Alliance For School Choice

What Alliance For School Choice does

Alliance For School Choice, operating as the American Federation for Children Growth Fund (AFC Growth Fund), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan education advocacy organization headquartered in Dallas, Texas (EIN 52-2111508). Founded in the early 1990s by William E. Oberndorf and the late John Walton, the organization promotes K-12 school choice policies, including vouchers, education savings accounts, scholarship tax credits, and charter and magnet schools, with the stated mission of empowering families, especially lower-income families, to choose the best K-12 education for their children regardless of income or ZIP code. Its work has been associated with the D.C. federal scholarship program, which has provided access to private schools for nearly 6,000 low-income children, and with the growth of D.C. charter schools to serve nearly half of the District's public school enrollment.

The organization does not sell products or services and operates exclusively through advocacy, grassroots engagement, and donor-supported programming. Its technology footprint is intentionally lightweight: a Squarespace-hosted website (afcgrowthfund.org) with donation processing, an opt-in SMS texting program integrated with web signup forms, email newsletters, and an active earned media presence that places CEO Tommy Schultz in outlets such as Fox News, the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post, Politico, and Education Week. There are no proprietary software platforms, APIs, or AI components. Customer-facing channels are designed for family outreach, supporter mobilization, and policy campaign coordination rather than transactional service delivery.

Revenue is generated entirely through charitable contributions from individual donors via the website, mail, and phone, with donations being tax-deductible. The organization is governed by a board chaired by William E. Oberndorf and led by CEO Tommy Schultz, COO Elisa Clements, and CFO Jennifer Miller. It operates within a tightly interlocked education reform ecosystem, with formal relationships with Step Up For Students, Florida School Choice Fund, Democrats for Education Reform, Black Alliance for Educational Options, and Choice Charitable Trust, producing cross-board and shared-leadership ties that compound its national reach.

Name

Alliance For School Choice

Legal name

American Federation for Children Growth Fund

Website

https://afcgrowthfund.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Alliance For School Choice (AFC Growth Fund) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes K-12 school choice policies, including vouchers, education savings accounts, and scholarship tax credits, serving lower-income families seeking education alternatives across U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tuition Assistance & Voucher/ESA Program Administration (EDADAHAF), K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Education policy advocacy
• School choice programs
• Nonprofit advocacy organization
• K-12 education reform
• Scholarship tax credits

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

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. Charitable Contributions: AFC Growth Fund operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises funds from individual donors to support educational advocacy work. The organization solicits donations through its website, mail, and phone. Donations are tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes. EIN: 52-2111508.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Alliance For School Choice (operating as the AFC Growth Fund / American Federation for Children Growth Fund) is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan education advocacy organization that promotes K-12 school choice policies including vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs), scholarship tax credits, and charter schools. It conducts state and federal policy advocacy, grassroots mobilization, and coalition-building aimed at empowering lower-income families to choose educational options outside of assigned public schools.

Product overview

Alliance For School Choice (also known as AFC Growth Fund / American Federation for Children Growth Fund) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan education advocacy organization. It does not offer software products or technology services. Its offerings consist of educational advocacy programs, outreach resources, and informational content about school choice options including voucher programs, education savings accounts, scholarship tax credits, and charter schools. The organization operates as a charitable nonprofit focused on policy advocacy and family empowerment rather than as a product or technology company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 6,000 children from low-income families have received access to private schools through federal scholarship program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Step Up For StudentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStep Up For Students is a related organization that administers scholarship programs. John F. Kirtley, Vice Chairman of AFC Growth Fund, is the founder and chairman of Step Up For Students. Hera Varmah serves as Grassroots Engagement Manager at Step Up For Students while also serving on the AFC Growth Fund Board.
• Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKevin P. Chavous, a founding board member of AFC Growth Fund, serves as Board Chair for Democrats for Education Reform, an organization focused on education reform within the Democratic Party.
• Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKevin P. Chavous serves as former Board Chair for BAEO, an organization that advocates for educational options for Black families.
• Choice Charitable TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKathy Hubbard, board member of AFC Growth Fund, serves on the board of Choice Charitable Trust, a foundation that provides scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools.
• Children's Scholarship Fund of Tampa BayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn F. Kirtley created the Children's Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay in 1998, which provides privately funded scholarships for low-income children to attend the K-8 school of their choice.
• Florida School Choice FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn F. Kirtley serves as chairman of the Florida School Choice Fund.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Heritage Foundation: Major conservative think tank with an active K-12 education policy portfolio supporting school choice. Comparable as a broader education policy and advocacy actor that overlaps with AFC's policy positions and donor base.
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC): Broadly influential policy organization that has advanced school choice model legislation at the state level. Comparable as an advocacy actor in the school choice legislative ecosystem, though its scope extends well beyond education.

Direct peers

• Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO): Nonprofit advocating for expanded educational options for Black families, explicitly listed as a strategic partner with shared board leadership (Kevin P. Chavous). Directly comparable as a school choice advocacy nonprofit.
• National School Choice Week: Nonprofit awareness organization that organizes the annual National School Choice Week event, operating in the same K-12 school choice advocacy space with overlapping mission and supporter base.
• American Federation for Children: The closely affiliated 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of the same school choice movement; shares leadership, donors, and mission with AFC Growth Fund. Operates as the more politically active counterpart, making it the closest functional peer.
• Step Up For Students: Florida-based scholarship administration organization explicitly named as a strategic partner of AFC Growth Fund (with overlapping board members). Directly comparable in advancing K-12 school choice scholarships for lower-income families.
• EdChoice: National 501(c)(3) nonprofit that combines school choice research, polling, and state-level advocacy. Directly comparable to AFC Growth Fund in mission (expanding K-12 school choice), funding model (charitable contributions), and grassroots advocacy approach.
• Children's Scholarship Fund: National nonprofit that provides private K-8 scholarships for low-income children to attend schools of their choice. Directly comparable in mission and family outcomes (related Tampa Bay chapter was co-founded by AFC board member John F. Kirtley).
• Democrats for Education Reform (DFER): Political organization focused on education reform within the Democratic Party, listed as a strategic partner with overlapping board leadership. Operates in the same school choice advocacy space with a partisan-specific lens.
• Parents for Choice in Education: Utah-based nonprofit that successfully passed a state voucher program with AFC COO Elisa Clements as former Executive Director. Directly comparable as a state-level school choice advocacy organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SchoolChoiceNow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Alliance For School Choice