Grantmakers for Education’s mission is clear: strengthen philanthropy to improve outcomes and expand opportunities for all learners. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, GFE brings together 300 private and public philanthropies committed to improving public education, including closing the achievement gap for students from all backgrounds, improving teaching and leadership and fostering innovation and new models for learning. GFE provides a trusted forum for interaction and engagement for our members that builds upon and deepens the effect of their individual investments by enhancing their knowledge about effective education strategies and high-impact grantmaking strategies.
They have deep roots and many branches. Over the past 20 years, Grantmakers for Education (GFE) has grown into the largest and most diverse consortium of education philanthropists in the nation. Founded in 1995 on the premise that collective insights, shared resources and constructive collaboration enable grantmakers to make more intentional and impactful investments, GFE set out to demonstrate the power of networks in affecting greater change. Today, our branches are as wide as our roots are deep. With a diverse membership of nearly 300 organizations and 1,400 individuals, together, we extend the reach and expand the influence of education philanthropy.
They believe there is strength in numbers. That they can strengthen, deepen and broaden philanthropy’s impact on public education by bringing together organizations united by a commitment to improve outcomes and expand opportunities for all learners.
They cheer from the sidelines and influence from the inner circle. By bringing people together and creating forums for discussion, GFE offers important opportunities for meaningful dialogue on the most critical challenges in public education today and into the future.
They bring more voices to the table to provoke new thinking and inspire action. The voices at GFE’s “table” not only include those within their membership, but those beyond it. They provide their members with access to education’s key thinkers and influencers and experts from outside sectors that can bring new thinking and draw new partners to their field.
They’re not just focused on what’s now. They’re focused on what’s next. GFE is anticipatory, proactive and adaptive. They are constantly evolving in ways that empower our members to be better prepared for tomorrow. With an eye on the broader horizon, they keep members informed of current, pressing education issues while also identifying strategies that help address future challenges.
Together, they can go further faster. By working synchronously on complex challenges from every angle, GFE members are helping to shape the future of public education and, with it, the future of all learners across the country.
