The Yass Prize

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.

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

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

• Education innovation awards
• Education grant programs
• Education accelerator programs
• Education summits
• Education philanthropy

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, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• University of Austin (UATX)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2025UATX 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021CER 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.
• ForbescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Forbes 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

Broad 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

• Xx.com/YassPrize
• Facebookfacebook.com/YassPrize
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-yass-prize

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments4 records

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

Frequently asked questions about The Yass Prize