Latest Our Blog

Our Predictions for 2024

Last year, our leadership team sat down to reflect on what we’ve seen across the education and philanthropic landscape, in addition to what we’re learning from our peer funders and grantee partners. Here, we assess the accuracy of our predictions for last year, and build on that analysis with our predictions for 2024.

Perspectives: Education Success Starts With Family Involvement. Why Aren’t Donors Funding It?

Families’ involvement in their children’s learning is a vital component in academic achievement, but for a number of reasons, can often be a challenge for parents and caregivers. Stephanie Sharp and Ambika Kapur urge education funders to prioritize investing in evidence-based supports to help schools and families overcome barriers to engagement, improving outcomes for children.

2023 End-of-Year Research Update

We are committed to promoting transparent research practices by lifting up timely findings. Here, we share the results of 15 grantee research efforts that concluded at the end of this year.

Post-its on wall

Reflecting on the Foundation's 2023 CEP Results

The Foundation’s 2023 Center for Effective Philanthropy Grantee Perception Report showed improvements in key areas including thought leadership in the field, impact on grantees, and grant reporting processes, as well as some critical opportunities for growth. Here, we highlight notable takeaways and share how grantee feedback will inform 2024 plans.

Educator works with two students

Perspectives: The Potential of High-Impact Tutoring

It's clear that the status quo classroom instruction is failing to meet the needs of students. Pete Lavorini points to the continued potential of high-impact tutoring to support both students’ academic achievement and social-emotional needs at this critical time in education.

Q4 2023 Funding Announcement

In Q4 2023, our foundation awarded 20 grants totaling over nine million dollars. Of these, four were to organizations new to our foundation, nine were renewals, five were disbursements for ongoing pledges, and two covered additional grantee supports, membership fees, and convenings. In this blog post, we highlight just some of the organizations we’re proud to support this quarter as we conclude our 2023 grantmaking.

Q3 2023 Funding Announcement

In Q3 2023, our foundation awarded 46 grants totaling over $19 million. Of these, two were to organizations new to our foundation, eight were renewals, 16 were disbursements for ongoing pledges, and 20 covered additional grantee supports, membership fees, and convenings. Here, we highlight just some of the organizations we’re proud to support in the third quarter.

Beyond the Numbers: Stories of Impact from Our Grantees

Each day, our grantee partners touch the lives of countless educators, students, and families across the country. Here, we’re thrilled to share four stories that illustrate how our grantee partners create meaningful change in the communities they serve.

10 Lessons From 10 Years

Anu Malipatil, Vice President, Education, shares her lessons learned with the philanthropic sector, inspired by a decade of experience leading Overdeck Family Foundation.

Students work on computers with teacher support

When It Comes To Purchasing EdTech Solutions, Evidence-Based Decision-Making Is More Important Than Ever

In today’s K-12 education market, there is strong demand for technology-fueled solutions to close achievement gaps, but little to no guidance for educators on making decisions based on evidence of impact. Melanie Dukes and Lina Eroh outline the critical role philanthropy can play in strengthening evidence-based decision-making for edtech solutions, ultimately leading to better student outcomes.