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Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix, AZ

With significant support from the John & Delys Ellis field of interest fund at ACF, the Arizona Community Foundation continues its commitment to advancing statewide, systemic reform of our public education system through the following activities:  

Research:

• In early 2008, we released Educating Arizona and Building Our Foundation, two comprehensive reports on the state of public education from birth through 12th grade.
• In 2009, ACF released the first College Readiness Report which tracked the readiness of Maricopa County public and charter high school graduates who attended one of Arizona's three universities or a Maricopa Community College to do college-level, credit-earning coursework in English and Math.

Policy:

• As a non-partisan community leader, ACF has been proud to provide counsel to the current and previous Arizona Governor as a member of committees for each of their P-20 Councils.

Strategic Grantmaking:

• In early 2009, ACF and Helios Education Foundation launched the Accio Education Fund, a “venture capital” type of charitable fund aimed at supporting innovative education reform programs. The fund awarded two significant grants—one for a program already underway in Arizona, and one for a program looking to expand to Arizona from elsewhere—which are being paid over a three-year period, with intense staff engagement and technical and strategic assistance. The Arizona grantee selected in 2009 is Beat the Odds Institute, while the expansion grantee is Stand for Children. Two new grantees will be announced in late Spring 2011.

Public/Private Partnerships: 

• ACF is a collaborator in and manages the funding for Expect More Arizona, a public-private partnership dedicated to making education the top priority in our state. The partnership is creating a movement of passionate, actively engaged Arizonans who are working to ensure our students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete, contribute and succeed in a 21st Century global economy.

Early Education:

• Through funds held and managed at ACF, we are improving early care and education offerings to children from birth to age 5 throughout Arizona. These modest funds will help all Arizona children become contributing citizens by funding programs that build a sustainable, comprehensive system for providing high-quality early care and education programs.