Public Education Partners

What Public Education Partners does

Public Education Partners (PEP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 in Greenville, South Carolina, and originally established as the Alliance for Quality Education (AfQE) before adopting its current name in 2010. Its mission is to serve as a community-led bridge between private donors, corporate sponsors, and the Greenville County Schools district, channeling philanthropic capital, volunteer effort, and advocacy into programs that support teachers, students, and families. The organization employs a seven-person core staff led by President & CEO Catherine Schumacher and operates from a single headquarters on Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville.

PEP's program portfolio is organized around three pillars: Championing Teachers, Equipping Families, and Advancing Collaboration. Core offerings include teacher grant programs (Mullins Grants, PEP Up! Your Classroom microgrants of $250, PEP Up! Your Practice professional development grants of $550, and PEP Up! Your School grants of $3,000), the Teacher Fellows policy and advocacy fellowship, first-year teacher supports and recognition (First-Class Teacher Award, PEP STARS), the year-round Let's Go Literacy initiative (formerly Make Summer Count), the Parent Leadership Partners program delivered with the Urban League of the Upstate, and the EdTalks podcast series (200+ episodes) in partnership with Greater Good Greenville and Greenville First Steps. The proprietary InformEdSC data platform provides comparative K-12 public education analytics across South Carolina.

The organization's revenue model is donation and philanthropy based, drawing from individual donors ($35-$10,000+ tiers), corporate sponsorships (Pacesetter $25,000+, Elevate $10,000-$24,999, Transform $2,500-$9,999, Support $1,000-$2,499), and legacy or planned gifts including bequests and charitable gift annuities. PEP has cumulatively raised more than $18.5 million since 1985, reaching 84 schools, over 5,000 teachers, and 76,000+ students across Greenville County Schools. Distribution is exclusively regional and direct-to-schools; the organization works closely with the district while maintaining independent status as a catalyst for change.

Name

Public Education Partners

Legal name

Public Education Partners

Website

https://pepgc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Public Education Partners is a Greenville, SC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that mobilizes donors, corporate sponsors, and volunteers to support Greenville County Schools through teacher grants, literacy programs, family engagement, and advocacy, reaching 84 schools and 76,000+ students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Engagement & Service-Learning Partnerships (EDALAOAI)

Keywords

• Public education support
• Teacher grant programs
• Education nonprofit services
• Literacy program funding
• Family engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

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. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to support public education programs. Donation tiers range from $35 to $10,000+ with specific impact examples for each level.
2. Corporate Sponsorships and Donations: Corporate donors support at various levels (Pacesetter $25,000+, Elevate $10,000-$24,999, Transform $2,500-$9,999, Support $1,000-$2,499).
3. Legacy/Planned Gifts: Bequests in wills, beneficiary designations, charitable gift annuities, and trusts provide long-term sustainable funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Public Education Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that collaborates with community stakeholders to support and fund public schools in Greenville County, South Carolina. The organization delivers grant programs, fellowship opportunities, literacy initiatives, family engagement programs, and data resources to teachers, students, and families across 84 schools in Greenville County Schools. Core offerings include classroom microgrants, professional development grants, the Teacher Fellows advocacy fellowship, the Let's Go Literacy program, Parent Leadership Partners training, and the InformEdSC.org data platform.

Product overview

Public Education Partners (PEP) is a non-profit organization supporting public education in Greenville County, offering a portfolio of interconnected programs organized around three strategic pillars: Championing Teachers, Equipping Families, and Advancing Collaboration. The core offerings include grant programs (Mullins Grants, PEP Up! microgrants and professional development grants), fellowship programs (Teacher Fellows), teacher support initiatives (First-Year Teacher Supports, First-Class Teacher Awards, PEP STARS), literacy programs (Let's Go Literacy, Big Book Fair, Little Book Stop), family engagement programs (Parent Advisory Council, Parent Leadership Partners), community events (#TeachGCS Night), and data resources (InformEdSC.org). These programs work together to provide comprehensive support for teachers, students, and families in Greenville County Schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Let's Go Literacy: Year-round literacy initiative that helps families see reading as part of everyday life, providing free high-quality books to children and creating joyful literacy experiences.
• #TeachGCS
• Teacher Fellows
• PEP Up! Your Classroom
• Make Summer Count

Products and services

• Let's Go Literacy A year-round literacy initiative that puts free, high-quality books directly into children's hands and creates joyful literacy experiences for families, including Big Book Fairs (full-scale book fairs paired with Family Reading Nights) and Little Book Stops (pop-up book experiences) at seven elementary schools in Greenville County Schools serving highest-need communities.
• Teacher Fellows Program A paid, half-year policy and advocacy fellowship for Greenville County Schools educators, teaching them about education policy in South Carolina and developing advocacy skills. The program includes legislative visits to Columbia and is open to GCS educators.
• Parent Leadership Partners (PLP) A three-month strategic leadership initiative designed in partnership with the Urban League of the Upstate to encourage parents to actively participate in their children's academic journeys, based on the Carolina Family Engagement Center Framework.
• InformEdSC.org An easy-to-use online tool providing facts and key trend data about K-12 public education in Greenville County and across South Carolina, featuring data on students, teachers, achievement, and finances to enable comparative analysis across schools and districts.
• EdTalks Podcast A weekly podcast series produced in partnership with Greater Good Greenville and First Steps Greenville, featuring stories from Greenville County teachers, students, parents, and education leaders, with 200+ episodes available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
• PEP Grant Programs A portfolio of grant offerings for Greenville County Schools educators including Mullins Grants ($1,500 Community Hubs or $3,500 Collab Lab for school-wide teacher retention strategies), PEP Up! Your School ($3,000 matched professional development grants), PEP Up! Your Classroom Microgrants ($250 for innovative classroom ideas), and PEP Up! Your Practice Professional Learning Grants ($550 for conferences, workshops, or professional development).
• #TeachGCS Night at Fluor Field An annual celebration event for Greenville County Schools teachers held at Fluor Field in partnership with the Greenville Drive minor league baseball team, part of the year-round #TeachGCS campaign recognizing and supporting GCS teachers.
• First-Year Teacher & Mentor Teacher Supports A program supporting first-year teachers through appreciation messages, professional learning opportunities, and awards including the First-Class Teacher Award (recognizing outstanding first-year teachers across elementary, middle, high school, and special centers categories) and PEP STARS (a recognition initiative celebrating first-year teachers building strong classroom culture, delivered through social media and newsletter features with monthly gift card drawings).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $18.5 million raised for Greenville County Schools students, teachers, and schools
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, secondary, legacy and partner.

• Greenville County SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary district partner since 1985. PEP collaborates deeply with the school district on initiatives including GATE teacher certification program, Graduate Greenville, OnTrack Greenville, and Greenville Early College development. The organization works closely while maintaining independent status as a catalyst for change.
• United Way of Greenville CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPEP joined the OnTrack Greenville initiative in 2015 to keep middle school students on track for high school graduation. Spearheaded by United Way of Greenville County, this collaborative effort involves the school district and community partners.
• Urban League of the UpstatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for Parent Leadership Partners (PLP) program designed to encourage parents to actively participate in their children's academic journeys. Based on Carolina Family Engagement Center Framework.
• Greater Good GreenvillemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for EdTalks podcast series and Simple Civics: Greenville County podcast. Jointly producing content highlighting PK-12 education and local government topics.
• Greenville First StepsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for EdTalks podcast series alongside Greater Good Greenville, highlighting early childhood through K-12 education topics.
• Greenville DrivemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinor league baseball team partnership for #TeachGCS Night at Fluor Field - annual celebration event for Greenville County Schools teachers.
• Nicholtown Child and Family CollaborativesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for expanding Parent Leadership Partner (PLP) program cohorts planned for 2026-2027 school year.
• Brilliant Kids After School ProgramsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for expanding Parent Leadership Partner (PLP) program cohorts planned for 2026-2027 school year.
• Communities in SchoolslegacyStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfQE adopted the 'Cities in Schools' project (1990-1994) which later became Communities in Schools, a national organization supporting students.
• BlueCross BlueShield of South CarolinapartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner represented on PEP Board of Directors through Rosalynn Hester.
• Michelin Tire CompanypartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner represented on PEP Board of Directors through Lisa Rouby.
• ScanSourcepartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner represented on PEP Board of Directors through Wendy Thacker.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• Communities in Schools: National nonprofit that places site coordinators inside public schools to support at-risk students. PEP historically incubated the 'Cities in Schools' project (1990-1994) that became Communities in Schools, sharing the same K-12 student-support mission and public school partnership model.
• DonorsChoose: Crowdfunding platform that enables individuals and corporations to fund classroom teacher requests. Directly comparable to PEP's PEP Up! Your Classroom microgrant program and represents the same teacher-grant crowdfunding model at national scale.
• Public Education Fund of Dallas: Local education fund supporting Dallas ISD with a similar model of public-private bridge-building, teacher support, and district partnership. One of the closest structural analogs to PEP operating in a different metro.

Emerging players

• 50CAN: State-level education advocacy network focused on policy change. Comparable to PEP's Teacher Fellows advocacy component, though operating at the state lobbying level rather than direct district partnership.
• EdFuel: Nonprofit capacity-building organization serving education nonprofits with consulting and resources. Comparable in that it strengthens K-12-focused nonprofits, though from a capacity-building angle rather than direct program delivery.

Regional players

• Greenville First Steps: Local affiliate of the SC First Steps early childhood initiative, co-producing EdTalks with PEP. Operates in the same geography targeting the pre-K end of the public education pipeline, making it an adjacent rather than directly competing peer.
• Urban League of the Upstate: Regional civil rights and education equity organization and core PEP strategic partner (Parent Leadership Partners). Comparable as a Greenville-area education advocacy nonprofit, though with a broader equity mandate.

Others

• Greater Good Greenville: Civic engagement nonprofit that co-produces EdTalks and Simple Civics podcasts with PEP. Operates in the same geography with overlapping community-building focus but does not compete for K-12 program funding.
• OnTrack Greenville: United Way-led middle school graduation initiative that PEP joined in 2015. Operates as a partner program in the same Greenville education ecosystem rather than a competing organization.

Broad incumbents

• United Way of Greenville County: Broader human services funder and core PEP partner (spearheading OnTrack Greenville). Operates as a community umbrella organization in the same geography, with a wider scope than PEP's K-12 focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9xm-dcYq7TQBHGGzNtK0_A
• Facebookfacebook.com/PEPGreenville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pepgreenville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Public Education Partners