In Leadership Picks, Clues About the Education Plans of Top Tech Philanthropists

In Leadership Picks, Clues About the Education Plans of Top Tech Philanthropists

The founders of Amazon and Facebook both plan to give away billions for education. With these efforts still in an early phase, we’re keeping a close eye on the leaders these philanthropists are tapping to advance their ambitious goals—including two recent executive hires.

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“Servant Leaders.” The Foundation That Wants to Cultivate Key Virtues Among Educators

“Servant Leaders.” The Foundation That Wants to Cultivate Key Virtues Among Educators

The John Templeton Foundation is known for its funding to answer humanity’s biggest questions. But it also engages in wide-ranging grantmaking on character and virtue development, including recent support for work focused on teachers.

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Grief in Schools: A Funder’s National Push to Expand Support for Childhood Bereavement

Grief in Schools: A Funder’s National Push to Expand Support for Childhood Bereavement

Only 7 percent of teachers have received bereavement training, despite the fact that about one in 15 kids will experience the death of a parent or sibling before reaching the age of 18. Here’s what one funder is doing to close the grief training gap.

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Promising Results: With an Infusion of Funding, a Teacher Prep Outfit Is Scaling Up

Promising Results: With an Infusion of Funding, a Teacher Prep Outfit Is Scaling Up

Despite big setbacks, the Gates Foundation hasn’t given up its quest to improve teaching, backing diverse work in this space in the past few years. Most recently, it teamed up with other K-12 funders to expand the reach of a center at Texas Tech.

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A Tech Company Known for Backing Public Education Zeroes in on Leadership in Schools

A Tech Company Known for Backing Public Education Zeroes in on Leadership in Schools

Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of the software company, is known for directly backing public school districts in the cities where its employees live and work. What behind its largest gift ever to a national education nonprofit?

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Prescription for Change: The Pharma Giant Investing in Local Public School Students

Prescription for Change: The Pharma Giant Investing in Local Public School Students

A growing number of corporate philanthropies are making big commitments to complex, entrenched challenges. The latest example is $55 million in gifts from AbbVie to leading nonprofits working at the nexus of education and poverty.

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New Frontier: A Funder Invests to Connect Teachers to the Best Research on Brain Science and Learning

New Frontier: A Funder Invests to Connect Teachers to the Best Research on Brain Science and Learning

Researchers have made big strides in understanding brain development and how kids learn. But getting this new knowledge into classrooms isn’t easy. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is among a handful of funders that wants to change that.

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Not Just Philanthropy: For Top Charter School Backers, Political Giving Is Seen as Key

Not Just Philanthropy: For Top Charter School Backers, Political Giving Is Seen as Key

A who’s who of billionaire philanthropists spent millions to elect a champion of charter schools to a key office in California. Such giving is a key strength of the charter movement. But is this any way to make K-12 policy?

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A League of Readers: Behind a Big Gift to Boost Literacy

A League of Readers: Behind a Big Gift to Boost Literacy

A nonprofit that focuses on getting evidence-based techniques to teach reading in the hands of educators recently received a $9 million gift from the founder of American Girl. Here’s where the money’s going.

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What Kids Need to Succeed: CZI’s Latest Moves to Advance a "Whole Child” Approach to Education

What Kids Need to Succeed: CZI’s Latest Moves to Advance a "Whole Child” Approach to Education

The philanthropy piloted by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan is hot on the trail of evidence-based strategies that address a full range of student needs, including social and emotional stresses that deeply affect kids’ ability to learn and thrive.

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Setting a New Standard: How a Community Foundation Is Taking on Sexual Violence

Setting a New Standard: How a Community Foundation Is Taking on Sexual Violence

As the #MeToo movement continues to spotlight a pervasive problem, a local funder is teaming up with abuse prevention nonprofits to tackle sexual violence in Connecticut. Their focus: youth sports.

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More Than Money: A Tech Giant's Commitment to Public Schools

More Than Money: A Tech Giant's Commitment to Public Schools

Salesforce’s commitment to Bay Area schools now totals more than $50 million over the course of its five-year partnership with its local school districts. But grants aren’t the only way that the company helps.

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Enemies of the State? How Billionaire Philanthropists Think About Government

Enemies of the State? How Billionaire Philanthropists Think About Government

Critiques of big philanthropy often cast wealthy donors as hostile to government. Today’s leading benefactors, we’re told, vastly prefer privatized solutions to social problems. As usual, though, the story is more complicated.

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Think Like a Philanthropist: A Funnyman Steps Up for Education

Think Like a Philanthropist: A Funnyman Steps Up for Education

Kevin Hart is another wealthy Hollywood star who’s beginning to focus more on philanthropy. His backstory and recent gifts offer hints of how his giving is likely to evolve over time.

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“Running Wild With Ideas.” How Small-Scale, Teacher-Led Grants Can Change Classrooms

“Running Wild With Ideas.” How Small-Scale, Teacher-Led Grants Can Change Classrooms

In an era when so many K-12 funders aim to transform public school systems, the Chicago Foundation for Education works to help teachers do their jobs better, typically with very small grants. What’s the impact?

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The Bigger Picture: Behind Millions in Grants to Drive Policy and Systems Change on Education

The Bigger Picture: Behind Millions in Grants to Drive Policy and Systems Change on Education

In another sign that education funders are looking beyond narrow school-level reforms, StriveTogether—with backing from the Ballmer Group—is deploying $20 million to back efforts to shift public policy and systems.

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"Local Context." The New Gates K-12 Strategy is Coming Into Sharper Focus

"Local Context." The New Gates K-12 Strategy is Coming Into Sharper Focus

Nearly a half-billion dollars in grants will go out the door as part of the Gates Foundation’s new initiative to support school networks. We look at what kinds of groups are winning support as the money starts to flow.

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Tomorrow's Workforce: Why the APS Foundation Stays Loyal to STEM Education in Arizona

Tomorrow's Workforce: Why the APS Foundation Stays Loyal to STEM Education in Arizona

The grantmaking arm of the Arizona Public Service Company continues to fund STEM education, with an eye on diversity and a changing jobs landscape. A senior team member offers an inside look at APS’s grantmaking.

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State of Flux: Five Things To Know About K-12 Education Philanthropy Right Now

State of Flux: Five Things To Know About K-12 Education Philanthropy Right Now

Improving America’s schools has been something of a Holy Grail for funders—as well as a graveyard for ambitious philanthropic schemes. Lately, this funding field has been changing at warp speed. 

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Teaching K-12 is Brutally Hard. Here's How CZI Is Offering Support

Teaching K-12 is Brutally Hard. Here's How CZI Is Offering Support

A new set of gifts from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative supporting teachers signals a larger commitment to this area and comes at a time when the profession faces major challenges. 

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