Despite government commitments to Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to improve access to education, more than 18 million primary-aged children remain out of school in the Asia-Pacific (UNESCO, 2014). Given the impact of education on individuals, societies, and economies, there is great urgency for governments to provide alternative interventions for these children to receive basic education outside the conventional school system. Flexible learning strategies have been an effective vehicle in equipping out-of-school children with foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as well as life competencies for the 21st century. However, in spite of their strong potential to achieve EFA goals, the disconcerting reality is that education programs for disadvantaged children have been chronically underfunded across the Asia-Pacific region. This stems from a range of different causes, including non-formal education's poor societal image, decreasing foreign aid to education and governments' tendency to prioritize other subsectors that are perceived to be more important, such as primary and higher education. With swelling numbers of out-of-school children in the region and the EFA agenda still unfinished, there is a need more than ever to ensure increased, sustainable and stable financing for education for out-of-school children. In recent years, innovative financing for development has not necessarily created new financial mechanisms but rather creatively leveraged existing funding and revenue streams to produce impactful outcomes. Having proven to be highly successful in health and other sectors, innovative financing strategies may effectively supplement traditional sources of education funding, such as government resources and official development assistance. However, unlike in health, the complexity of education systems makes it challenging to establish direct links between investments and tangible, measurable and sustainable results. This therefore begs the question: What role can innovative financing play in improving the education sector? This booklet aims to serve as a rapid reference for policymakers in the region who wish to familiarize themselves on non-traditional financing approaches. It compiles successful cases drawn from various sectors that not only break new ground but offer feasible fiscal solutions to better support educational interventions for out-of-school children. A list of key resources and links is included.