Carlmont Academic Foundation

What Carlmont Academic Foundation does

Carlmont Academic Foundation (CAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2007 and domiciled in Belmont, California, that raises private funds to supplement public education funding for Carlmont High School, part of the Sequoia Union High School District. The organization is entirely volunteer-run, governed by a Board of Directors of approximately 14-15 parent and community members with no paid staff, and operates from a P.O. Box address only. CAF's sole beneficiary is Carlmont High School, which serves approximately 2,400 students drawn from Belmont, Redwood Shores, and San Carlos.

CAF's funding model rests on six donation streams: individual and family donations (suggested at $1,800 per student per year), corporate matching gifts (leveraging 50+ companies including Oracle, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Gilead), tiered business sponsorships (Sapphire through Supporter, ranging from $1,000 to over $20,000), stock and securities transfers, donor-advised fund contributions, and the CAF Legacy Fund endowment established in 2022. Annual fundraising goals have grown from $1.2M (FY24) to $1.475M (FY26, met at 100%). Capital is deployed to fund 21 additional class sections (at $23,500 each), 2 additional counselors, the Wellness Center, college and career preparation, the Academic Support Center, and co-funded enrichment and teacher mini-grants with the Carlmont PTSA. Two related programs operate under the CAF umbrella: the Biotechnology Institute (BTI), a three-year cross-curricular learning community for 150 students launched in 2015, and the Carlmont Arts Council (CAC), which supports the Performing Arts Center.

CAF has no technology product or platform; operations run on a WordPress donation portal, email newsletters, Facebook, and Instagram. Distribution occurs via direct-to-consumer online donation, mail, corporate matching programs, and direct outreach for business sponsorships. Key recurring corporate supporters include Oracle (17 consecutive annual STEAM grants since 2010) and Stanford University ($100,000 gift in June 2025). The organization exhibits characteristics of a stable, community-anchored fundraising entity rather than a scalable enterprise.

Name

Carlmont Academic Foundation

Legal name

Carlmont Academic Foundation

Website

https://carlmontacademicfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carlmont Academic Foundation is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 that raises private funds to supplement public education funding for Carlmont High School's approximately 2,400 students in Belmont, California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Fundraising Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Education fundraising
• Nonprofit foundation
• School donation programs
• Community grants
• Educational enrichment

Headquarters

HQ city

Belmont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual & Family Donations: CAF receives donations from Carlmont families, alumni, and community supporters. The suggested donation is $1,800 per student per year, with Leadership Circle recognition for donations of $4,000 or more. Donations are tax-deductible as CAF is a 501(c)(3) organization (Tax ID 26-0325796).
2. Corporate Matching Gifts: Over 50 companies match employee donations to CAF, including Oracle, Stanford University, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Gilead, Genentech, and others. Matching gift donations in the 2025-26 school year funded 10 of the 21 additional class periods.
3. Business Sponsorships: Local businesses sponsor CAF at various tiers: Sapphire ($20,000+), Diamond (up to $20,000), Gold (up to $10,000), Silver (up to $5,000), Bronze (up to $3,000), and Supporter (up to $1,000). Sponsors receive recognition through web, social media, campus signage, and event marketing.
4. Stock & Securities Donations: CAF accepts appreciated securities as donations. Donors receive a charitable deduction for full market value with no capital gains tax incurred, making this a cost-effective giving method.
5. CAF Legacy Fund (Endowment): The CAF Legacy Fund, started in 2022 with a bequest from Carlmont alumnus Gilbert Forst, provides long-term financial stability. The fund is invested for growth and generates an annual $1,000 Gilbert Forst Scholarship for a deserving student.
6. Carlmont Arts Council Revenue: The Carlmont Arts Council (CAC), under CAF's umbrella, generates funds through theater seat plaque endowments ($1,000), commemorative wall tiles ($300), playbill advertisements, and general donations to support the Carlmont Performing Arts Center.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Carlmont Academic Foundation (CAF) is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that raises funds from Carlmont High School families, alumni, local businesses, and corporate grantmakers to bridge the gap between California public school funding and the actual cost of delivering an excellent high school education. CAF's offering centers on funding additional class sections, counselor positions, wellness support, college/career prep, academic tutoring, classroom innovation grants, and arts/performing arts programs. It also manages the CAF Legacy Fund endowment and operates related programs including the Biotechnology Institute (BTI) and the Carlmont Arts Council (CAC).

Product overview

Carlmont Academic Foundation (CAF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2007 that operates as a single integrated fundraising platform rather than a multi-product technology company. The core offering consists of educational enrichment programs including the Enrichment Grants Program ($50,000 combined with PTSA for 2025-26), Teacher Mini-Grants for classroom innovation, and funding for additional class sections (21 sections in 2025-26). Related programs include the Biotechnology Institute (BTI) and Carlmont Arts Council (CAC), both operating under the CAF umbrella. Additional services support counseling, college/career preparation, and the Academic Support Center. CAF also manages the Legacy Fund endowment and hosts the annual Bagpiper Bash fundraising event.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Biotechnology Institute (BTI): A three-year cross-curricular small-learning community serving 150 students per year, focusing on science-themed English, Social Studies, and Biotechnology courses.
• Carlmont Arts Council (CAC)

Products and services

• Enrichment Grants Program Co-funded grant program with Carlmont PTSA that supports student enrichment and classroom innovation across departments at Carlmont High School, jointly funded at $50,000 annually.
• Teacher Mini-Grants Grants that fund teachers' new classroom ideas and educational innovations across various subjects at Carlmont High School.
• Biotechnology Institute (BTI) A three-year cross-curricular small-learning community for 150 students per year (grades 10-12), offering science-themed English and Social Studies classes plus Biotechnology courses with industry mentors and field trips.
• Carlmont Arts Council (CAC) Operates under the CAF umbrella to support award-winning performing arts programs through fundraising, advocacy, outreach, and program expansion for the Carlmont Performing Arts Center.
• Additional Class Sections Funding Funding for 21 additional class sections in 2025-26 to reduce class sizes and expand course choices beyond what district funding provides.
• Counselor and Wellness Support Funding for two additional counselors and mental health support, including the Wellness Center providing drop-in and ongoing mental health services for students.
• College and Career Preparation Programs that help students discover passions, prepare for college, and find paths beyond high school through dedicated college and career center staff.
• Academic Support Center Fully funded tutoring programs providing daily one-on-one academic support for students at Carlmont High School.
• CAF Legacy Fund Endowment fund providing long-term financial security for the foundation, including the annual $1,000 Gilbert Forst Scholarship, accepting bequests and planned gifts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 21 additional class sections funded in 2025-26 school year, enabling smaller class sizes and more course choices
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Biotechnology Institute (BTI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBTI is a three-year cross-curricular small-learning community at Carlmont serving 150 students per year (10th–12th grade), launched in 2015. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, CAF and BTI developed a partnership allowing BTI families to allocate a portion of their CAF donation directly to BTI. BTI students take science-themed English and Social Studies classes plus Biotechnology courses, with access to state-of-the-art lab equipment, industry mentors, and field trips to biotech companies.
• Carlmont PTSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAF co-funds the CAF-PTSA Enrichment Grants program with the Carlmont Parent Teacher Student Association. For the 2025-26 school year, CAF contributed $20,000 and PTSA contributed $30,000 to the program, which supports teacher-driven classroom innovation and enrichment across all departments.
• Carlmont Arts Council (CAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Carlmont Arts Council operates under the CAF umbrella and supports award-winning performing arts programs at Carlmont High School through fundraising, advocacy, outreach, and program expansion. CAC funds building operations and maintenance for the Carlmont Performing Arts Center (CPAC), which has hosted over 400 performances since its inaugural show in 2009. CAC also manages seat plaque endowments ($1,000), wall tiles ($300), and playbill advertisements.
• Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD)coreOthersCarlmont High School is part of the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD), a basic aid/community-funded district that relies primarily on local property taxes rather than the state Local Control Funding Formula. SUHSD's funding structure is the core reason CAF exists to bridge the funding gap.
• Local Bay Area Businesses (Business Sponsors)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal businesses in Belmont, Redwood Shores, San Carlos, and the Peninsula/Silicon Valley area sponsor CAF at various tiers (Sapphire $20,000+, Diamond up to $20,000, Gold up to $10,000, Silver up to $5,000, Bronze up to $3,000, Supporter up to $1,000). Current sponsors include Frank Hsu DDS, Jacklyn Kurth Orthodontics, Rojas Construction, SummerHill Apartment Communities, Veritas Homes, Vicky Yu Realtor, Austin Lee Admissions Consulting, Prometheus, and others. Sponsors receive multi-channel recognition.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF): Education foundation for Mountain View-Whisman School District raising private funds to support district programs. Comparable nonprofit education fundraising model in the Bay Area with similar per-student funding shortfalls.
• Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MP-AEF): Education foundation raising funds for Menlo Park and Atherton public schools. Directly comparable community-funded education foundation serving an affluent Bay Area district with similar district-funding dynamics.
• Los Altos Education Foundation (LAEF): Education foundation supporting Los Altos public schools through community fundraising. Operates with a similar model of parent-led fundraising to bridge state funding gaps for a defined school district in the Bay Area.
• SchoolForce: Belmont-based education foundation supporting local public schools. Directly comparable as a community-funded nonprofit foundation raising private dollars to supplement public school funding in the same Belmont area as CAF.
• Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE): Foundation supporting Palo Alto Unified School District through community donations. Highly comparable nonprofit education fundraising model in a neighboring Bay Area district with similar per-pupil funding shortfalls.

Regional players

• Parent Association for Education (PAE) - San Carlos: San Carlos-based education fundraising organization supporting local public schools in the same attendance area as Carlmont. Operates a similar parent-led fundraising model in a comparable Bay Area community.
• Sequoia Union High School District Foundation: District-level foundation serving the same Sequoia Union High School District that contains Carlmont. Related as a broader district-level fundraising effort that overlaps with CAF's school-specific mission.

Others

• Carlmont PTSA: Carlmont High School's Parent Teacher Student Association and a direct partner of CAF, jointly funding the Enrichment Grants program. Comparable as a school-affiliated parent volunteer organization serving the same beneficiary population.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CarlmontAcademicFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/carlmontcaf
• Xx.com/CarlmontCAF

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Carlmont Academic Foundation