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FUNDING DROPOUT PREVENTION WORK

Funding Dropout Prevention Work

On May 3, 2011, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), with participation from PBS, America's Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched American Graduate, a new initiative to combat the dropout crisis in this country.

Local public radio and television stations, located in 20 community "hubs," will serve as the center of activity for this initiative. Stations will partner with schools and other organizations to raise awareness about the dropout crisis, and to work directly with students, parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers and leaders to lower the dropout rate in their communities.

Stations involved in the community hubs, as well as other stations that would like to expand their work around this important issue, may find support from foundations. Following is a list of some foundations (local and national) that have a history of support for dropout prevention activities. For additional information, or for research on foundations specific to your region, contact Amie Miller, DEI Foundation Development Advisor, at amie0422@comcast.net.

The Broad Foundations: http://www.broadfoundation.org/

A major priority for the Foundations is the improvement of urban K-12 education, focusing on the 100 largest school districts in the nation. They have a strong interest in educational reform and innovation. They see themselves as venture philanthropists. Grants include:

  • $20 million to Broad Center for the Management of School Systems to continue recruiting, training, placing and supporting school district leaders nationwide (2010).
  • $6 million to Pacific Charter School Development in a no-interest loan to create new schools in underserved LA neighborhoods (2008).
  • $5 million to Teach for America for endowment (2008).
  • $500,000 to Education Equality Project for advocacy efforts for education equality (2009).

Broad has made several grants to media. Interestingly, Broad is sponsoring NBC's Education Nation (2010). Other media grants include:

  • $1,228,720 to Public Interest Productions for national campaign to increase public awareness to ensure education was a top priority in the 2008 presidential election (2006).
  • $750,000 to WNET for in-depth discussion of education reform with a national audience (2007).
  • $250,000 to Persephone Productions for PBS segments of To the Contrary focused on risk-takers in education (2003).
  • $247,500 to Learning Matters for expanded coverage of education on the NewsHour (2008).
  • $139,116 to ETV Endowment for PBS special on education reform and outstanding urban schools (2005; same amount in 2004).

The Brown Foundation: http://www.brownfoundation.org/

The foundation supports public education, especially non-traditional and innovative approaches to improving public education in Texas. In particular, the foundation is interested in supporting projects that serve as a catalyst to stimulate collaborative efforts by several sectors of the community. The foundation's giving is overwhelmingly within Texas, with special emphasis on Houston. Major grants include:

  • $8 million to KIPP Academy (2008; another approx. $5 million in 2010-11).
  • $4.5 million to Houston A+ Challenge for school leadership initiatives (2008).
  • $500,000 to Reasoning Mind for A Web-Based Environment for Learning Mathematics (2010).
  • $240,000 to Writers in the Schools for in-school creative writing workshops (2008).

Most media grants have been relatively small and include, for example:

  • $100,000 to Alamo Public Telecommunications Council for KLRN's Campaign to Connect the Vision (2003).
  • $50,000 to Association for Community Broadcasting for Houston PBS operating funds (2010).

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: www.hewlett.org

The foundation has an education program area that concentrates on improving the conditions for education policy reform in California and fostering the spread of high-quality open educational resources (OER). The foundation is also interested in "deeper learning," to help schools nationwide prepare a new generation of students to respond to the ever-increasing demands of a rapidly changing world. In 2011, the Foundation helped establish the California Education Policy Fund, which will make grants to support innovative organizations working to reform state policy with an emphasis on closing the achievement gap for the neediest students. This program is being administered by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which will make grant decisions for the Fund. Typically, three-year general operating grants will be awarded to organizations and institutions that work in research and analysis, communications, advocacy, community organizing, or technical assistance to improve conditions for state policymaking to raise student achievement. The Fund will select organizations (mainly California-based) with a strong track record and a well-developed plan to reform state policy, with an emphasis on boosting achievement and increasing college readiness and success for disadvantaged students. Information on the new Fund and how to submit a letter of inquiry is available at http://www.rockpa.org/cepf.

Past Hewlett Foundation grants include:

  • $1,000,000 to Educause for the launch of the Next Generation Learning Challenges, a collaborative, multi-year initiative focused on identifying and scaling technology-enabled approaches to dramatically improve college readiness and completion, especially for low-income young adults (2010).
  • $350,000 to Achieve, Inc. for development of new instructional materials and state assessments (2011).
  • $350,000 to California Education Partners for a pilot to launch new digitally-enhanced OER curriculum aligned with the Common Core (2010).

Media grants include:

  • $400,000 to Center for Investigative Reporting for the California Schools Report Card project (2010).
  • $300,000 to Editorial Projects in Education for deeper-learning related coverage in text, webinars and other social media (2010).
  • $175,000 to Washington Monthly for a special report on deeper learning and student assessment (2011).
  • $50,000 to WNET for the International Summit on the Future of the Teaching Profession (2010).

James Irvine Foundation: http://www.irvine.org/

This foundation is focused on California. The foundation has an interest in improving educational outcomes for low-income youth. Major grants include:

  • $11.3 million over two years to ConnectEd for California Multiple Pathways District Initiative (building multiple pathways to college and career) (2009).
  • $4.4 million over three years to Teacher's College, Columbia University for initiative to support partnerships between California high schools and community colleges that offer career-related dual-enrollment pathways (2007).
  • $300,000 to Project GRAD Los Angeles to promote high school graduation, college attendance and career preparation of low-income students in San Fernando Valley (2007).
  • $100,000 to University of California for research and communications to increase awareness about nature of and potential solutions to high school dropout crisis in California as part of Linked Learning, an approach to high school education which combines strong academics and real-world experience to help students build a strong foundation for success in college and careers and life (2010).

Irvine has made numerous public media grants. Major grants include:

  • $1.5 million over three years to Pacific News Service to expand capacity of ethnic media outlets to report on governance and other key policy issues in California (2008).
  • $1.25 million to KCET for production of California Connected television and radio show (2003 and again in 2004; another $1 million in 2005).
  • $1.2 million over three years to Center for Investigative Reporting to launch CIR/California, Sacramento-based news bureau that would partner with existing news outlets to produce and disseminate in-depth coverage of significant state issues (2008).
  • $905,000 over three years to KQED for statewide radio news coverage of significant policy and governance issues for California, including a special series on governance and fiscal issues in the context of the 2010 gubernatorial election (2009).

W.K. Kellogg Foundation: www.wkkf.org

In recent years, this foundation has refocused its giving on vulnerable children, youth and families. It gives nationally but has a special interest in Michigan. It has strong interest in "disconnected youth" (youth who are not in school and not employed). Education grants include:

  • $2,679,257 to Tides Center to enable disconnected youth in New York City to transition successfully to adulthood by building citywide system assuring young people complete high school or receive a GED and transition to next stage of life (2008).
  • $400,000 to Communities in Schools to create unified voice within Communities network to understand relationships between poverty, public education, and structural racism and impact of race on solutions for most disenfranchised students, by integrating community-wide resources with school curriculum to complement learning (2009).
  • $250,000 to Think New Mexico to improve high school graduation rates in New Mexico by expanding public support for smaller-sized classrooms and increased student engagement (2009).

Media grants include:

  • $832,000 to NPR to produce balanced, comprehensive coverage of critical issues facing society, disseminate information to listeners, and provide additional on-air messages throughout NPR's programming (2005).
  • $770,000 over 1.75 years to WETA to engage a diverse, representative sample of citizens in Michigan in face-to-face statewide deliberative poll around critical issues related to education, health, and economy leading up to the 2010 election (2009).

Lumina Foundation for Education: http://www.luminafoundation.org/

This foundation is focused on the goal of increasing the nation's number of high-quality college degrees by 60 percent by 2025. Lumina pursues this goal in three ways: by identifying and supporting effective practice, by encouraging effective public policy, and by using its communications and convening capacity to build public will for change. Grants include:

  • $10.2 million over two years to Jobs for the Future to plan, manage and implement Making Opportunity Affordable, an initiative designed to make higher education affordable, of high quality, and accessible to more students (2006).
  • $430,000 to YouthBuild USA to create comprehensive approach at seven local YouthBuild program sites to empower low-income, disconnected students to enter and succeed in college (2005).
  • $334,750 to Maricopa Community Colleges to determine what program practices enhance academic achievement and persistence for at-risk high school and college students (2006).

Media grants include:

  • $2 million over three years to the Ad Council to produce and disseminate national public awareness campaign promoting greater college access for low-income students (2005).
  • $501,000 over one and a half years to Learning Matters to raise public awareness of barriers to postsecondary access and success through a PBS documentary series, The College Track: America's Sorting Machine (2004).
  • $500,000 to American Public Media Group to examine critical higher education issues related to the kind of education Americans will need for the 21st Century in public radio- and web-based documentaries and shorter newsmagazine stories and podcasts (2010).
  • $500,000 over three years to Investigative Reporters and Editors to increase campus coverage of college completion and productivity issues by training student journalists to report on these topics (2009).
  • $350,000 over two years to Education Writers Association for training and support for journalists covering higher education to develop a strategic response to a changing media environment (2009).

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation: www.mott.org

This foundation funds in the areas of "pathways out of poverty," education and workforce development. It is engaged in the effort to develop a new, sustainable economic future for Michigan. It has a particular interest in vulnerable youth and in citizen participation in decision-making processes. Grants include:

  • $6 million since 2003 to Afterschool Alliance to support vision that all children and youth, particularly those in underserved populations, will have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.
  • $750,000 to GMMB toward implementation of social marketing plan to build broad-based support for the vision outlined in Mott-funded report, A New Day for Learning. Grantee will carry out public awareness and communication activities as part of a multiyear effort to create a culture of communitywide responsibility for providing students with meaningful ways to become successful learners and citizens (2010).
  • $150,000 to Southern Education Foundation to promote and build policy strategies and actions that address needs of high school dropouts in the South with a focus on Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi (2010).

Media grants include:

  • $165,000 over two years to Editorial Projects in Education to provide in-depth coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and offer analysis of stimulus program's implications on education for policymakers at every level of public education, from federal government to local districts (2009).
  • $100,000 to Editorial Projects in Education toward providing ongoing and independent resource to the field on issues of high school graduation and reform. Recommended support will enable grantee to publish Diplomas Count report, convene key stakeholders, develop strategic partnerships with other leading organizations and spotlight promising strategies for reducing dropout rates to better prepare students for postsecondary education and the 21st century workforce (2010).

William Penn Foundation: http://williampennfoundation.org/

This foundation is focused on the greater Philadelphia region. It has an interest in improving public education and has made grants related to dropout prevention, including:

  • $1.3 million over two years to Philadelphia Youth Network to continue and expand dropout prevention and recovery work of Project U-Turn initiative (2007 and again in 2009).
  • $400,000 to Philadelphia's Children First Fund For continued support of the Early Warning Indicators project, a dropout intervention pilot targeting sixth to eighth grade students at two large District middle schools (2009).

Media grants include:

  • $2.4 million to Temple University toward the creation of regional public interest journalism collaborative to support increased public interest/accountability reporting and promote broadest possible distribution (2010).
  • $440,000 over three years to WHYY toward continuing and expanding EXPERIENCE spotlight program for arts and culture on WHYY, including coverage on its website and on its new digital arts and culture channel (2006).
  • $50,000 to Washington Monthly for publication of in-depth special report on the effects of high school dropout and policy solutions, with a special focus on Philadelphia's challenges and successes (2010).

Wallace Foundation: http://www.wallacefoundation.org/Pages/default.aspx

"Our vision is that children, particularly those living in distressed urban areas, have access to good schools and a variety of enrichment programs in and outside of school that prepare them to be contributing members of their communities. Our mission is to improve learning and enrichment for children. . . . In all of our work, our approach is to select and invest in organizations willing to test promising new approaches, while commissioning and sharing independent research that could benefit the work in those 'innovation sites' as well as many other places that are interested in pursuing similar changes but may never receive our direct funding." Giving currently focuses on educational leadership and out-of-school learning. Grants include:

  • $8 million to DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation to lead citywide effort, in partnership with DC Public Schools, to build a more effective approach to serving the needs of middle school youth beyond the school day (2006).
  • $8 million to After School Matters to build a citywide system, in partnership with Chicago's Department of Children and Youth Services, that supports increased teen participation in high-quality out-of-school time services (2006).
  • $425,000 to Fund for Public Schools to further develop, refine and expand School of One pilot program that uses innovative, adaptive and individually tailored computer technology to teach math to middle-school students (2010).

Media grants include:

  • $750,000 to NPR for a communications grant to bring greater national focus to issues in education leadership, more time for learning, arts learning and to engage policymakers and practitioners in a position to improve educational outcomes for the nation's students (2010).
  • $500,000 to Editorial Projects in Education for Education Week (2010).
  • $350,000 to Learning Matters for coverage of education leadership, out-of-school time (OST), arts learning, and more time for learning (2010).

Other Foundations

The following foundations all have a significant record of giving for dropout prevention in 2008 or after. Many of these are already profiled on the Grant Center. (Community foundation grants for dropout prevention may come from donor-advised funds.)

AT&T Foundation
Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation, Inc.
Oregon Community Foundation
Gates Foundation, Bill & Melinda
Mott Foundation, Charles Stewart
Denver Foundation
Greater Houston Community Foundation
Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina
San Francisco Foundation
Casey Foundation, Annie E.
Lincoln Financial Foundation
Triangle Community Foundation
Melmac Education Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
Community Foundation for Southwest Washington
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Georgia Power Foundation, Inc.