Teachers Without Borders

What Teachers Without Borders does

Teachers Without Borders (TWB) is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State, USA, founded in 2000 by Fred Mednick. The organization operates as a global teacher network spanning 177 countries, connecting educators to free professional development resources, courses, and peer communities focused on three programmatic themes: Education in Emergencies, Girls' Education, and Peace and Human Rights Education. TWB's underlying technology is a digital content platform — centered on the TWB Library, online courses, and the 'Get on the Map' member visibility feature — supplemented by a podcast and a published book, 'In the Small Places.' All website content is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 license.

TWB does not maintain a payroll and operates entirely through volunteers, with no formally employed staff beyond its 1-10 person range. Membership, courses, and resources are provided at no cost and with no strings attached. The stated revenue model is donations and grants, though the organization explicitly does not engage in fundraising except for the Jane Goodall Institute, and book author proceeds are passed through to that partner. The organization has absorbed the assets of Bridges to Understanding and maintains institutional partnerships with Vrije Universiteit Brussel, PARSA, and the Jane Goodall Institute. Recognized internationally through the Champions of African Education Award (2010), the Luxembourg Peace Prize (2018), and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize (2018), TWB positions teachers as the largest professionally-trained community-change workforce in the world and operates on a bottom-up, member-led model.

Name

Teachers Without Borders

Legal name

Teachers Without Borders

Website

https://teacherswithoutborders.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Teachers Without Borders is a Washington State-registered non-profit founded in 2000 that operates a free, volunteer-run global network of teachers across 177 countries, delivering open-licensed courses and resources in education in emergencies, girls' education, and peace education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teacher Professional Development and Educational Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education & Teaching Volunteer Programs (EDAIAGAD)

Keywords

• Teacher professional development
• Global teacher network
• Education in emergencies
• Peace education programs
• Girls education advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Mercer Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: TWB operates as a nonprofit organization funded through donations and grants. The organization does not have a payroll and depends entirely on volunteers.
2. Book Sales Proceeds: The book 'In the Small Places' by Founder Fred Mednick generates author proceeds that are donated to the Jane Goodall Institute. This represents a indirect revenue stream through book publishing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Teachers Without Borders is a nonprofit teacher network and development organization that connects teachers across 177 countries to free educational resources, courses, and a global community. It provides free membership, downloadable resources, and online courses under a Creative Commons license, focused on education in emergencies, girls' education, and peace and human rights education. The organization operates entirely through volunteers and empowers teachers as community change agents.

Product overview

Teachers Without Borders operates as a network of teacher leaders offering free membership with access to educational resources, courses, and a global community spanning 177 countries. The core product portfolio centers on the TWB Library (free downloadable resources), Courses, and Podcasts, supplemented by programmatic initiatives in Education in Emergencies, Girls' Education, Peace and Human Rights Education, and Mentoring Teacher Leaders. Key offerings include the 'In the Small Places' book by founder Fred Mednick, the Bridges to Understanding digital storytelling program (incorporated into TWB), and community features like 'Get on the Map.' All content operates under Creative Commons licensing with no strings attached.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Free Membership
• Courses
• TWB Library
• In the Small Places (Book)
• The Podcast
• Education in Emergencies Initiative
• Girls' Education Initiative
• Peace and Human Rights Education
• Mentoring Teacher Leaders
• Bridges to Understanding

Quantifiable outcome

• Network spans 177 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Jane Goodall InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Dr. Jane Goodall serves as TWB's Global Spokesperson. Her Roots & Shoots program fosters the power of teacher networks. All author proceeds from the 'In the Small Places' book are donated to the Jane Goodall Institute.
• PARSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPARSA is an Afghan organization devoted to 'building healthy Afghan communities' working at grassroots level since 1996. TWB works with PARSA on education initiatives in Afghanistan, including the Community Teaching and Learning Center in Kabul.
• Bridges to UnderstandingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBridges to Understanding incorporated its assets into Teachers Without Borders. The organization focused on photography documenting local social-change projects and global classroom exchanges through digital storytelling.
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTWB's Founder Fred Mednick works as a professor at VUB's Department of Education Sciences. The university provides support for TWB's global education coursework and research, with Master's and PhD students participating in TWB initiatives.
• Project Kids WorldwideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Kids Worldwide, founded by Stephen B. Colvin, M.D. (Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NYU Medical Center), partnered with TWB to help fund and perform Vasila Hossaini's heart surgery pro bono.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Teach For All: Global network of independent partner organizations developing teacher and student leadership across more than 60 countries. Directly comparable to TWB as a multi-country teacher-leadership network, though Teach For All focuses more on recruiting external talent into classrooms while TWB mobilizes existing teachers.
• Room to Read: Global non-profit focused on literacy, gender equality, and girls' education across low-income countries. Comparable to TWB on the girls' education theme and the model of country-level programmatic delivery through local staff and partners.
• Varkey Foundation: Global foundation focused on improving education standards and elevating the status of teachers, including the Global Teacher Prize. Closely comparable to TWB in mission to empower teachers as change agents and in operating teacher-focused programs across multiple continents.
• INEE (Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies): Open network of more than 180 organizations working on education in emergencies. Comparable to TWB as a network and standards-setting body serving practitioners in conflict and disaster contexts, with overlapping focus on teacher professional development in crises.
• Education Cannot Wait (ECW): UN-hosted fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises, active in many of the same fragile states as TWB. Directly comparable as a funder and convener for education-in-emergencies programming, with overlapping themes on girls' education and crisis response.
• BRAC Education Programme: BRAC operates one of the largest non-governmental education programs in the world, with schools, teacher training, and education in emergencies across multiple developing countries. Comparable to TWB in scale of educational reach in the Global South and focus on teacher development.

Regional players

• Girls' Education Challenge (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office): UK government-funded program supporting marginalised girls' education across multiple lower-income countries, implemented through a consortium led by Education Development Trust. Comparable to TWB in girls' education focus and in-country delivery, but with donor funding and consortium structure TWB lacks.

Broad incumbents

• UNICEF Education: UN Children's Fund education programming covering teacher support, education in emergencies, and girls' learning in over 190 countries. Comparable through overlapping programmatic themes and geographies, but funded and staffed at a vastly larger scale than TWB.
• Global Partnership for Education (GPE): Multi-stakeholder partnership and fund supporting education in lower-income countries. Comparable in the sense of channeling donor funding into teacher and system capacity in TWB's geographies, but operates at the country-system level rather than the teacher-network level.
• UNESCO Education Sector: UN agency setting global education norms and convening education ministries, including on teachers (e.g., the UNESCO Teacher Task Force). Comparable as an overarching body that influences the same teacher-policy and emergency-education agenda TWB operates in, but at intergovernmental scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/teachersnetwork
• Facebookfacebook.com/teacherswithoutborders
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/twbglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Teachers Without Borders