Children First Fund

Name

Children First Fund

Legal name

Children First Fund: The Chicago Public Schools Foundation

Website

https://childrenfirstfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

Keywords

• Public school philanthropy
• Education foundation
• Corporate giving programs
• School partnership programs
• Nonprofit fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Children First Fund serves as the philanthropic arm of Chicago Public Schools, collecting donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and organizations to support CPS schools, students, and educational programs. The organization receives tax-deductible contributions (Tax ID: 36-4094830) and distributes funds according to donor preferences and investment priorities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Children First Fund is the official 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation of Chicago Public Schools. It accepts, manages, and distributes tax-deductible donations from corporations, foundations, and individuals, and operates partnership and grant programs (Sponsor-a-School, Compassion Fund, AP Exam Fund, Care Closets, and Newcomer Student Support) that direct resources to CPS schools, students, and families.

Product overview

Children First Fund is the philanthropic and partnership arm of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), functioning as a foundation rather than a technology product company. It operates several grant and giving programs including the AP Exam Fund (bridging AP exam fee gaps), Care Closets (providing hygiene supplies), the Compassion Fund (flexible emergency support), the Sponsor-a-School Program (corporate/school partnerships), and Newcomer/Migrant Student Support. These programs work together to provide equitable educational support and resources to CPS students and families across Chicago's 635 schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AP Exam Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $78 million raised and $14 million in in-kind donations over 5 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

28 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RelativitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Relativity, a global legal technology company headquartered in Chicago, renewed $250,000 grant investment to CFF and programmatic support for Corliss Early College STEM High School. Partnership includes 10 post-secondary education scholarships, STEM programming, student transportation to STEM field trips, and summer internship program for Corliss students.
• Big Ten Conference and College Football Playoff FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Contributed over $20,000 to CFF through Extra Yard for Teachers initiative, awarding grants to teachers across 12 different Chicago schools for educational projects.
• Baxter InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Since 2008, Baxter partnered with Linblom Math and Science Academy creating a program supporting teacher training and student development in health sciences. Program grew to include Innovation Lab, competitive robotics team, Baxter Box lab Kits. With Baxter's support, Linblom became #11 high school in Illinois, reaching more than 174,000 students and 2,000 teachers.
• Chicago Connected Partners (Obama Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Chicago Community Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago Connected is a nationally recognized model providing no-cost internet access to over 200,000 CPS students. Partners include Obama Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Chicago Community Trust, all working through CFF to eliminate internet accessibility as a barrier to digital learning.
• SocialWorks (Chance the Rapper)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChance the Rapper's nonprofit foundation SocialWorks has supported dozens of CPS schools through funding for Arts, Computer Science and Advanced Literacy. SocialWorks doubled down with additional $2 million over three years with Google support for computer science programming at 20 CPS schools.
• Chicago BullscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago Bulls partnered with SocialWorks on the New Chance Fund for Arts and Literature, helping 20 schools build innovative and sustainable performing and visual arts programming.
• Salesforce FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSalesforce Foundation partnered with CFF and CPS to become Solorio High School's Early College STEM Schools partner. Partnership has expanded to include funding for district priorities such as leadership development, Chicago Roadmap, and Healing-Centered Project. Salesforce also awarded $750,000 grant to CPS.
• CME Group FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCME Group Foundation has supported computer science education in Chicago for nearly a decade, funding CS curriculum development, CS teacher professional learning and coaching, and resources for schools to start CS or robotics clubs. Also supports financial literacy, early childhood education, violence prevention, and Chicago Roadmap.
• Cabrera Capital MarketscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year partnership with Lee Elementary supporting financial literacy and planning skills. Includes full-time community engagement coordinator, $100 initial funding for student 529 accounts, and $20,000 per grade investment for classroom brokerage accounts for real-world investment experience.
• Nuveen/TIAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNuveen, a TIAA company, sponsors Percy Julian High School with opportunities for employees to engage with students, career exploration days, financial literacy panels, campus beautification projects, and renovation of peace and game rooms.
• Alta FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlta Futures sponsors Frederic Chopin Elementary School, enabling expansion of music program with after-school programming, expanded theater and poetry curriculum, and upgraded audio/visual equipment in auditorium.
• Friends of CoonleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of Coonley sponsors Henry H. Nash Elementary School, enabling opening of new library space in fall 2024 and fostering relationship-building between students, parents, and teachers.
• ComEdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComEd supports Chicago Builds program providing technical training in electricity and skilled trades to CPS juniors and seniors. Also supports various STEM and trades training programs reaching 3,500 local residents annually.
• City Colleges of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Chicago Roadmap supporting students along a seamless path to and through post-secondary training. City Colleges provides educational pathways aligned with CPS career preparation programs.
• Chicago Cook Workforce PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit umbrella organization operating the largest public workforce system in the country, providing career connections for CPS students at Skilled Trades Career Fair.
• University of Chicago Center for Effective GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership bringing Executive Leadership Seminar Series to 25 senior CPS leaders. Program provides immersive leadership training at Harris School of Public Policy, fully funded by Crown Family Philanthropies grant.
• Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYAP partners with CPS to implement Choose to Change program providing intensive youth and family support and weekly behavioral health sessions for students experiencing trauma.
• Children's Home & AidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with CPS on Choose to Change program, providing clinical therapists for weekly group sessions helping students understand responses to situations and improve decision-making skills.
• Bright Star Community OutreachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization implementing hyperlocal version of Choose to Change program in Bronzeville area.
• New Life Centers of ChicagolandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization implementing Choose to Change program in Little Village.
• Lifeline to HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization implementing Choose to Change program in West Garfield Park.
• BUILD ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization implementing Choose to Change program in Humboldt Park.
• CREATE Program Partners (U.S. DOT, State of Illinois, Cook County, City of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak, railroads)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner75th Street Corridor Improvement Project partnership bolstering STEM education within CPS, Leo High School, Museum of Science and Industry, and Chicago Public Library through $700,000+ STEM contributions. Includes $100,000 from CREATE Partners and matching $100,000 from Norfolk Southern.
• AmazoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmazon supports CFF's Compassion Fund for holiday giving and donated supplies for care closets. Also provides Amazon Fire tablets to CPS students through partnerships.
• WalmartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWalmart made significant donations to CFF's holiday Compassion Fund supporting CPS students and families.
• Cradles to CrayonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonated 10,000 backpacks and school supplies to CPS students at 22 different schools for back-to-school support.
• Office Depot and Boise PapersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on StartProud! initiative providing backpacks and school supplies to 1,000 students at 3 elementary schools.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoogle supported SocialWorks' $2 million, three-year commitment to fund new computer science programming at 20 CPS schools.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• AdoptAClassroom: National nonprofit that connects donors directly to classrooms, similar in spirit to CFF's Sponsor-a-School model but classroom-level rather than whole-school, and not district-affiliated.
• DonorsChoose: National crowdfunding platform connecting individual and corporate donors to public school classroom projects. Adjacent model that complements CFF for individual donors seeking direct, smaller-scale giving to schools.

Broad incumbents

• The Cleveland Foundation: Large, established community foundation with significant K-12 and education grantmaking activity. Broader in scope than CFF but competes for similar corporate and foundation education dollars in the region.
• Chicago Community Trust: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S. and a CFF collaborator through Chicago Connected. Shares the Chicago education-giving donor pool and competes for some of the same corporate education partnerships.
• Crown Family Philanthropies: Multi-generational Chicago private foundation funding education, violence prevention, and youth services. Both a CFF collaborator (Choose to Change, Executive Leadership Seminar) and a peer for major Chicago education philanthropy.

Direct peers

• Boston Public Schools Foundation: Independent nonprofit that raises private funds to support Boston Public Schools. Closely comparable district-affiliated education foundation model focused on equity, college access, and school partnerships.
• San Francisco Education Fund: Mobilizes private resources for San Francisco Unified School District students and schools, with a similar focus on equity, donor stewardship, and direct school sponsorship opportunities.
• Fund for Public Schools: Official nonprofit partner of New York City Public Schools, channeling private donations and corporate partnerships to the nation's largest school district. Closest direct analogue to CFF's role for CPS.
• LAUSD Education Foundation: Philanthropic arm supporting the Los Angeles Unified School District, raising private funds for school programs and student support. Operates the same 'official district foundation' model as CFF for a major urban district.
• Foundation for Springfield Public Schools: Nonprofit foundation raising private support for Springfield Public Schools in Massachusetts. Provides a comparable district-anchored giving and partnership model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chifirstfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/chifirstfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chifirstfund
• Instagraminstagram.com/chifirstfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Children First Fund