About DC Ed Fund
The intersection of philanthropy, innovation, and public school transformation.
The DC Ed Fund connects philanthropy with DCPS’ boldest and most cutting-edge ideas. We’ve raised over $191M in private dollars to innovate how kids learn, how and what teachers teach, and what’s ultimately possible for an urban public school district.
We envision a future where every DCPS student reaches their full potential.
Our mission is to connect private donors with the district’s highest-priority and most innovative design solutions for kids.
The DC Public Education Fund was founded in 2007 to help DC Public Schools address its most pressing challenges through organized philanthropy. As an independent organization, our team raises significant private dollars that incubate cutting-edge start-up ideas for students. We are DCPS’ very own venture fund.
A history of high-impact outcomes.
We’re not afraid to take calculated risks for better student experiences.
Our founding
The DC Public Education Fund was founded in 2007 to help DC Public Schools address its most pressing challenges through organized philanthropy.
Pursuing excellence
Our first investment fund raised $65M to support IMPACTplus, the nation’s first performance and compensation system to attract, evaluate, and incentivize the highest performing educators.
Student experience
We expanded our efforts to address what students were learning in their classrooms. The Cornerstones initiative introduced the city’s first curriculum strategy stacked with powerful lessons and experiences, all in pursuit of closing the opportunity gap.
Expanding our vision
Since the beginning, we have raised over $200M in seed capital to launch a series of new start-up initiatives that continue to raise the bar for what’s possible in public education.
Proof of concept
Today, DCPS still holds the title of being the nation’s fastest-improving urban school district, much of it accelerated by DC Ed Fund-supported investments.
We’re as ambitious as we are experienced.
Staff
Jim Kline
Emily Nixon
Jaelynn Jarman
Katie Garris
