DC Public Education Fund

Mission and Program

DC Public Education Fund’s mission is to dramatically improve student achievement in the District of Columbia by serving as a strategic partner to businesses, foundations, community leaders, and individual donors in supporting and investing in high-impact programs with the District of Columbia Public Schools. This work includes attracting critical funding resources, managing key public-private partnerships, and acting as fiscal sponsor for all grants made on behalf of DC Public Schools.

Specifically, DC Public Education Fund focuses on the following three areas:

• Fundraising. Secure essential funding for system-wide reform initiatives. To learn more about what DPEF is raising money to support, click here.

• Partnerships. Facilitate partnerships and donations of in-kind support. If you are interested in donating in-kind support, click here.

• Accountability. Manage grants and hold DCPS accountable for commitments made. DCPEF acts as a fiscal agent to DCPS for all funds we raise. To better understand how DCPEF works on behalf of DC public schools, click here.

Background

Mayor Adrian Fenty gained control of D.C. Public Schools in 2007 and appointed Michelle Rhee as Chancellor in June of that year. DC Public Education Fund was founded in November 2007 to support their bold reform work, and to create a long-term vehicle for public-private partnerships in support of DC Public Schools.

Chancellor Rhee and her team have constructed an ambitious five year transformation plan with two overarching goals:

1. Create the highest performing urban school district in the country;

2. Close the achievement gap between races and zip codes.

To view a working draft of the 5 Year Plan, click here.

This plan includes dynamic initiatives and creative strategies that cannot be implemented using public dollars alone. While DCPS is making great progress in prioritizing and ensuring more dollars are spent in the classroom, our children cannot wait.

Reform of the magnitude needed to turn around the lowest-performing school district in the country must be strategic and it must be bold. This is why the DC Public Education Fund is actively seeking private investments now.

DCPEF has the ambitious goal of raising over $100 million in support of DCPS through the 2012-2013 school year.

The D.C. Public Education Fund is a registered 501(c)3 organization. All donations to the Education Fund are tax deductible. For more information, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .