What does it take to create a statewide ecosystem to support Black student success? Our 2021 case study explores the Black Student Success Initiative at the Oregon Community Foundation. The initiative uses a community-led and trust-based approach to attract funding partners, establish a grantee network, and serve as a driver for systemic change in…

Public education funding relies on revenues from a variety of sources, from local taxpayers to federal programs targeting students with specific needs. The vast sum of funding collected--in excess of $600 billion annually--often masks which entities fund the education of our nation's youth. Questions of funding adequacy and equity across school…

Concerned about maintaining schooling quality in a tight-money climate, parents and others are turning to local education foundations for needed dollars, equipment, and services. Although large philanthropic foundations have contributed significantly to public education since the 1950s, locally funded and operated education foundations have…

This bulletin reports on a survey of existing school-district foundations in Oregon to determine their organizational structures, their fund-raising efforts, their expenditure priorities, and their successes. Included in the report are the results of survey data from 34 school foundations, along with the names and phone numbers of contact people…

In Oregon, many schools and school districts are turning to private funding to help sustain and enrich the quality of education in their districts. Their vehicle of choice: the local education foundation (LEF). This report describes the nature of private fund raising for public schools and examines its uses as a partial remedy for budget…