What Education Forward DC does

Education Forward DC is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic grantmaking organization founded in 2016 and headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission is to double the number of underserved students in the District who are college and career ready, with particular focus on Black, Latinx, at-risk, and special education students. The organization raises capital from philanthropic partners and deploys it through New Start Grants for new schools, Human Capital investments for teacher and leader development, Public Engagement grants, and Advocacy grants. In nearly a decade of operation, Education Forward DC has committed more than $32 million of a stated $70 million five-year deployment goal, supporting 59+ organizations and school leaders and funding the launch, expansion, or redesign of 21 schools adding 8,858 high-quality seats.

The organization's business model is philanthropic intermediation rather than commercial product sales. Revenue consists of donations from a small set of large philanthropic partners, and the bulk of inflows are passed through as grants; the organization retains a modest operating layer of 14 staff. Beyond capital, Education Forward DC provides advisory support, board participation, thought partnership, convenings, and connections to resources for grantees, functioning as both a funder and a strategic operating partner to the DC education ecosystem. It does not sell technology products, does not license software, and does not generate earned income from services.

Education Forward DC holds deep institutional relationships with the DC government (OSSE), the DC Public Charter School Board, school operators, and a broad coalition of human capital and advocacy partners. In 2026 it extended beyond pure grantmaking by co-launching the $250 million DC Charter Facilities Fund revolving loan vehicle and by deepening investments in teacher leadership and student well-being. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by CEO Bisi Oyedele alongside Managing Partner Margie Yeager and a small senior team, with operations entirely contained within the District of Columbia.

Name

Education Forward DC

Legal name

Education Forward DC

Website

https://edforwarddc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Education Forward DC is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit grantmaking foundation that funds schools, teachers, leaders, and advocacy organizations to double the number of underserved DC students who are college and career ready.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Philanthropy / Nonprofit Grantmaking

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Education equity funding
• School improvement grants
• Nonprofit foundation
• Teacher leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Funding: Education Forward DC raises funds from philanthropic partners and uses those funds to make grants to education organizations, school leaders, and advocacy groups in DC. They are 46% of the way toward their goal of putting $70 million to work for DC students and families.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Education Forward DC is a nonprofit philanthropic grantmaking organization that raises funds from philanthropic partners and deploys them as grants to DC public schools, charter schools, human capital organizations, and parent/student advocacy groups. It also layers advisory support, management assistance, and citywide convenings on top of its grantmaking to help education leaders launch and improve schools, with the explicit goal of doubling the number of underserved DC students who are college and career ready.

Product overview

Education Forward DC is a nonprofit grantmaking organization that provides funding and strategic support to education leaders, schools, and organizations in Washington, DC. Rather than a commercial software product company, Education Forward DC offers grant programs (including New Start Grants for new schools, Human Capital investments for teacher and leader development, Public Engagement grants, and Advocacy grants) as part of its mission to double the number of underserved students in DC who are college and career ready.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Start Grants for School Leaders Formal New Start Grant process for DC charter school leaders seeking approval from the DC Public Charter School Board, providing grant funding and advisory support during the school launch and early years of operation.
• Human Capital Grants Grantmaking program supporting DC organizations that train, recruit, and develop teachers and school leaders, including teacher preparation programs (e.g., American University School of Education redesign, Urban Teachers), leadership development (School Leader Lab), and talent management (Promise54, EdFuel).
• Public Engagement Grants Grantmaking program supporting DC organizations that empower students and families to have a voice in school decisions and education policy, including parent advocacy groups (e.g., PAVE), youth civic leadership (Black Swan Academy), and disability rights organizations (SchoolTalk).
• Advocacy Grants Grantmaking program supporting DC-based policy advocacy, research, and communications capacity-building for education reform — including research and policy nonprofits (e.g., DC Policy Center), membership organizations elevating leaders of color (EdLoC), and child-centered advocacy on school facilities and choice (Building Pathways).
• Management Assistance and Advisory Support Non-cash advisory service providing grantees with thought partnership, resource brokering, board service, and strategic support during school launch and early operation; offered alongside grant funding as a distinguishing complement to plain grantmaking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,685 additional underserved students became college and career ready (from 4,800 baseline to 7,485 total)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• School Leader Lab (Additional Investment)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Education Forward DC invested $250,000 in School Leader Lab to support refresh and expansion of Teacher Leader Cohort, supporting DC's most effective teachers and addressing retention gaps.
• DC Charter Facilities Fund (DCCFF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Education Forward DC partnered in launching the DC Charter Facilities Fund, a new $250 million revolving loan fund designed to address barriers DC public charter schools face in accessing affordable, high-quality school buildings. This partnership supports equitable access to capital for quality school infrastructure.
• Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC partnered with OSSE to assist schools in building more positive school climates that support student well-being and academic outcomes, including microgrants to schools. Also supported OSSE's engagement with families to develop the State Report Card.
• Flamboyan FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC partnered with Flamboyan Foundation alongside OSSE to provide microgrants to improve school climate and support student well-being.
• School Leader LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC funds School Leader Lab which provides practice-based cohort experience for up to 25 principals and assistant principals each year with one-on-one coaching around culture and adult leadership. School Leader Lab partners with Relay Graduate School of Education.
• Relay Graduate School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelay partners with School Leader Lab and Education Forward DC to provide instructional leadership training through National Principals and Principal Supervisors Fellowship. Education Forward DC supports Relay's planning for whole-school special education support model.
• TranscendminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC partnered with Transcend to release white paper on Supporting Student and Staff Well-Being, exploring what four DC public schools learned through piloting approaches to improve student and staff well-being.
• TNTPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTNTP is a national nonprofit that works to attract and train teachers and school leaders. Education Forward DC supported partnership between TNTP and OSSE to develop report on state of DC educator workforce to understand workforce demographics, teacher pipelines, retention, and equitable distribution of talent.
• MedStar Georgetown Center for Wellbeing in School Environments (WISE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC supports the WISE Center as they implement enhanced model addressing wellbeing of students and teachers, improving mental health, and mitigating impacts of trauma in DC schools.
• Federal City Council (School Facilities Initiative)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssisted in launch of School Facilities Initiative at Federal City Council to advocate for equitable facilities spending that allows for school growth and meets needs of students and families across DC.
• DC Public Education FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored America to Me campaign in partnership with DC Public Education Fund and Greater Washington Community Foundation, hosting watch parties and citywide screening at Howard University.
• Greater Washington Community FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Education Forward DC and DC Public Education Fund to sponsor America to Me civic engagement campaign addressing race and equity in public schools.
• Building PathwaysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports Building Pathways' work to expand access to affordable school facilities in DC, formerly known as Charter School Incubator Initiative.
• DC Policy CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports DC Policy Center's efforts to build research, communication, and development capacity to strengthen education policy work and achieve greater financial sustainability.
• Promise54minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Forward DC supports Promise54 to establish DC regional hub providing talent management support to schools and education organizations.
• EdFuelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports EdFuel to grow footprint of talent management services in Washington, DC, helping education organizations recruit and retain diverse, high-quality talent.
• Charter Board Partners (CBP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports Charter Board Partners, primary support provider for charter school boards in DC serving 39 public charter networks and single-site schools, with market research to inform program model improvements.
• American University School of EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports redesign of teacher preparation program at American University to increase number of well-prepared, diverse teachers graduating who can serve DC students.
• Higher AchievementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports year-round academic support and extended learning for middle school youth in DC, and research on high school choice process barriers.
• SchoolTalkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports DC-based nonprofit creating spaces for youth with disabilities to have voice and self-determination, focusing on research on high school choice process.
• Black Swan AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports Black youth civic leadership organization through planning process for program growth, empowering Black youth in underserved communities.
• Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports membership organization dedicated to elevating leadership and voices of people of color in education, including student-led media campaign for new DCPS chancellor.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• New Schools for New Orleans: New Schools for New Orleans is a city-focused education philanthropic intermediary that funds and supports charter schools, human-capital pipelines, and system-level reform in New Orleans; it is the closest structural analog to Education Forward DC's grantmaking-plus-management-assistance model in a single city.
• Flamboyan Foundation: Flamboyan Foundation is a DC-based education philanthropy focused on family engagement and student achievement, and is an explicit partner of Education Forward DC on school-climate microgrants; it is comparable as a DC-focused education grantmaker with overlapping grantee networks.
• DC Public Education Fund: DC Public Education Fund is a local education fund that mobilizes private dollars for DCPS and partners with Education Forward DC on civic-engagement campaigns; it operates the same DC-public-school philanthropic-intermediary niche and shares grantee and donor relationships.
• Robin Hood Foundation: Robin Hood Foundation is a New York-based philanthropic intermediary that funds and supports evidence-based programs across education and poverty; it shares the manage-assistance-plus-grantmaking operating model that defines Education Forward DC, with a substantially larger AUM.
• Walton Family Foundation: Walton Family Foundation is a major national education grantmaker with an explicit focus on charter school expansion and quality, including DC; it overlaps with Education Forward DC in funding charters, school leaders, and system-reform advocacy in the same geography.
• Ballmer Group: Ballmer Group is a philanthropic organization funding K-12 education, human services, and economic mobility with significant DC education commitments; comparable as a large-scale, multi-strategy education funder operating in places overlapping with Education Forward DC's geography.

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is the largest U.S. education grantmaker, funding charter networks, teacher effectiveness, and college-ready initiatives; it is comparable to Education Forward DC in funding human capital, charter expansion, and college-readiness outcomes, though at vastly greater scale and with a national rather than single-city lens.
• Stand for Children: Stand for Children is a national education advocacy and policy organization operating across multiple states; it is comparable to Education Forward DC's advocacy and public-engagement grantmaking strategy and its DC policy-testimony work, though via direct advocacy rather than grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/edforwarddc
• Facebookfacebook.com/edforwarddc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/education-forward-dc
• Instagraminstagram.com/edforwarddc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Education Forward DC