Chapter 4: How Do Foundations Influence Science Education Policy?

Perhaps one of the most overlooked institutions in our society when considering which has had the greatest impact on science education in the United States is private philanthropy. Philanthropists have sought to influence the quality and extent of education in the United States since colonial times. In fact, education has been a primary beneficiary of philanthropy in the United States throughout most of its history. Table 4.1 shows the breakdown of $307.65 billion in total charitable giving in 2008 (Giving USA Foundation, 2009).

Religion annually commands vastly more overall charitable support from all sources, including members of religious organizations. Education, however, has topped every list of foundation support since the 1920s when such reporting began. In 2007, private foundations gave an estimated $21.6 billion in grant awards of which $4.9 billion (22.8%) was committed to education (The Foundation Center, 2009b, p. 2). By contrast, grants for basic research and development in science and technology that year totaled only $636 million. Although the investment by foundations in education accounted for less than 3% of K-12 education revenue in 2007 (estimated by extrapolation from National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, Table 163), foundation grants represent a considerable proportion of discretionary dollars available to improve educational practices or to support new programs.