The Fund for Public Schools works to attract private investment in school reform and to encourage greater involvement of all New Yorkers in the education of our children. This includes working to secure critical funding for system-wide education reform initiatives; facilitating strategic public-private partnerships; managing a targeted set of programs to support city schools; and building citywide public awareness.

In 2002 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein established public-private partnerships as a critical means of supporting public education reform and building support for the city’s public schools. The Fund is the primary vehicle for advancing these efforts. The Fund has secured unprecedented investment from private business, individuals, and foundations, raising more than $285 million for system-wide reforms, student scholarships, and school-level grants to enhance arts education and literacy initiatives.

With a mission-driven staff, a dedicated Board of Directors, and a strong working relationship with the New York City Department of Education, The Fund for Public Schools is well positioned to facilitate major private support for the public schools of New York City.

Fundraising Strategy and Priorities
Private investment raised by The Fund is not used to supplement public operational dollars but rather to introduce new funds to instigate innovative, system-wide change. The Fund’s strategy is to invest in pilot programs that, once tested and demonstrated to be successful, can then be taken to scale in the schools. We conduct a rigorous vetting process in order to thoroughly consider the feasibility and appropriateness of projects before they are presented to funders, and are skilled at matching the needs of the school system with the interests of potential donors, Most of the private dollars raised by The Fund support research and development as well as system capacity-building initiatives that directly support priorities of the Chancellor’s school reform work.

Because our focus is driven by the needs of the Chancellor’s reform efforts, our fundraising goals vary from year to year depending on the amount of private funding required to launch and run the initiatives we seek to support.  We measure our success based on our ability to meet the fundraising goals we set each fiscal year. The scope of the initiatives that we support is broad – from training school leaders, to revitalizing public school libraries, to piloting an early literacy program. As such, we carefully develop and continuously monitor key success metrics aligned to the specific goals for each initiative in order to accurately assess its particular impact.

Accountability and Transparency
At The Fund for Public Schools, accountability is reflected in our commitment to being a good shepherd of private dollars donated to the New York City Department of Education. Efforts to maintain accountability to our donors are apparent in nearly every step of our process, from the initial goals outlined in grant proposals to specific performance benchmarks and subsequent reporting of progress of each privately funded initiative. Setting, and not deviating from, explicit goals and priorities reinforces the mission-driven nature of The Fund. Regular reporting systems give donors the opportunity to review progress and learn about future goals.

For a general overview of significant accomplishments to date, please see our Fact Sheet . For a break down of the major initiatives we have supported each year, please consult our Annual Reports . And for a more in-depth look, check out Dollars & Sense: A Closer Look at The Fund for Public Schools.

The Fund is a registered 501(c)3 organization. All donations to The Fund are tax-deductible. For more information please email us at info@fundforpublicschools.org .