What is Grantmakers for Education?
 Our mission: Increase philanthropy’s capacity to
improve educational outcomes.
 Through programs, research and services, we
help grantmakers improve their knowledge,
networks and effectiveness.
 Founded in 1995, we are a national association of
over 200 grantmaking organizations.
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GFE is the largest and most diverse
network of foundations and donors working
to improve educational outcomes … from
small to large foundations … from early education
through higher education issues.
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Key Activities:
 Annual conference (fall)
 Issue-specific briefings (throughout year)
 Funder communities of practice
 Information-sharing (which funders are working on
which issues?)
 Case studies describing effective education
grantmaking
 Online knowledge center to find experts and
resources
 Newsletters, essays and research digests
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Board of Directors:
Ivye Allen, Trustee
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (Arkansas)
Stephen Patrick, Director – Youth & Emerging Initiatives
New Mexico Community Foundation
Stephen Barkanic, Program Director
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Maryland)
Lata Reddy, Vice President
The Prudential Foundation (New Jersey)
Lori Bezahler, President
The Edward W. Hazen Foundation (New York)
Ramon Rodriguez, Southeast Fund Giving Manager
Washington Mutual (Georgia)
Barbara Chow, Executive Director
National Geographic Education Foundation
(Washington, DC)
Jay Sherwin, Senior Program Officer
Nellie Mae Education Foundation (Massachusetts)
Susan Conner, Executive Vice President
Lumina Foundation For Education (Indiana)
Carol Edwards, Director of Programs
The NEA Foundation For The Improvement Of
Education (Washington, DC)
Lynn Walker Huntley, President
Southern Education Foundation, Inc. (Georgia)
Bruno Manno, Senior Associate for Education
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Maryland)
Ruby Takanishi, President
Foundation For Child Development (New York)
Sandra Treacy, Executive Director
W. Clement And Jessie V. Stone Foundation (California)
Thomas Vander Ark, Executive Director - Education
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Washington)
Susan Wally, consultant
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (Missouri)
Robin Willner, Director – Corporate Community Relations
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IBM Corporation (New York)
In education, what does
philanthropy bring to the table?
Assets
 Not an organized
“system” – so different
(competing) ideas,
approaches and
innovations are pursued
simultaneously
 Independence – to
take risks and take the
long view
 Money – discretionary
plus other resources
(expertise, convening)
Liabilities
 Not an organized
“system” – so everyone
does their own thing with
little coordination
 Independence – not
doing the actual work; no
market pressure
 Money – resources are
small compared to the
problems and to the
amount of public
investment
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How does philanthropy cause
change?
 Cash: sustain what works, bet on the new,
evaluate, take to scale.
 Conceptualization: analyze/fact-find, focus
attention
 Catalyst: convene, initiate new efforts, serve as
non-partisan point of view
 Critical voice: “seal of approval,” gadfly, advocate
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What are trends in our field?
 Collaboration between funders to achieve greater
leverage on a specific project or issue.
 Accountability/pressure on foundations to deliver
results from their grantmaking investments: Are
we effective? Are we making a difference?
 Renewed focus on changing public policy – and
greater use of strategic communications,
advocacy campaigns and grassroots organizing to
affect policy change.
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What are trends in our field?
 Interest in “capacity building” to improve
management and impact of both school systems
and nonprofits.
 More “focus” on limiting grantmaking to a specific
education idea or strategy.
 Support for education “entrepreneurs” who bring a
new outlook, new energy and new ideas to
education reform (charter management
organizations, alternative certification efforts for
principals and teachers, etc.)
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What are trends in our field?
 Bottom line: Foundations often define themselves
by how well they are solving social issues.
 Thus, all these suggested trends may in fact be
part of the same trend: Funders today say they
most want the greatest leverage to achieve the
greatest impact.
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What issues and strategies are
attracting attention?
 Teaching quality: pipeline, professional development
 Charter schools: choice vs. new schools/options
 School system capacity
 Replication/scale
 Policy advocacy: grasstops, grassroots
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Is education philanthropy making a
difference?
Yes – foundation grants have:
 Underwritten classrooms tools, teacher fellowships and
scholarships that have offered hundreds of thousands
of individual children better opportunities.
 Helped create thousands of excellent schools.
 Advanced efforts in urban school districts to improve
management and performance.
 Fueled efforts to implement new public policies.
 Created and sustained fresh nonprofits working to
develop new solutions.
 Identified innovative and effective strategies through
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foundation-funded research.
Examples of how philanthropy has made
an impact in education:
 Research: Consortium on Chicago School Research,
MDRC, reading instruction and methods
 Schools and networks: Coalition for Essential
Schools, KIPP, High Tech High, public education funds
 School districts: San Diego, Chattanooga, Boston
 Systemic innovations: Teach for America, National
Board Certification, Just for the Kids, Broad institutes
 Advocacy: Achieve, Heritage Foundation, EdTrust
 Policy: Universal pre-kindergarten, school finance
lawsuits, voucher lawsuits, charter school movement,
standards-based education/NCLB
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Is education philanthropy making a
difference?
The answer also is “No”:
 Nationally, student achievement has not made
dramatic gains over the past 20 years, despite
philanthropic support of innovation and the best
leadership in the field.
 The “achievement gap” still exists in most schools
and systems.
 The challenge of scaling up excellent schools to a
system of excellent schools has not been met.
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What does GFE think makes education
philanthropy most effective?
 Discipline and Focus
 Knowledge
 Resources Linked to
Results
 Effective Grantees
 Engaged Partners
 Leverage, Influence and
Collaboration
 Persistence
 Innovation and Constant
Learning
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Principles for Effective Education
Grantmaking:
#1 / Discipline and Focus

In education, where public dollars dwarf private investments, a funder
has greater impact when grantmaking is carefully planned and targeted.
#2 / Knowledge

Information, ideas and advice from diverse sources, as well as openness
to criticism and feedback, can help a funder make wise choices.
#3 / Resources Linked to Results

Think clearly about how specific actions will lead to desired outcomes.
#4 / Effective grantees

A grantmaker is effective only when its grantees are effective. Especially
in education, schools and systems lack capacity and grantees (both
inside and outside the system) may require deeper support.
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Principles for Effective Education
Grantmaking:
#5 / Engaged Partners

A funder succeeds by actively engaging the individuals, institutions and
communities connected with an issue to ensure “ownership” of education
problems and their solutions.
#6 / Leverage, Influence and Collaboration

The depth and range of problems in education make it difficult to achieve
meaningful change in isolation or without changing public policies.
#7 / Persistence

The most important problems in education are often the most complex and
intractable, and will take time to solve.
#8 / Innovation and Constant Learning

Identifying what works – and what doesn’t – are essential to helping
grantmakers and their partners achieve results.
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720 SW Washington, Suite 605
Portland, OR 97205
503.595.2100
www.edfunders.org
Barbara Chow, board chair
William Porter, executive director
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