Rogers Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Rogers Family Foundation funds projects aimed at enhancing public education in Oakland, California. Funding decisions are guided by the Foundation’s Oakland Education Strategy, which focuses on three initiative areas: Quality Schools, Blended Personalized Learning and Early Literacy.
IP TAKE: This is an accessible and approachable foundation for schools and education nonprofits in Oakland. Contact the staff to discuss a program or need for capital or operating support before filling out any paperwork.
PROFILE: Established in 2003, the Rogers Family Foundation is the foundation of T. Gary and Kathleen Rogers. This private family funder primarily supports education in Oakland Public Schools. The foundation’s education strategy is to provide opportunities for all Oakland students to excel in high-quality public schools. There are three initiatives within the foundation’s commitment to education in Oakland: Quality Schools, Blended Personalized Learning, and Early Literacy. The foundation also runs a Community Investments program, which supports higher education, youth enrichment and other programs that benefit the Bay Area community.
The Roger Family Foundation focuses its grantmaking on local education initiatives. This focus is interpreted broadly and several community-based initiatives with an educational focus have received funding. The Quality Schools initiative focuses on creating new and redesigned high-quality schools with the collective capacity to serve thousands of students. The goal of the Blended Personalized Learning initiative is to create thousands of personalized, student-centered school seats. In the area of Early Literacy, the foundation aims to improve the literacy outcomes for thousands of K-3 public school students through collaboration, evidenced-based interventions, and a system of community supports. Past grant recipients including the following: Oakland Unified School District Makers Fellows Program, Boys and Girls Club of Oakland and Aurum Preparatory Academy.
Rogers’s Community Investments program does not outline specific goals or priorities but often works in the areas of youth development and higher education. Past grantees of this program are the East Oakland Youth Development Center, the Oakland Museum of California and the University of California, Berkeley.
Foundation grants are often a few thousand dollars each. View a list of recent grants awarded on the funder’s website. Grantmaking is focused on the city of Oakland, California.
The foundation accepts unsolicited requests for grant support. Groups that believe that their organizations might be a good fit for Rogers Family Foundation funding should contact RFF directly. The Board of Directors makes final funding decisions at their biannual meetings in June and December. Direct general questions to the foundation staff at 510-899-7918 or via online form.
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