Chris Janssen and his business partner Tom Hartford are out to change the world, one textbook at a time, and are now looking for investors to grow Textbooks for Change across Canada.
Janssen, an Ivey Business School grad, started the organization as a project in 2012 to fundraise for the Shinerama and Terry Fox Foundation at Western University. After experiencing the success of the project, Janssen and his partner decided to turn the idea into a sustainable business model and are now working full time to scale across Ontario.
Textbooks for Change collects donated textbooks in two ways: from drop-boxes on university and college campuses, and from student club collection drives. Nearly 50% of textbooks are sent to African universities in dire need of this educational material. The other portion is either recycled efficiently or sold online at affordable prices to students across Canada. Once textbooks sell, 50% of net proceeds are used to either support socially purposed student clubs, or to distribute micro-finance loans to entrepreneurs around the world.
“Initially, people were not sure about what we were doing, but once we started sharing our story and initiatives, we noticed a change in attitude,” Janssen said.
To date, Textbooks for Change has donated more than 20,000 books to African Universities, recycled another 25,000 and has provided more than $25,000 in micro loans. The group has also donated $10,500 to non-profits and employs three people. Janssen has even more ambitious goals: he wants to donate more than one million books and help raise more than $2.5 million in loans.
“London has been great to us. We have harnessed a great network through organizations including Goodwill Industries,Pillar Non-Profit Network and BizInc,” Janssen said. “They’ve been very supportive and it is nice to have that network to lean on.”
Recently, Textbooks for Change received a B Corporation designation — it identifies the organization as a business operating for a social/environmental cause. The group is also gearing up for expansion in the Greater Toronto Area.
Follow their journey by visiting the group at http://www.textbooksforchange.ca/ or following them on Twitter at @Textbooks4C
