02045, USA World Computer Exchange is North America's largest non-profit supplier of tested used computers to schools and community organizations in developing countries. WCE provides tested working Pentium and Power Mac computers to help connect more youth to the Internet as well as sister-schools and volunteer support in technology, content development and telecentre management. They work with libraries on the basis that their computers are used most of the time by youth. |
Funding Sources
DANIDA - Development Agency of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.um.dk/en E-mail: um@um.dk DANIDA supports public library and information services as well as book donation programmes and technical and scientific information. DANIDA´s educational programmes and projects include library support. They work together with NGO´s, governmental organizations, UNESCO and the UN. Please send your request directly to DANIDA or contact your local Danish embassy.
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Ford Foundation Headquarters, 1440 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA The Ford Foundation has offices in the Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, Brazil, South America and Russia. The Ford Foundations mission is to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. It is an independent organization with its own board. If you want to receive a grant, please do not contact the programme officers directly, but fill out the online form on their website. They will contact you within 45 days if they are interested. The Ford Foundation focuses their grants on Asset Building and Community Development, Peace and Social Justice and Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom.
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Thousand Currents (formerly IDEX) www.thousandcurrents.org E-mail: Thousand Currents funds, connects, and walks alongside the people, organizations, and movements that are finding solutions and making waves around the world. They develop long-term funding relationships with effective women-, youth-, and Indigenous-led organizations that they call partners. Thousand Currents selects partners that work on the interdependent issues of food sovereignty, alternative economies, and climate justice. Grants are long-term and flexible, with no strings or conditions attached, to enable partners to be responsive to communities and focus on shared objectives rather than arbitrary time periods.
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Open Society Institute and Soros Foundation Network www.soros.org Soros Foundations are autonomous institutions established in particular countries or regions to initiate and support open society activities by shaping government policy and supporting education, media, public health, human and women’s rights, as well as social, legal, and economic reform. The Open Society Foundations award grants, scholarships, and fellowships throughout the year to organizations and individuals. The vast majority of grants are awarded to organizations. They approach most of these organizations directly, and invite them to submit grant applications or proposals. However, a smaller number of organizational grants are solicited from the public through open calls; you can find a list of those grants on their website. The process for applying for grants varies by program. Some use requests for proposals (RFPs), others invite letters of inquiry (LOIs) or concept papers, and certain others accept proposals by invitation only. Given that each program has specific grant-making processes, it is best to inquire with that particular program to explore fit and process.
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The Directory of Social Change (DSC) www.dsc.org.uk E-mail: cs@dsc.org.uk The DSC helps community and voluntary organizations by giving advise on how to raise money, how to manage resources to a maximum effect, how to influence the right people and more. Therefore, they supply handbooks, reference guides, CD-ROMs and electronic information. They also provide training resources and try to encourage voluntary groups to network and share information. The Directory of Social Change does not provide funds or grants, but gives you advice in this field. |
