Books for Africa

Books For Africa (www.booksforafrica.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, sorting, shipping, and distributing books to children and adults in Africa. With headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, and warehouses in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Atlanta, Georgia, BFA's goal is to end the book famine in Africa. They are the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent. Since 1988, Books For Africa has sent over 22 million books to 45 African countries.

Books For Africa has received the top rating of 4 stars from Charity Navigator.org. Books for Africa partners with NGOs like Rotary Club to coordinate distribution in African communities.

In order to cover shipping costs ($9,800 to ship a 40-foot container with approximately 22,000 books to an African seaport), Books For Africa relies on donations and partners with Better World Books, a social venture company that runs book drives to raise funding for literacy-based nonprofits. Better World Books is their largest single source of funding and their largest source of post-secondary books.

External links

• [1] (Official Site)
• 8.9.2006 Article from the The Washington File, a publication of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Information Program
• BFA's accountability discussed by the Minnesota Charities Review Council
• http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Partners/BooksForAfrica.aspx (BFA's relationship with Better World Books)
• http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/3373.htm (Charity Navigator's page about BFA)