Latest Our Blog

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.

Teacher stands in classroom with students raising their hands

Q2 2023 Research Update

Overdeck Family Foundation is committed to promoting transparent research practices by lifting up timely findings. Here we share the results of three grantee research studies that concluded in or prior to the second quarter of this year.

Q2 2023 Funding Announcement

In Q2 2023, our foundation awarded 21 grants totaling over $9.4 million. Of these, six grants were new, eight were renewals, and seven were disbursements for ongoing pledges. Here, we highlight just some of the direct impact and ecosystem organizations we’re proud to support this quarter.

Perspectives: Building Nonprofit Capacity, Hand in Hand

As nonprofits turn to funders for support beyond grantmaking dollars, foundations can play a strategic, hands-on role in helping them become more cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable. Anu Malipatil and Lucy Brainard describe how capacity building and trust-based philanthropy can work in concert to build grantees’ organizational capacities and lead to long-term success.

Students working on laptops

Perspectives: As Technology Use Explodes in Classrooms, Philanthropy Must Help Ensure All Students Benefit

Technology has the potential to play a significant role in improving engagement with families, assessing student progress, and providing personalized learning solutions. But to have a real impact, edtech tools need to be evaluated and refined before they're made available at scale. John Overdeck, President of Overdeck Family Foundation, points to the need for philanthropic investment in new innovations and ongoing evidence-building to ensure these solutions improve learning for all students.

Q1 2023 Funding Announcement

In Q1 2023, our foundation awarded 31 grants totaling over $15.4 million. Of these, 10 grants were new, 15 were renewals, and six were disbursements for ongoing pledges. This post highlights just some of the many organizations we’re proud to support this quarter as we begin our 2023 grantmaking.