The Yass Prize
The Yass Prize is a nonprofit philanthropic award organization founded in 2021 by Janine and Jeff Yass, distributing over $60 million to 225+ innovative U.S. education providers across 45 states. Operated by the Stop for Education Foundation, it is powered by the Center for Education Reform in partnership with Forbes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Yass Prize does
The Yass Prize is a nonprofit philanthropic award organization established in 2021 by philanthropists Janine and Jeff Yass, operated by the Stop for Education Foundation and powered operationally by the Center for Education Reform (CER) in partnership with Forbes as media partner. Its core function is to distribute grant capital and recognition to innovative U.S. education providers through a recurring annual competition — the $1 million Yass Prize grand award, a Miami-based Accelerator bootcamp, and the Power of Innovation Summit — alongside state-specific award verticals (Texas Education Freedom Award, STOP for Arizona Education Awards, Yass Award for Education Freedom) and emergency grant programs such as the Chicago Rescue Grants. Since inception the organization has deployed over $60 million to more than 225 awardee organizations across 45 states, with awardee activity reaching an estimated 15 million students.
The Yass Prize is not a technology product company and has no commercial revenue, product pricing, or proprietary software platform. Its 'products' are programmatic: application competitions, accelerator cohorts, summits, roadshows, and grant disbursements, all evaluated against the foundation's four STOP principles (Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, Permissionless). The business model is pure philanthropy — capital is sourced from the Yass family foundation, flows through the Stop for Education Foundation, and is distributed as awards. In 2026 the organization expanded into a direct-to-student scholarship product (Opportunity Knocks, $8,000 annually for 500 Philadelphia students displaced by school closures), indicating a broadening of grant-making beyond the provider-competition funnel. Governance is lean, with the two Yass co-founders and Caroline Allen (Founding Director and CER Chief Program Officer) as the principal named operators.
The Yass Prize firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Yass Prize
- Legal name
- Stop for Education Foundation
- Website
- https://yassprize.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- The Yass Prize is a nonprofit philanthropic award organization founded in 2021 by Janine and Jeff Yass, distributing over $60 million to 225+ innovative U.S. education providers across 45 states. Operated by the Stop for Education Foundation, it is powered by the Center for Education Reform in partnership with Forbes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Yass Prize industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Awards
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Scholarships, Grants & Donor-Funded Awards Management (EDALAJAB), Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)
Keywords
Where The Yass Prize is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Yass Prize business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Others, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Awards: As a prize organization, The Yass Prize generates no commercial revenue. It distributes philanthropic capital through annual awards including the $1 million Yass Prize, state-specific education freedom awards, and emergency grants. The organization is funded by the Stop for Education Foundation / Yass Foundation for Education, backed by co-founders Janine and Jeff Yass.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
The Yass Prize product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Yass Prize is America's largest education innovation award organization, distributing philanthropic capital to education providers through an annual $1 million grand prize, state-specific education freedom awards, emergency grants, and an accelerator bootcamp. Its core activity is selecting and funding education providers across the full sector spectrum (charter, private, microschool, faith-based, homeschool support, apprenticeship, career/technical, ed-tech) that demonstrate Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless (STOP) education principles.
Product overview
The Yass Prize is America's largest education innovation award organization, offering a unified portfolio of award programs, accelerator services, and events. The core offering is the $1 million annual Yass Prize recognizing education providers demonstrating STOP principles (Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, Permissionless). Additional offerings include the Accelerator bootcamp program, Power of Innovation Summit, Texas Education Freedom Award, and various state-level initiatives. The organization is powered by the Center for Education Reform in partnership with Forbes, and has awarded over $60 million to more than 225 organizations since 2021.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Yass Prize (Annual $1 Million Award) Annual $1 million grand prize awarded to the education provider organization that best demonstrates the STOP principles (Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, Permissionless). For U.S. education providers across charter, private, microschool, faith-based, homeschool, apprenticeship, career/technical, and ed-tech sectors.
- Yass Prize Accelerator An intensive bootcamp for Yass Prize Contenders, held in Miami, where selected cohort members sharpen business plans with guidance from business, education innovation, and policy leaders and culminate in the pitch competition for the $1 million grand prize at the Power of Innovation Summit.
- Power of Innovation Summit Annual summit that brings together the boldest education innovators to plot the course for education freedom and workforce changes, featuring panels and policy discussions, and serving as the venue where the $1 million Yass Prize winner is announced.
- Texas Education Freedom Award Regional award program providing funding to Yass Prize alumni to launch or expand innovative school models in Texas following the passage of the Texas Education Savings Account Program. Awardees honored at a ceremony hosted with the University of Austin (UATX).
- Yass Prize Roadshow for Opportunity Ongoing regional roadshow series celebrating Yass Prize finalists and winners, designed as an investment in relationships and shared learning within the Yass Prize community across multiple states.
- Yass Award for Education Freedom (State Initiatives) State-level award recognizing states that expand education opportunity through student-centered policies (such as Education Savings Accounts and tax credit programs); funding is distributed to education providers in participating states.
- STOP for Arizona Education Awards Award program providing $2 million in total to six Arizona education providers to expand access to innovative education choices using Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs).
- Chicago Rescue Grants Emergency grant program that directed $5 million to 27 private and charter schools during the 2022 Chicago teachers' union work stoppage to support approximately 1,250 displaced students.
Quantifiable outcome
- 225+ organizations awarded over $60 million since 2021
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Yass Prize
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
The Yass Prize technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Yass Prize partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- University of Austin (UATX)majorUATX partnered with The Yass Prize to host the Texas Education Freedom Award ceremony in September 2025. The partnership supports expansion of innovative education models in Texas following the state's passage of Education Savings Account Program.
- Center for Education Reform (CER)coreCER has powered The Yass Prize since 2021. CER is a pioneering organization in advocating for educational freedom and innovation for over three decades. The partnership provides awardees exclusive access to CER's vast network, policy expertise, and future programming. CER's Founder & CEO Jeanne Allen serves as Director of the Yass Foundation for Education.
- ForbescoreForbes serves as official media partner for The Yass Prize. Hosts announcement events at Forbes on Fifth (home of Forbes), features Yass Prize alumni contributors on Forbes.com, and provides editorial coverage of the education innovation movement. Yass Prize contenders are announced at special livestream events hosted at Forbes.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Yass Prize competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Walton Family Foundation: One of the largest U.S. education-reform philanthropies, funding charter schools, school-choice advocacy, and K-12 innovation — overlapping directly with The Yass Prize's STOP-aligned mission and grantee base.
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (U.S. Education): A dominant incumbent funder in U.S. K-12 innovation, supporting networks, charter, and school leadership at a scale that shapes the same addressable provider universe.
- Robin Hood Foundation (Education Program): A major U.S. anti-poverty philanthropy with a long-running K-12 grantmaking arm targeting innovative school and program models — comparable as an established education grantmaking incumbent.
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Education): A large philanthropic initiative with a dedicated K-12 education portfolio funding innovative school models and personalized learning — overlapping with Yass Prize awardees.
Direct peers
- NewSchools Venture Fund: A venture-style education philanthropy that funds innovative school models and ed-tech operators — directly overlapping with Yass Prize awardees and already listed as a co-funder of one awardee (Expert IEP).
- Camelback Ventures: An early-stage education philanthropy supporting underrepresented founders building innovative schools and education ventures — overlapping the same founder/operator pool as the Yass Prize and a co-funder of Expert IEP.
- Charter School Growth Fund: A specialized philanthropy/financing intermediary funding high-performing charter management organizations — directly comparable as a capital + capability partner to school operators in the same STOP universe.
- Milken Family Foundation: A long-established education grantmaking foundation, best known for its Milken Educator Awards and large-scale education-innovation funding — the closest peer in terms of 'prize-as-strategy' foundation model.
Emerging players
- EdChoice: A leading school-choice advocacy and research organization aligned with the same education-freedom policy ecosystem and frequently referenced as a thought partner to Yass-aligned funders.
- 50CAN: A state-level education advocacy network championing school choice — overlapping with the policy tailwind that drives Yass Prize state-specific awards.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Yass Prize social profiles
Digital presenceThe Yass Prize financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Yass Prize leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
The Yass Prize funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Yass Prize M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments4 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Yass Prize
What does The Yass Prize do?
The Yass Prize is America's largest education innovation award organization, distributing philanthropic capital to education providers through an annual $1 million grand prize, state-specific education freedom awards, emergency grants, and an accelerator bootcamp. Its core activity is selecting and funding education providers across the full sector spectrum (charter, private, microschool, faith-based, homeschool support, apprenticeship, career/technical, ed-tech) that demonstrate Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless (STOP) education principles.
Is The Yass Prize a public or private company?
The Yass Prize is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Yass Prize founded?
The Yass Prize was founded in 2021.
Where is The Yass Prize based?
The Yass Prize is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Yass Prize make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Awards.
Who are The Yass Prize's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Walton Family Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (U.S. Education), Robin Hood Foundation (Education Program) and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Education). Direct peers are NewSchools Venture Fund, Camelback Ventures, Charter School Growth Fund and Milken Family Foundation. Emerging players are EdChoice and 50CAN.
Does The Yass Prize have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Yass Prize.
What industry is The Yass Prize in?
The Yass Prize's product category is Education Awards. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 8132 and its SIC code is 8200.