In 2008, Adam Braun was a young Brown grad and Bain & Company consultant by trade, backpacker by passion. Adam asked one child per country what they would want if they could have anything in the world. One boy in South Asia said that his biggest wish was simple – a pencil. This answer changed his life.
The greatest minds started with a pencil and paper. It’s how we learn to express ourselves and our dreams. A pencil is the first tool to pursue a better future.

Adam put $25 into a bank account and threw himself a 25th birthday party with the goal of building one school. Together, Adam’s friends raised $25,000, which built a pre-school in Pha Theung, Laos.
He shared photos of the build process and the students in their new classrooms. His friends saw their dollars changing lives.

They wanted to build schools of their own. So did their families and the companies they worked for. Adam left Bain and started Pencils of Promise, uniting his business background with his passion for social change.
Today, PoP works in Ghana, Guatemala, Laos and Nicaragua and has broken ground on over 400 pre and primary schools in remote and underserved regions. Each school was made possible by a person, a family or a company united by the goal of creating a better world through education.

Pencils of Promise is known as a school building organization that provides access to education, but we are evolving into a learning organization focused on quality education outcomes. With our dynamic appoach to ensure quality education through our programs, we are reshaping the landscape of education in the developing world. Join us as we create a world where education and opportunity exists for all children.