How to Make Education Philanthropy More Effective

To the Editor:

Diane Ravitch’s call for greater accountability in education philanthropy is right on the money on this key point: With education grant makers supporting billions of dollars of efforts each year, funders need to be as accountable themselves as they ask their grantees to be (“Who Will Tell Donors They Are Wrong About Education Grants?” My View, May 20).

But in truth, the field of education philanthropy is far more complex, heterogeneous, and reflective than Ms. Ravitch would have readers believe.

Education-funding organizations range in size, grant-making focus, and geographic area served—as exemplified by the 260 organizations that form our network, which include corporate-giving programs, community foundations, private foundations, and family foundations.

• Displaying discipline and focus.
• Accessing knowledge, advice, and feedback from diverse sources.
• Articulating a theory of change that links resources to results.
• Providing the tools and supports grantees need to be effective.
• Actively engaging partners connected with a funding issue.
• Collaborating and leveraging resources to meet the deep challenges in education.
• Maintaining persistence in response to complex and seemingly intractable problems.
• Tracking outcomes and identifying what works and what doesn’t, to ensure funding organizations are constantly learning how to be more effective.

Ultimately, these principles ask funders to hold themselves very much accountable for what they are trying to achieve, how they go about trying to achieve it, and the extent to which the results meet the needs of learners from early childhood through postsecondary education. As in every sector of philanthropy, this is a voluntary effort. But it is also a powerful one.

Education is, as Ms. Ravitch implies, a fundamental American right.

We disagree, however, with her claim that elected officials alone have the perspective and expertise to safeguard this right. Education philanthropy can and should take the long view—beyond the next election cycle or the latest partisan wrangling—to ensure quality education for every child and young adult in the country. Despite the diversity of strategies, policies, and approaches supported by the broad body of education grant makers, we agree that this goal is one our nation has not yet met. That is precisely why we dedicate ourselves to achieving it.

Chris Tebben
Executive Director
Grantmakers for Education
Portland, Ore.