Dear friends,
This year, the Luminos Fund marks our 10-year anniversary. As we celebrate this milestone, we also celebrate the 481,149 children we have reached with joyful, foundational learning—and we celebrate you: our donors, supporters, teachers, and partners who have made this transformative impact possible.
Over the past decade, Luminos classrooms have shown that children in low-resourced settings can learn far faster than anyone thought possible. More than 30 independent, external evaluations confirm that in classrooms using the Luminos Method, children progress from not recognizing letters to reading short stories within a single year. They are achieving transformative learning gains, reading as much as nine times faster than their peers, and moving forward into government schools with confidence.
The Luminos Method is a holistic approach that combines strong foundational learning skills with confidence, joy, and a sense of possibility. It is equally impactful for girls and boys, younger and older children, children returning to school and those who have never enrolled.
This year, we achieved our biggest annual reach as 103,523 children learned how to read, write, and do math.
Through the Luminos Method, we show what is possible in our classrooms, share evidence and open resources with the world, and shift education systems through government partnerships to scale impact.
Join us in building a movement to bring joyful, foundational learning to children everywhere.
With deepest gratitude,
A Generation of Children is in Crisis
Our Mission
To ensure all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning, especially those shut out of education by crisis, poverty, or discrimination.
Our Vision
A world where no child is ever denied the chance to learn.
Our First Decade in Numbers
Children Reached (cumulative)
481, 149
children reached with joyful, foundational learning
Including
277,904
children in government schools
95%
Of students transition into government schools
24,415
Pages of Student Books, Teacher's Guides, and reading materials created
16,143
Teachers trained
9
Languages of classroom materials
3
Years of learning delivered in one school year
30
Independent, external evaluations proving the Luminos Method's impact
47
Partnerships with community-based organizations
33
Countries received The Luminos Method books across 6 continents
Our Approach
SHOW
OUR IMPACT
The Luminos program is the only foundational learning program found to have such high impact on children’s learning while maintaining high cost-effectiveness.
Proven by over 30 independent evaluations, the Luminos model is among the most rigorously validated in the sector. In just one school year, students progress from not recognizing letters of the alphabet to reading short stories. Our students do more than catch up—they consistently outperform their peers in government schools.
This body of evidence spans a six-year longitudinal study, a randomized controlled trial (RCT), and multiple rigorous endline evaluations. Together, these studies confirm Luminos’ meaningful impact on children’s foundational literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills across sub-Saharan Africa. They also show that the Luminos model has an enduring impact: students stay in school and continue to thrive as confident learners.
"When I joined Luminos, what struck me was the impactful design—structured pedagogy combined with joyful learning—paired with a monitoring system that keeps implementation strong and allows us to respond quickly to classrooms in need.”
Matthew Jukes
Luminos Senior Director of Impact
Watch: Stories of Transformation from our Alumni
SHARE
BUILDING A MOVEMENT
The Luminos Method
The Luminos Method reaches far beyond our classrooms. It exists in multiple forms to meet education systems where they are: as free online resources, a published book for policymakers and teacher training institutes, practical teacher training programs, and the Learning Lab, where organizations engage in workshops, classroom visits, and adaptation to their own contexts. By combining global learning science with community-rooted practice, and sharing what works openly, we are building a movement—equipping governments and partners to deliver joyful, foundational learning at scale.
“The power of the Luminos Method is that it is both evidence-based and adaptable—designed to meet the diverse needs of partners, communities, and children.”
Donnalee Donaldson
Luminos Senior Director of Programs, West Africa
Our Classroom Materials are Free for All
Great tools should be in as many hands as possible. Our classroom materials—including Teachers' Guides, Student Books, Decodable Readers, and Read Aloud stories—are freely available on our website.
We developed these resources to support teachers and students in delivering and experiencing joyful, foundational learning. Our classroom materials cover ten months of learning, enabling students to progress through the equivalent of three years of primary school and prepare to transition into Grade 3 or 4 in government school.
Grounded in the science of reading and aligned with national curricula, the materials are organized into three phases—building from early phonics and basic math to independent reading, writing, and problem-solving.
"What works in a classroom should not depend on who can afford it.
By opening our teaching and learning materials to the world, we are making a simple bet: that every child, in every language, every system, has an equal claim on the tools that will teach them to read."
Neha Raheel
Luminos Director of Teaching and Learning
SHIFT
SCALING THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
Government Partnership in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is home to our oldest and deepest government partnership. Since 2018, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education has adopted the Luminos Method as a national strategy for supporting out-of-school children, resulting in accelerated learning programs in 13 of Ethiopia’s 14 regions. 233,915 Ethiopian children now have a second chance to learn through government adoption of the Luminos Method.
More recently, at the request of Regional Education Bureaus, Luminos has enhanced this model by introducing a structured pedagogy approach. Teachers receive detailed lesson plans, training, and ongoing supervision and coaching—combining evidence-based literacy and numeracy instruction with joyful, student-centered learning. The results are remarkable. Learning outcomes have soared: students achieve 4x higher reading scores than their peers in conventional Grade 2 classrooms. Teachers gain new skills and confidence in their role, and experience joy and pride in their students’ progress.
"Our government adoption program is truly special. Unlike many education programs that rely on external funding and are difficult to sustain, this approach is built to last. It is both innovative and impactful, designed from the start to grow within government systems. Importantly, it has the potential to drive lasting change."
Dr. Alemayehu (Alex) Hailu Gebre
Luminos Senior Director of Programs, Ethiopia
Looking ahead
While 15% of 10-year-olds in Ethiopia are out of school, a staggering 76% are in schools but not learning to read.
The next step in our government partnership will be working with the Regional Education Bureau in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region, to co-create and implement our structured pedagogy model in government primary schools.
Watch Roman's Story
Step inside a government classroom using the Luminos Method with teacher Roman.
"Being a teacher is pride itself.
The students I teach in this program have gone on to reach Grade 6 in mainstream school, and they are now leading their class because they developed strong reading skills in this program."
Roman
Ethiopian government teacher
Refreshing Ghana's National Accelerated Learning Curriculum
In Ghana, Luminos partnered with the national government to produce more than 3,800 pages of new teaching and learning materials for out-of-school children. Developed in four Ghanaian languages—Asante Twi, Dagaare, Dagbani, and Ewe—the revised materials are grounded in a joyful, phonics-based approach, delivered in a language children understand, and have the potential to reach around 13,000 out-of-school children each year.
2025 Financials
Special Thanks to Our Major Donors
Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies
Audemars Piguet Foundation for Common Good
Cartier Philanthropy for People and Nature
Dovetail Impact Foundation
Founders Pledge
Gates Foundation
Ghanta Family Foundation
Hirschmann Stiftung
Legatum
The LEGO Foundation
mc2h foundation
Mirath Foundation
Mulago Foundation
Oak Foundation
The Peter Cundill Foundation
Pousaz Philanthropies
Rippleworks
SAS-P
UBS Optimus Foundation
UNICEF
Vitol Foundation
Wenya Charity Foundation Limited
Yield Giving
We are immensely grateful to our Board of Directors and our Advisory Board for their guidance and support.
Join the movement.
Our continued impact is only possible with bold funding and support.
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