Harbor Freight Tools for Schools
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a nonprofit grantmaking foundation of The Smidt Foundation that awards annual cash prizes to U.S. public high school skilled trades teachers and runs the LA County Skilled Trades Summers program, serving teachers, students, and education nonprofits.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersCalabasas, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Harbor Freight Tools for Schools does
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a U.S. nonprofit grantmaking foundation — a program of The Smidt Foundation, established in 2017 by Eric Smidt, the owner and founder of Harbor Freight Tools. The organization is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and its mission is to advance excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. Its flagship product is the annual Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, which awards $2 million in cash prizes to 25 outstanding public high school skilled trades teachers and their programs each year (increased from $1.5 million for the 10th anniversary in 2026); grand prize winners receive $100,000 and additional winners receive $75,000. Beyond the prize, the portfolio includes the Let's Build It annual four-day teacher convening, the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative (with Big Picture Learning) connecting students to industry mentors and apprenticeships, the Harbor Freight Leadership Lab (with Bendable Labs) for sector leadership development, Pilot Projects and Better Together community-impact grants, and the Los Angeles County Skilled Trades Summers program serving 820+ students across 11 sites in 2026.
The organization's revenue model is philanthropic rather than commercial: it is funded primarily by The Smidt Foundation and supplemented by Harbor Freight Tools corporate support. It does not sell products or services to customers; it distributes cash prizes, grants, and programmatic support to skilled trades teachers, public high schools, and nonprofit partners through annual application cycles and strategic partnerships. Beneficiary segments include (1) skilled trades teachers in U.S. public high schools (the primary segment, served by the prize and Let's Build It), (2) U.S. public high school students (served through LA County programs and SkillsUSA scholarships), and (3) nonprofit grantee organizations advancing skilled trades education. Operating geographies are limited to the United States, with deep concentration in Los Angeles County. As of 2026, more than $12 million has been awarded to more than 200 teachers since the program's 2017 founding.
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Harbor Freight Tools for Schools
- Legal name
- Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, LLC
- Website
- https://hftforschools.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a nonprofit grantmaking foundation of The Smidt Foundation that awards annual cash prizes to U.S. public high school skilled trades teachers and runs the LA County Skilled Trades Summers program, serving teachers, students, and education nonprofits.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Philanthropy / Skilled Trades Education Grantmaking
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Apprenticeship Training (611513), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK), Instructional Equipment & Classroom Tools (Whiteboards, Lab Kits, Manipulatives) (EDAEAIAB)
Keywords
Where Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Calabasas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Philanthropic funding from The Smidt Foundation: Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a program of The Smidt Foundation, established by Harbor Freight Tools owner and founder Eric Smidt. The Smidt Foundation provides funding to advance excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools.
- Harbor Freight Tools corporate support: Harbor Freight Tools is also a major supporter of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, providing additional operational and programmatic support.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a grantmaking foundation that awards cash prizes and grants to support excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. Its flagship offering is the annual Prize for Teaching Excellence, which distributes $2 million to 25 outstanding teachers and their programs, complemented by an annual teacher convening (Let's Build It), LA County student summer training programs, fellowships, leadership development, and community-impact grants.
Product overview
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a grantmaking and advocacy foundation focused on advancing excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. The organization's flagship product is the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence®, an annual award program distributing $2 million to 25 outstanding skilled trades teachers. Beyond the prize, the portfolio includes the Let's Build It® convening for prizewinning teachers, The Toolkit® monthly newsletter, the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative® connecting students with mentors, and the Harbor Freight Leadership Lab® for sector leadership development. Regional programming includes Los Angeles County Skilled Trades Summers, while grant programs encompass Pilot Projects and Better Together community-impact grants. All programs are administered through The Smidt Foundation established by Harbor Freight Tools founder Eric Smidt.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence®: Annual award recognizing outstanding skilled trades teachers in U.S. public high schools with $2 million in cash prizes awarded to 25 teachers and their programs
- Let's Build It®
- The Toolkit®
- Harbor Freight Leadership Lab®
- Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative®
Products and services
- Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence Annual award program recognizing outstanding skilled trades teachers in U.S. public high schools. Awards $2 million annually to 25 teachers and their programs. Five grand prize winners receive $100,000 ($30,000 to teacher, $70,000 to program); 20 additional winners receive $75,000 ($25,000 to teacher, $50,000 to program). Applications open in March with winners announced in October.
- Let's Build It Four-day annual summer convening of prizewinning teachers designed to produce inventive ideas to advance high school skilled trades education, offering reflection, relationship-building, and leadership development.
- The Toolkit Newsletter Monthly e-newsletter providing updates on skilled trades education, research findings, prize announcements, and organizational news to subscribers.
- Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative Initiative connecting students with industry mentors and paid apprenticeships in the skilled trades, designed to boost the number and effectiveness of skilled trades education leaders. Operated through partnership with Big Picture Learning.
- Harbor Freight Leadership Lab Partnership with Bendable Labs bringing together leaders from public, private, union, and nonprofit sectors to identify strategies for elevating skilled trades education effectiveness.
- Los Angeles County Skilled Trades Summers Summer programs offering Los Angeles County high school students paid hands-on training and industry-based credentials in automotive tech, carpentry, construction, solar installation, and welding. In 2026, serves 820+ students across 11 programs.
- Pilot Projects Grants Grants enabling prizewinning teachers to test and develop new ideas for skilled trades education, creating minimum viable products that could grow and spread beyond a single classroom.
- Better Together Community-Impact Projects Community-impact grants inspiring skilled trades students to apply their knowledge and skills to address local community needs through student-led projects.
- SkillsUSA Support Program Travel scholarships for students attending the National Leadership & Skills Conference and cash prizes for skilled trades competition winners, supporting SkillsUSA which serves more than 330,000 students annually.
Quantifiable outcome
- Independent evaluation found dramatic impact on winning teachers and schools, including increased enrollment, donations and collaboration with local businesses
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Harbor Freight Tools for Schools
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- SkillsUSAcoreHarbor Freight Tools for Schools funds travel scholarships for students attending the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference and provides cash prizes for skilled trades competition winners. SkillsUSA serves more than 330,000 students and alumni annually, with competitions at local, regional, and national levels.
- Big Picture LearningcoreBig Picture Learning created the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative, which connects students with industry mentors and paid apprenticeships in the skilled trades. This initiative is designed to boost the number and effectiveness of skilled trades education leaders.
- Bendable LabscoreThe Harbor Freight Leadership Lab is a partnership with Bendable Labs designed to boost the number and can-do effectiveness of leaders from the public, private, union and nonprofit sectors to deepen support for skilled trades education.
- CTE Foundation Sonoma CountysecondaryHarbor Freight Tools for Schools supports CTE Foundation Sonoma County in expanding programs throughout the region to align with economic and workforce development needs.
- PAYA (Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship)secondaryPartnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship works with Harbor Freight Leadership Lab to bring together leaders from across the skilled trades ecosystem to identify strategies to elevate the effectiveness of skilled trades education leaders.
- Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE)coreACTE provides stewardship of Round 1 judging for the Prize for Teaching Excellence. Tae Kang, Program Manager at Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, collaborates with ACTE on prize operations.
- Otis College of Art & Design/TGR Foundation (Tiger Woods Foundation)coreNew LA County program partner in 2026. TGR Foundation expands their program to year-round offerings in Westchester and surrounding communities as part of LA County Skilled Trades Summers.
- BRIDGE HousingcoreLA County program partner offering skilled trades training. In 2026, BRIDGE Housing will expand their program to year-round operations, serving Jordan Downs, Evermont, Watts & South L.A. communities.
- Pasadena City CollegecoreLA County program partner. In January 2026, Pasadena City College broke ground on the Construction Trades Lab as part of their Skills to Rebuild Initiative, expanding capacity to train students for fire-rebuild workforce needs.
- ACE YouthbuildcoreLA County program partner located in Canoga Park, providing skilled trades training through the Los Angeles County Skilled Trades Summers program.
- Long Beach City CollegecoreLA County program partner offering skilled trades summer programs. Students can earn high school and college credit through these partnerships.
- Who Will Build Funders CollaborativecorePhilanthropic collaborative supporting equitable and resilient recovery in the wake of the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. Estolano Advisors and LA Economic Development Corporation assessing workforce needs for the rebuild.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- National Skills Coalition: National advocacy organization advancing skills training and equitable workforce policy. Directly comparable as a peer organization focused on expanding skilled trades training access, employer engagement, and federal CTE/workforce policy.
- Bendable Labs: Operates the Harbor Freight Leadership Lab in partnership with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. Comparable as a peer organization building leadership capacity across public, private, union, and nonprofit sectors to support CTE/skilled trades education.
- Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE): The leading national CTE advocacy and membership organization. ACTE provides stewardship of Round 1 judging for the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize, making it a close operational peer in promoting excellence and policy support for CTE/skilled trades in U.S. public schools.
- SkillsUSA: National nonprofit serving 330,000+ students annually in skilled trades and technical careers. Harbor Freight Tools for Schools directly funds SkillsUSA travel scholarships and competition prizes, and SkillsUSA is the most directly comparable peer in mission and target audience.
- TGR Foundation (Tiger Woods Foundation): Education nonprofit expanding into LA County skilled trades programming in 2026 as a new partner. Comparable as a youth-serving education foundation building workforce pathways in underserved LA communities.
- Big Picture Learning: Education nonprofit that operates the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative connecting students with industry mentors and paid apprenticeships. Comparable as a CTE-focused nonprofit operating apprenticeship and work-based learning programs in U.S. public high schools.
- Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA): Initiative advancing high-quality youth apprenticeship pathways. Harbor Freight Tools for Schools works with PAYA via the Leadership Lab; comparable as a youth apprenticeship peer in the same skilled trades ecosystem.
Broad incumbents
- ECMC Foundation: National education philanthropy focused on career and technical education, workforce development, and learner success. Comparable as a much larger-scale philanthropic peer advancing CTE and skilled trades pathways, with broader programmatic scope.
- The James Irvine Foundation: Major California-focused foundation with youth workforce and education funding priorities. Comparable as a regional incumbent foundation with overlapping interest in career-connected education and youth pathways in California.
Regional players
- CTE Foundation Sonoma County: Regional CTE foundation funded by Harbor Freight Tools for Schools to expand programs aligned with local workforce needs. Comparable as a regional grantmaking peer focused on expanding skilled trades access in a defined California geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools social profiles
Digital presenceHarbor Freight Tools for Schools financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Harbor Freight Tools for Schools
What does Harbor Freight Tools for Schools do?
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a grantmaking foundation that awards cash prizes and grants to support excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. Its flagship offering is the annual Prize for Teaching Excellence, which distributes $2 million to 25 outstanding teachers and their programs, complemented by an annual teacher convening (Let's Build It), LA County student summer training programs, fellowships, leadership development, and community-impact grants.
Is Harbor Freight Tools for Schools a public or private company?
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Harbor Freight Tools for Schools founded?
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Harbor Freight Tools for Schools based?
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is headquartered in Calabasas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Harbor Freight Tools for Schools make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Philanthropic funding from The Smidt Foundation is the primary driver. The others are harbor Freight Tools corporate support.
Who are Harbor Freight Tools for Schools's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are National Skills Coalition, Bendable Labs, Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE), SkillsUSA, TGR Foundation (Tiger Woods Foundation), Big Picture Learning and Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA). Broad incumbents are ECMC Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation. CTE Foundation Sonoma County is listed as a regional player.
Does Harbor Freight Tools for Schools have an API?
No public API is recorded for Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.
What industry is Harbor Freight Tools for Schools in?
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools's product category is Education Philanthropy / Skilled Trades Education Grantmaking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAD, Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration, with a secondary code of BPACANAK, Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs. Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.