Global Educational Trust

What Global Educational Trust does

Global Educational Trust is a UK-registered charity founded in 2011 that operates the "GET Free Books" initiative, a network of 16 physical shops sited inside shopping centres across England, Scotland and Wales (including Hyde, Dewsbury, Glasgow, Sale, Bradford, Wandsworth, Carmarthen and others). The charity collects donated books and redistributes them to the general public completely free of charge, with no till and no purchase requirement, distributing more than one million books annually and rescuing usable volumes from landfill. Beyond UK operations, the charity runs an international book donation programme supporting schools and libraries in The Gambia, the Philippines, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Liberia through partnerships with local organisations.

The business model is donation-funded: revenue is derived entirely from voluntary public contributions, processed through PayPal donation buttons with suggested amounts (£10 transport, £25 shelving, £50 new location) but no commercial transaction. The technology footprint is minimal, comprising a WordPress website built with the Colibri theme, a volunteer recruitment form, and embedded Facebook content; no proprietary software, mobile applications or APIs are operated. Operations are volunteer-driven across all shop sites, with the charity registered in England (1144969) and Scotland (SCO46627) and compliant with UK GDPR. Customer acquisition and awareness rely on word-of-mouth, local press coverage (e.g., The Scotsman) and the foot traffic generated by shopping-centre locations rather than paid marketing.

Name

Global Educational Trust

Legal name

Global Educational Trust

Website

https://globaleducationaltrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Global Educational Trust is a UK-registered charity founded in 2011 that runs 16 volunteer-staffed "GET Free Books" shops in shopping centres across the UK, distributing over one million donated books free of charge each year and supporting international literacy in five developing countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Book Distribution

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Free book distribution
• Charity book shops
• Community literacy programs
• Donated book redistribution
• Volunteer-run bookshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyde

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Donations: The charity operates entirely on donations. Books are provided free of charge with no obligation to donate. Revenue comes from voluntary contributions to support shop operations, transportation, shelving, and equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Global Educational Trust collects donated books and redistributes them completely free of charge through a network of 16 "GET Free Books" shops located in shopping centres across the UK. The charity also ships donated books internationally to support schools and libraries in The Gambia, Philippines, South Africa, Liberia, and Zimbabwe, distributing over 1 million books annually.

Product overview

Global Educational Trust operates the 'GET Free Books' initiative as its core product, consisting of a network of physical free book shops across the UK where donated books are distributed at no cost. The charity also maintains an international book donation program supporting educational institutions in The Gambia, Philippines, South Africa, Liberia, and Zimbabwe. The organization operates as a platform model, collecting donated books and redistributing them through multiple shop locations nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GET Free Books Shops A network of 16 physical book shops across UK cities in shopping centres where donated books are made available to the community completely free of charge. The shops operate without a till, are staffed by volunteers, and aim to provide free reading access to anyone in the UK.
• GET Free Books Initiative The umbrella initiative that operates free book distribution shops throughout the UK, giving away over 1 million books annually to communities in need of reading materials.
• International Book Donation Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million+ books distributed annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dogs4WildlifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with conservation organisation Dogs4Wildlife to ship books to schools and communities around conservation projects in Africa, specifically around the Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservancy in Zimbabwe to help develop schools around the conservancy.
• Rotary Club of EmpangeniminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGET Free Books Carmarthen worked with the Rotary Club of Empangeni to provide books for Gobandlovu School in South Africa for their library redevelopment project.
• Liberian Ambassador KennedycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Ambassador Kennedy to provide a shipment of books to His Excellency the President of Liberia to help increase the country's literacy rates. Described as a long, rewarding project.
• Imire Rhino & Wildlife ConservancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough the Dogs4Wildlife partnership, books are provided to schools around the conservancy in Zimbabwe to help develop educational institutions around the wildlife conservation area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• BookTrust: UK-wide children's literacy charity that distributes free books to children and families. Directly comparable to GET's mission of free book distribution and community literacy, though BookTrust focuses specifically on children rather than general audiences.
• Books for Africa: US-based charity collecting and shipping donated books to libraries and schools across Africa. Highly comparable to GET's Gambia, Liberia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe donation activities, including the rescued-from-landfill sourcing model.
• Book Aid International: UK charity that ships donated books to libraries and schools across sub-Saharan Africa. Directly comparable to GET's international book donation programme reaching The Gambia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
• The Reading Agency: UK charity focused on reading promotion and literacy across all ages. Operates in the same UK literacy-mission space as GET and partners with public libraries, sharing the reading-equity mission.
• Little Free Library: US-based nonprofit that builds and maintains free book-exchange boxes in communities worldwide. Operates on a comparable free-book-access community-led model, though using small street boxes rather than retail shops.
• National Literacy Trust: Major UK literacy charity running programmes to tackle literacy inequality, including book gifting initiatives. Operates in the same UK literacy non-profit space as GET and competes for similar donor and grant funding.

Emerging players

• Better World Books: For-profit social enterprise that sells donated books online and funds literacy programmes globally. Comparable book-rescue-from-landfill sourcing model but operates as a commercial venture rather than free distribution.

Others

• BookCrossing: Global community for sharing books freely by 'releasing' them in public spaces. Thematically aligned with GET's free-book ethos and book-reuse philosophy, though entirely volunteer-led and informal rather than a registered charity.

Broad incumbents

• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Global charity gifting free books to children from birth to age five, operating at vastly larger scale across the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. Comparable free-book-distribution model and donor-funded structure.
• Room to Read: Large international NGO focused on literacy and girls' education across Asia and Africa, including book publishing and library programmes. Operates at significantly larger scale in similar international book-distribution and literacy space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-educational-trust

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Global Educational Trust