Books for Africa
Shipping donated books to schools and libraries across Africa to end the book famine
Our editorial assessment
Books for Africa runs one of the leanest models in education philanthropy: it collects donated books and ships them in bulk to schools and libraries across Africa, so a modest cash donation covers the sorting and freight for a large volume of books. Charity Navigator has given it a top rating for more than a decade, placing it among the top few percent of US charities, with a very high program-expense ratio. (That figure reflects donated books counted as gifts-in-kind, common for goods-distribution charities.) For donors focused on literacy and educational access at scale, it is exceptionally cost-efficient.
The problem they're solving
Many schools and libraries across Africa have few or no books, a basic barrier to literacy and learning. Books for Africa moves large quantities of donated books to exactly these places, so that the cost of delivering a book to a child who has none is remarkably low.
About Books for Africa
Books for Africa collects, sorts, and ships donated books and educational materials — from primary readers to law and medical texts — to schools, libraries, and communities across the African continent.
Where your dollar goes
What your donation could do
Your $100 funds evidence-based programs at this charity.
Illustrative estimate based on published cost-per-outcome figures. Actual impact varies by program and year.
How this score was produced
The GiveWise score is our own editorial assessment, produced with a weighted rubric covering program spending, transparency and governance, evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and leadership. It draws on publicly available reports from independent evaluators such as GiveWell, Charity Navigator, and CharityWatch, but it is not a rating issued or endorsed by any of those organisations. Read the full methodology →