Driving change in urban schools

through smart, strategic philanthropic investment

Identify high-impact school change initiatives.
Partner with donors to stimulate private investment in urban school improvement.
Leverage grants with expertise and implementation support.
Level the playing field of opportunity and achievement for all students.

News & Upcoming Events

The Boston Business Journal profiled EdVestors' venture capitalist approach to education reform in its January 6-12, 2012 issue. The article features testimony from EdVestors co-founder Philip Gordon, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, and ACCESS Boston CEO and EdVestors ERP member Bob Giannino-Racine. Click here to read more about the story.
EdVestors is hiring! Applications for the position of BPS Arts Expansion Initiative Director are being accepted on a rolling basis with preference for applications received before January 4, 2012.
EdVestors released two new reports on November 7, 2011: the newest School on the Move Best Practice Case Study on urban school improvement, featuring the Joseph Lee Elementary School in Dorchester and a new white paper by Education First, analyzing national best practices in external partnerships for school improvement.
November 7, 2011: EdVestors awarded the sixth annual Thomas W. Payzant School on the Move Prize to the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School in Charlestown at a reception hosted by Bank of America. Click here for the official press release.
June 24, 2011: EdVestors was recently featured in Boston.com's coverage of the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative grant announcement. Click here to read the full story.
June 21, 2011: EdVestors announced grants from its 9th annual Urban Education Investment Showcase. For a list of the 2011 Portfolio grantees, click here.
June 15, 2011: EdVestors announced $825,000 in new grants to expand arts eduction funding in the Boston Public Schools at Berklee College of Music. For a list of 2011-2012 Arts Expansion grants, click here.
November 30, 2010: Neighborhood Network News ran a field story on this year's School on the Move Prize winning Lee Elementary School. To view the piece, click here.
November 17, 2010: The Boston Globe has run an op-ed piece authored by School on the Move Prize Selection Panelists James Stone and Wendell Knox. "City's schools can excel without structural change" can be found on the Globe website.
November 3, 2010: EdVestors is pleased to announce Joseph Lee Elementary School the winner of the $100,000 School on the Move Prize! For the official press release, click here.
EdVestors and the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy have released a new report. "Charting the Course" examines best practice strategies of each of the four previous School on the Move prize winners.
October 14, 2010: Boston University Journal of Education has reprinted the case study produced by EdVestors and the Rennie Center of Excel High School, the 2007 School on the Move prize winner. To read the case study, including a postscript with updated information about Excel High School, click here.

BPS Arts Expansion Initiative Announces $825,000 in New Grants at June 15, 2011 Celebration

Launched in February 2009, the Initiative is a multi-year effort to expand arts education focused on providing equity and access to quality arts learning experiences to every BPS student. Thanks to an $825,000 grant from local funders through the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative. The Boston Public Schools will add arts and music programs for students in 50 schools this fall. These grant awards are part of a five-year, $5.5 million fundraising campaign, which has already resulted in 9,000 BPS students receiving regular arts and music experiences that were not offered in Boston just two years ago. EdVestors also released The Arts Advantage: A Report to the Community on the Creation, Progress, and Phase II Plan for the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative.

The Initiative is supported by several collaborating donors, including the Barr Foundation, Boston Foundation, Hunt Alternatives Fund, Klarman Family Foundation, Linde Family Foundation, and other foundations and individual donors. EdVestors serves as lead partner for the Initiative working in close collaboration with the collaborating donors and with the BPS.

9th Annual Urban Education Investment Showcase

EdVestors' Urban Education Investment Showcase was held on April 13, 2011 at Bank of America.

Nearly 200 guests heard directly from educators, district leaders, and nonprofit partners about innovative school initiatives and unique investment opportunities. If you are interested in making an invesment in one of our featured initiatives, contact EdVestors Executive Director Laura Perille at perille@edvestors.org or (617) 585-5740.