Innovative Foundations in Education

There are many lesser-known foundations in the education field that are quietly driving innovation, often with a focus on equity, technology integration, alternative pedagogies, and systemic reform. While organizations like the Gates Foundation or Chan Zuckerberg Initiative are well-known, here are several under-the-radar but impactful foundations with innovative approaches to education:

1. The Grable Foundation (Pittsburgh, PA)

  • Focus: Learning innovation, particularly around learning sciences, STEM/STEAM, and personalized learning.
  • Innovation: A major supporter of the Remake Learning Network, which fosters collaboration among educators, technologists, and researchers to create future-ready learning environments.
  • Website: www.grablefoundation.org

2. The Barr Foundation (Boston, MA)

  • Focus: Education in New England, especially Boston public schools, with an emphasis on college and career readiness and arts education.
  • Innovation: Invests in deeper learning strategies, teacher leadership, and redesigning high schools to better serve students.
  • Website: www.barrfound.org

3. The Bigelow Foundation (Massachusetts)

  • Focus: Public education reform with a strong emphasis on charter schools, school choice, and accountability.
  • Innovation: Supports policy advocacy and research to drive systemic change in K–12 education.
  • Website: www.bigelow.org

4. The Noyce Foundation (now part of the Sobrato Family Foundation)

  • Legacy Focus: Science and math education, especially for underserved students.
  • Innovation: Funded the development of Next Generation Science Standards and supported inquiry-based science instruction.
  • Website: www.sobratofamilyfoundation.org

5. The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation

  • Focus: Supporting creative, small-scale classroom initiatives that can be scaled up.
  • Innovation: Offers grants directly to teachers for academic enrichment programs, emphasizing teacher-led innovation.
  • Website: www.mcdeducation.org

6. The JPB Foundation (New York)

  • Focus: Economic justice, including education as a pathway out of poverty.
  • Innovation: Funds programs that blend adult education with workforce development, especially community college support.
  • Website: www.jpbfdn.org

7. The Overdeck Family Foundation

  • Focus: Math education, early childhood learning, and after-school programs.
  • Innovation: Data-driven approach to scaling effective educational tools and practices, especially in informal learning spaces.
  • Website: www.overdeckfamilyfoundation.org

8. The Helios Education Foundation

  • Focus: Improving postsecondary access and success, especially for underserved populations in Arizona and Florida.
  • Innovation: Works across the P–20 pipeline to align K–12 and higher education systems for better student outcomes.
  • Website: www.helios.org

9. The AERA (American Educational Research Association) Grants Program (not a foundation per se, but offers funding)

  • Focus: Supports rigorous education research through grants and fellowships.
  • Innovation: Encourages scholarly work that informs policy and practice.
  • Website: www.aera.net

10. The Quaglia Institute for School Voice & Aspirations (QISVA)

  • Focus: Student voice, engagement, and aspirations.
  • Innovation: Develops tools and frameworks for student-centered learning environments and teacher empowerment.
  • Funding Note: Not a foundation itself, but receives support from smaller educational trusts and districts.
  • Website: www.quagliainstitute.org

11. The Education Writers Association (EWA) – Small Grants Program

  • Focus: Supporting journalists covering education.
  • Innovation: Provides small grants for reporting projects that increase public understanding of education issues.
  • Website: www.edwriters.org

12. The Rosenberg Foundation (California)

  • Focus: Racial and economic justice, including criminal justice reform and education equity.
  • Innovation: Supports efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and promote restorative justice in schools.
  • Website: www.rosenbergfound.org

13. The Carnegie Corporation of New York

  • Note: More well-known than others listed here, but often underappreciated for its long-term investments in foundational education research.
  • Innovation: Invests in improving student learning through research, policy, and system-level reforms.
  • Website: www.carnegie.org

How to Find More:

If you’re looking for more such foundations, consider exploring:

  • Candid.org – Use their database to search for foundations focused on education.
  • Education Week’s Philanthropy Section
  • Edutopia’s Resource Pages
  • Local Community Foundations – Many have robust education grantmaking arms.