Ernst, a member of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, learned to read and write at the age of 55. We proved the power of cooperative support by using Ernst´s first handwritten words for his very own font: the “Ernst-55.

Designed not by font-designers, but by fate, hope and the strength of Ernst. Telling Ernst´s story with every single dot, every line and every letter.

We shared his story via via printed supplement, online and his significant handwriting as downloadable font “Ernst_55” on www.fontshop.de For every download Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken donated 1 € for a national literacy project.

The cooperative Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken draw their strength from the 17 million members, who are more than just clients. They actually own the bank and decide how the bank is doing its business. And this is what sets them apart from all other banks. We want to show the difference to “classic” banks and the power of cooperative support and success as heart of the cooperative banking idea.

To inspire others to beat illiteracy, the font “Ernst_55” is the original handwriting of Ernst Lorenzen, a man who just has learned to read and write at the age of 55.

- 10.000 users of “Ernst_55”

- 500,000 readers of Ernst´s first handwritten words

- 7.500,000 illiterates inspired to learn reading and writing