History
From the Corporate World to the Developing World
In 1996, brothers Joe and Jeff Berninger left successful, private-sector careers at Procter & Gamble and IBM to address poverty in Guatemala. The Berningers first became interested in Guatemala in the early 1990s during a visit to the country. Inspired by their experiences, Jeff took time off to volunteer in the Guatemalan school system. In his classroom and throughout the school, Jeff noticed that teachers lacked access to the most basic resources, including textbooks, maps, reference materials, and technology. Students spent most of their learning time copying from the chalkboard. They quickly became bored with school, and their lack of motivation led to high dropout rates. Jeff decided to help the school get the resources they needed to improve learning outcomes for the young people of the community.
Getting Organized
Jeff enlisted his brother’s help and got a small grant to set up the first textbook rental program at La Labor School, on the outskirts of Guatemala City. Jeff and Joe based their lending model on the farm cooperatives they knew from their upbringing in rural Indiana.
Program Expansion
Since its humble beginnings 13 years ago, the textbook program has expanded to nearly 200 schools—or about 10% of the country’s middle schools. The organization has significantly increased its geographic and programmatic reach. Today, CoEd is recognized as one of the leading development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Guatemala. 
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